quicksmartmcoy When I saw the first episode I thought, great another bland, poorly written, dramedy, but give it time to grow on you and you quickly realise what a well observed, well acted piece of work it actually is, almost every comedy show I love I didn't like my first taste of, but over a year after seeing the first episode as has always been the case something made me come back to this show and I am very glad I did, it's allot better than it gets credit for.

willonfacebook Confronting, dealing with contemporary issues and points out th public hysteria around them whilst addressing the problems faced by social workers. Deliberately choosing a profession vilified by the public Jo Brand and Co, tackle the topics sensitively and humorously. the entire cast should get medals for this show.Watch it, you may find it confronts some of your own prejudices in the nicest possible of ways.

icefire-51225 Just binge watched this show up to the current episode and I have to say, I love it. While certainly this isn't jolly laughs, it's very in depth and very realistic. This show is very much comedy, however it's done in such a way that, it replicates real life in many ways, it leaves in many depressing and unfunny moments which is really atmospheric and really makes you sympathise with the characters. One other thing this show does well is it's ability to know when to end things. There are many overarching plot lines but with each episode there are definitive ends and good developement towards characters and setting. It also cuts out many times where I have not wanted to continue, i.e. Awkward situations, for which I am thankful for.

anthony-goreham This comedy was marketed as 'bittersweet', which should be a warning it's not light-hearted nor full of belly-laughs. The style of the show will be instantly familiar to anyone who has watched "Going On" (also co-written by Jo Brand). The philosophy is very much "if you didn't laugh, you'd cry".The show is about a team of social workers, working in child services. So obviously they encounter a range of disturbing situations, involving children - i.e. neglected or abandoned children, accusations of child abuse, drug use, and so on. So you can see why the comedy is dark and offbeat. The show seems fairly realistic about the challenges faced by public services these days - pressure of public expectations, autocratic management, budget cuts, etc. Having said that, the comedy often comes from the slightly less realistic / exaggerated behaviour of some characters (and their significant others) plus the dire state of the office kitchen. The characters are a mixture of experienced / weary social workers (primarily Jo Brand and Alan Davies, with Kevin Eldon), a new social worker out of his depth (Himesh Patel), their stern manager (Georgie Glen) and the not-very-bright temp assistant (Isy Suttie). Overall it works very well, providing a sympathetic view of an under-appreciated workforce, with a comedic twist, in fact several parts are very funny (the team meeting scenes especially).