Hallucinatory hummus! Hostages! Hyperventilation! Lee Mack’s latest series is a masterclass in chaotic
comedy, with a multitude of disasters unfolding in real time
For some reason, there aren’t that many truly stressful sitcoms. Given the choice between watching a bunch of attractive
Friends trade slick witticisms in a cafe, or a sadsack loser ricochet from one catastrophic decision to another until his entire existence becomes a nightmare of self-inflicted high-frequency anguish, most people would, inexplicably, choose the former.
This is a shame because, when they’re done well, nothing on Earth can touch the stresscom. Think Fawlty Towers at full-speed. Think Andy Daly’s Review. Think The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. None of these shows are particularly fun to watch, because they’re all the televisual equivalent of having a coronary on a rowing machine, but they are so meticulously constructed that you cannot help being impressed by them.