Do people still make gazillions overnight out of internet start-ups? They certainly seem to if Loaded is anything to go by. Things happen even faster than overnight here. One moment cautious Josh (Jim Howick) is overdrawn and addicted to probiotic yoghurt, the next he has piles of money to burn. And probably still likes the odd Yakult.
There is barely time to pause for breath in the first instalment of this series adapted from an Israeli hit. Josh and his life-long mates Leon (Samuel Anderson), Ewan (Jonny Sweet), and Watto (Nick Helm) have to adjust quickly to being stupidly rich. I think they’ve made their money out of an App. Emojis and cats might have something to do with it too.
The storyline establishes their characters pretty quickly by showing viewers what they do with their new-found wealth. Nerdy Josh still looks at prices on menus, shy Ewan offers an employee he fancies an £18,000 bonus, Belushi-esque party animal Watto buys a narrowboat and fills it with shoes and flashy Leon has a bath in champagne and bags a Ferrari.
There is more than a hint of Wolf Of Wall Street about how they give wild grandstanding speeches to their staff and make sure they enjoy their lives (and Carters Get Rich, Silicon Valley and Entourage), but there is a messy Englishness to it too. They still go round to their parents for a roast, even if Watto has to leave his beef in the pavement when they have to rush off when business calls.
Loaded is one of those programmes that slots in comfortably somewhere between comedy and drama. With a strong, talented cast filled with familiar funny faces – Lolly Adefope, Tony Paul Way, Simon Day and Morwenna Banks are among those that also pitch up in part one – there are always going to be laughs.
But there is a story underpinning the knockabout cartoonish action too. How do you adjust morally and emotionally when you go from scraping a living to living the hedonistic high life. Although in the first episode it looks like the problem might be solved for them when they are sued for intellectual theft and look like losing their wads. Could it all end as quickly as it began? Well, it’s in the schedules for eight episodes. What do you think?
Loaded, C4, Mondays at 10pm from May 8.
Read an interview with the cast here.
