This season of "Ladhood" was on the Guardians top TV of 2021 list. I hadn't seen it at all, so I watched the first season which I thought was nicely profound but could do with being more consistently funny. I'm happy to say that the second season has fixed that problem and is often really funny.
Having split up with Jess (Lily Frazer), Liam (Liam Williams) contends with more of the deep-seated issues in his life, whilst trying to prepare for his friend's wedding. Back in the 90's, Liam (Oscar Kennedy) completes his GCSE's and moves into Sixth form and the boys prepare for their final few years together, before life will split them apart.
Again, I thought the first season was good - but there's a step up in consistency and volume of laughs in this second season. There's no obvious change, no new characters or additions to the writing room - Liam Williams is the only credited writer for all 12 episodes. There aren't even as many guest stars this time, with only Pooky Quesnel guesting in the season's best episode "Mary", where Liam recalls an occasion in his youth when the boys try to spend the night in a haunted wood.
The performances are really good still and I do still feel like his 90's friends remain different characters, even though on the surface two of them are very similar. I like how time clearly passes between the flashbacks too, with aspects like Tom's sister having a relationship with Rupert changing in between stories.
It's a funny sitcom that manages to have its cake and eat it too, when it comes to revelling in and undercutting a misspent youth, and I'm really looking forward to the third season.