A decade ago I wrote a book about comedians and mental health. Except that when Beyond A Joke* was published society had not really started talking that much publicly about mental health, so... more
Reviews
When I saw that Oliver Double’s new book about Alternative Comedy was £75 I assumed it was a massive doorstep tome that the postperson would never be able to carry. So I was surprised when (thank you... more
Well at least one good thing has come out of this bloody pandemic. We've got another Wipe. And while this one was filmed under lockdown social distancing conditions it didn't really hit the... more
Jerry Seinfeld arrives for his latest Netflix special by helicopter and beats the New York traffic by jumping out and landing in the water. It's a) pretty impressive for a 65-year-old stand-up... more
Jordan Brookes won the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2019 for I've Got Nothing, a show that was substantially improvised. But this show, Bleed, from 2018, is the show that should have won him the... more
If you are feeling a bit bleak or fragile at the moment, Cracked Up: The Darrell Hammond Story, may not be the thing to watch. It's one of those behind-the-grins documentaries about a comedian that... more
Apple TV+'s first British original comedy is an interesting one. It both plays it very safe, with its cosy thirtysomething Camden Town environment and also goes into some unusual territory as it... more
Mindy Kaling (The Office, The Mindy Project) takes on the teen experience in her new Netflix series Never Have I Ever. It's a classic coming of age tale: teenage girl wants to become cool... more
When you hear that two of the UK's finest actors, Stephen Graham and Daniel Mays, are starring in a new series as crimebusting cops you kind of what to expect. Something hard and gritty, with plenty... more
#blackAF is the newest series from Kenya Barris, creator of Emmy-nominated Black-ish (and spin-offs Grown-ish and Mixed-ish). In #blackAF Barris stars as... more
