Derry Girls was a sleeper hit, launching unexpectedly into the stratosphere of tender, witty new comedy (it’s almost as if TV is finally realising women can be funny). Set in the early ‘90s, the series follows Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) and her friends gobby Michelle (Jamie Lee O’Donnell), straight-laced Clare (Nicola Coughlan), a-few-screws-loose airhead Orla (Louisa Harland), and bewildered English blow-in James (Dylan Llewellyn). Written by Derry native Lisa McGee (Being Human, Indian Summers), the series’ opening episode alone delivered such lines as “Sure what’s a pair of knickers between cousins?” and the now iconic “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m not enjoying this bomb. I’ve an appointment at Tropicana at 12”. Already commissioned for a second run, the series manages to find humour in The Troubles, get Tommy Tiernan to stand still for five minutes, and make the ordinary lives of five teenagers interesting enough to pull in huge audiences.
But now the first six-episode run is over and we’re faced with a year-long wait for more, just what are you to watch in the meantime? Well, if it’s female-led comedy you’re looking for, TN2 has got you covered…
Fleabag
Fleabag is a viciously sardonic breakout show which, like Derry Girls, attempts to mine humour from trauma. Written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, it aired on BBC Three after it moved from television to an online-only service, and proved that the channel could still spawn hits from quirky comedies and risky projects. The supporting cast including Olivia Coleman and a particularly surprising Hugh Dennis. Its humour is frank, dark and set against a searing backdrop of misery, as the titular Fleabag tries to navigate life as a single woman in London. Nominated for a rake of critics’ awards and winner of a BAFTA, Waller-Bridge’s career took off after Fleabag’s success, with a second series to air in 2019. If you want to see funny, adult women being given a shot at the big-time – and taking an unashamed, edgy route to get there – then this is the one for you.
One Day At A Time
One Day At A Time may seem, at first, to bear the hallmarks of a traditional American sitcom: an obvious set, a small cast, few outside locations. Indeed, it’s loosely based on a series from the late 1970s – but this is a thoroughly updated comedy. It centres on a Cuban-American family headed by nurse and army veteran Penelope (Justina Machado) as she returns to civilian life only to face divorce, PTSD, and the chaos of a multi-generational home. As well as her overbearing mother Lydia (Rita Moreno), there are teenagers Alex (Marcel Ruiz) and Elena (Isabella Gómez), who in the first season realises she is gay and starts dating. The show is a vibrant, even occasionally daring exploration of cultural and social issues – it regularly touches upon Hispanic culture and experiences, such as Lydia’s escape from the Castro dictatorship, and the most recent season featured multiple pronoun-identified genderfluid and non-binary characters. More than twice the length of Derry Girls per season, if you’re looking for a classic sitcom-style series that tackles its subjects head on, look no further.
My Mad Fat Diary
A teenage comedy set in the early 1990s, with a female lead? My Mad Fat Diary, which ran for three series between 2013 and 2015, is all of those things. Based on the teenage diaries of writer-broadcaster Rae Earl, it opens with the fictionalised Rae (Sharon Rooney) returning to her small town after being institutionalised for mental health issues. Only she’s told everyone she’s been in France, which necessitates some invention when she tries to pick up where she left off with best friend Chloe (Jodie Comer). There’s a wider group of friends and a love interest for Rae in Finn (Nico Mirallegro). If you didn’t see My Mad Fat Diary the first time around, it’s an honest and painful comedy-drama, with additional visuals in the form of flashbacks and animated sequences to illustrate Rae’s emotional state.
Chewing Gum
Another comedy written and created by its star with a BAFTA win – in fact, two BAFTAs – under its belt, Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum premiered to high praise, and indeed still maintains a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, if that might persuade you. Coel’s madcap Tracey is a twenty-something Londoner and evangelical Christian who decides not only to have sex but to practically hunt it down. This is an utterly filthy, clown-like comedy so it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if E4 or C4 comedy is what you’re used to, you’ll not be surprised. The series touches on topics like race and relationships, and there’s also a fun cameo from grime megastar Stormzy in series two.
Absolutely Fabulous
What better way to sate your need for ‘90s nostalgia than a comedy that was actually made in the 1990s? This legendary female double-act comedy is a classic must-watch. On the one hand, it’s got Jennifer Saunders, who also wrote the series, as the twice-divorced, heavy drinking, magnificently-coiffed Edina Monsoon, a PR agent who loves glamour and living beyond her means. On the other, it also stars Joanna Lumley, known now for documentaries and clipped tones but back then for her raucous, drug-taking, chain-smoking, near-alcoholic fashion journalist Patsy Stone, Eddy’s best friend and enabler. Julia Sawalha provides a bit of teen scepticism on her mother’s antics as Edina’s prim and sensible daughter Saffron. Tune in for out-there one-liners, ludicrous situations, enough bad behaviour to warrant several arrests, and plenty of terrible ‘90s fashion – block colours, glitter jackets, high heels, and even some leftover shoulder pads. It’s outrageous, iconic, and laugh-out-loud funny.
