Having seen Daisy May Cooper on "Taskmaster" this season, I finally made the effort to go back and start "This Country" the show that made her name.
Shot in a documentary style, "This Country" is about cousins Kerry (Daisy May Cooper) and Kurtan (Charlie Cooper) and their lives in a small village in the Cotswolds. The lack of work, since leaving education has left Kerry and Kurtan in a rut and even the smallest amount of village gossip is a big deal. Surrounded by family and friends, Kerry in particularly, still acts like she did when she was 13.
If I was starting this when it initially aired, rather than retrospectively watching it knowing that plaudits and BAFTA's would be forthcoming, I might not have made it past the first two episodes. It's not that they are particularly awful, but in retrospect, I think it takes a little time to get accustomed to the tone of the series and I might not have stuck with it. It started to click in the 3rd episode though, one set mostly in Kerry's kitchen with petty arguments about oven space, whilst waiting for their uncle to return from prison. The observational nature of the humour is painfully accurate, with the key characters having conversations that most people have when they're about ten years old. Real life brother and sister, Charlie and Daisy write the show together and the cast is populated by their real family, including their actual uncle Trevor Cooper, who is an actor with dozens of credits from his 40-year career.
Admittedly, it's not massively original. "The Office" covered the mockumentary years ago and much of "This Country" is that same cringe inducing tone. Based on just this season, "Young Offenders" is a much more well-rounded show, broader definitely, but to my taste funnier. However, I'm definitely going to keep going and watch the other two season that were produced. It's good already, but I hope that the rest of it can be even better.