Monday, April 12, 2021

Irish Sitcom Glory!

Two posts about Irish sitcoms in one day! But this time it's good - how Irish sitcoms are taking over tv:

Finding mirth in misery is one of the most fundamental qualities of being Irish. “Sure, if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry,” my mother, a Dubliner with a wicked ability to see the funny side of life, is fond of saying. There has always been an obsession with darkness in the country’s folklore, and its modern literature also revels in it. Flann O’Brien’s 1941 satire, The Poor Mouth, set in an impoverished region of Ireland where it rains relentlessly, is regarded as one of the greatest Irish-language novels of the 20th century – at once hilarious and macabre. Comedians, too, have skilfully mined Ireland’s traumatic past over the years, from Seventies satirical storyteller Dave Allen, to stand-ups Ardal O’Hanlon, Tommy Tiernan and Dylan Moran.

That has translated to telly as well. But none more so than in recent years. Irish TV comedies may have been around for decades – the deliciously giddy and subversive Father Ted was a groundbreaking water-cooler hit when it arrived in the Nineties, followed by the surreal sitcom Black Books and the mockumentary Paths to Freedom in the 2000s. In the past five years, however, there’s been an explosion of them and they’re drawing in fans from around the world. 

I've gotta do some digging int, right now the only Irish shows I've really seen are Father Ted, Derry Girls, Moone Boy and Hardy Bucks. (Black Books was written by Graham Linehan but is set in London and is thoroughly British.) I love the Irish R.M. but I wouldn't call it a sitcom.

Thanks, the Irish!

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