Never give a hamster matches

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2024

#7 : Alma's Not Normal 

Cancer. Addiction. The care system. Welfare. Only Sophie Willan could explore such heavy issues so effectively yet always underlined with a cracking punchline. This was her second and last outing as bubbly Alma in this comedy inspired by her own experiences, and it was every bit as flawless and fabulous as the first. Most poignant was her grandma Joan’s cancer diagnosis – the time they spent together before her death was beautiful (with a very funny fart scene). And when Alma decided to turn her life into art, you wanted to cheer. Go Alma! We cannot wait to see what Willan does next.

This is one I met on Guardian's Best of '21 list and I enjoyed it so much that when I saw there was a second series, I didn't need to wait to be told to watch it.

Amd yeah - "every bit as flawless and fabulous as the first" is a fair enough description. I don't really need to add anything more to the previous post - it's still very quirky, but (from what I remember) there's a bit more emotion in this one. It's all really well written because Alma and her family live in their own worlds which bear minimal resemblance to mine, but they still seem to have their own certain kind of logic to them which hangs together nicely.

The central cast is the same with with Sophie Willan, Siobhan Finneran and Lorraine Ashbourne (those last two pop up a lot in lists) being particularly fine as three generations of women and Jayde Adams slotting in nicely as Alma's best friend. There's quite the selection of cameos in this season though with Julie Hesmondhaigh, Nick Mohammed, Steve Pemburton and Craig Parkinson all popping up to good effect.

It's also worth pointing out that it's also written by Sophie Willan - the lass is most definitely talented and like The Guardian I'm intrigued as to what she does next. And that's all I need to say really - it's quirky yet relatable and pretty funny, so if you've missed it then maybe give it a chance. 

#6 - Proper quality telly
#9 - Most enjoyable

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