Visit your mother every day - we'll start that one tomorrow

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2023 

#17 : Somebody Somewhere 

Touching, poignant, full of diarrhoea-related laughs: the second series of this smalltown US comedy went where few shows dare. The adorable, up-and-down BFF-ship between lead characters Joel and Sam continued to be one of TV’s sweetest friendships – not least during a riotous final-episode performance of 80s power ballad Gloria.

A second series that I didn't know existed otherwise I would have caught up with because I really enjoyed the first one - I described it as "a bunch of decent people trying to get by".

Yeah - we pick up with Sam (Bridget Everett) and Joel (Jeff Hiller - still a very odd-looking character) pretty much where we left off and they're achieving just as much as they managed last time around.  And no, it doesn't really matter - they have a lovely relationship and we have a giggle along with them.

This is still fun, but also a bit more serious than I remembered the first season being - although every so often it sneaks in little chuckles where you're not expecting. It's interesting because very few of the characters are what you'd consider to be "normal", but they have normal and very relatable problems including relationships, grief, loneliness, elderly parents and sibling friction - all the usual fun stuff. But it also throws in some curveballs because it's not every day you see someone dancing with a fridge and several of the episodes unexpectedly offer up candidates for the C-wordiest thing ever - which is odd because it's not generally that sweary (quite obviously, cushions are responsible). And it has a lovely final episode with a "happy" funeral and a joyous wedding bringing home all the emotions - and a cool ending which looks like it's going to go where you hope it doesn't, but then it takes an amusing comedy swerve.

Bridget and Joel still carry the show well, but Sam's sister Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison) has an increased role here and she's very well written and acted - it's a potent combination of grief and determination and you admire the way she faces things.  It's also nice to see a greater amount of sisterly understanding in this season than I remember in the first - Sam & Tricia have a very believable relationship here. We also have a new character to mention - Brad (Tim Bagley) who is nicely understated and worms his way into the storyline well. And Fred (Murray Hill) is back to balance any fears they might be trying to underplay things - he's a most peculiar character, but joyously so.

It's not laugh-out-loud comedy - I suspect drama-with-a-dash-of-comedy is as close you'll get to a description, but it's very well written with a superb eye on the detail. Wikipedia quotes The Daily Beast as saying it has a "delightful ensemble cast and a knack for fleshing out life's minutiae, with gravity and irreverence in equal measure" and I think they've pretty much got it right there. It won't be for everyone, but if you want something that's a well-written and subtle but nicely quirky grower then I recommend this - if you fancy it, it's available to stream on Sky (which surprised me because it seems more understated than most of their content).

#16 - Nope, still don't get it
#18 - Well done, but not aimed at me