Dreamland

Nothing particularly stands out with this comedy, it's a pleasant watch and makes Margate look quite idyllic. I must admit I got a kick from the nostalgia of many seaside holidays there .

It's not particularly funny nor so many of the main cast gel all that much, with standard EastEnders /soapy plots. .

The cinematography is all over the place though. Lots of lovely shots of the seaside with oversaturated colour and bright vibrant colours give it a pictur postcard look, but the CinemaScope widescreen aspect is totally wasted on everything else. Scenes with characters talking flick between characters and we have full frame closeups instead of wider shots that would look better in the format.

It's clearly filmed for a normal 16:9 aspect and modified in post as the directors just don't take advantage of the format properly .

This is right up my street, I binge watched, which I don't normally do and loved it. It was refreshing to watch something that had comical elements as well as serious issues, and no sci-fi / vampire sucking / zombie walking links! I enjoyed watching many of the actors who I'd seen in various other programmes doing something different styles to usual. I came across this after seeing LA on a chat show promoting it and wasn't disappointed, she sold it well. I would love to know how a potential series 2 would look! Thought 'Trish' played a brilliant role, all the sisters are very different, which made the show interesting. Made me chuckle, smile and cry a little too!

The usually brilliant Sharon Horgan is attached to this production, but it's clear as day she's not had much involvement in this limp mess. Surely the whole concept was thought up in some Soho House coke-fuelled session? "Babe y'know everyone's moving to Margate now". The whole thing oozes overfunded and under-skilled girlboss energy, much like so much of British television today. The addition of Lily Allen just intensifies the privilege and disconnection on show.

To make up for a lack of script, acting and storyline they've added a lot of Technicolor saturation to at least keep you involved...

Dreamland has a fantastic cast! Lily Allen, Freema Agyeman, Frances Barber, Gabby Best, Aimee-Ffion Edwards and Shiela Reid, shine through as they depict this dysfunctional family. Great to see Kiell Smith-Bynoe in a more serious role, which he does to perfection.

The first episode can be a bit full on, in places, but as the episodes unfold, we see a calmer, deeper, emotional side of the characters and their vulnerabilities. Dreamland pulls you from some brash humour in the first episode through to an emotional journey and anguish as the episodes unfold. 10/10! Bravo! Love to have a season 2!!

There is definitely a market for this type of ""comedy"" writing. Its just not for me. I mean I tried, 6 episodes in and didnt laugh which is fine because we all have different likes but I couldnt connect with any of the characters either. I didnt like, admire or feel sorry for any of them.

The whole point of this show seems to be who is the angriest and who can blame others the most, even blaming strangers...sigh.... I did expect more due to the names behind the scenes and the names in front of the camera but sadly it did nothing for me... I dont give spoilers so I wont here, just to say that some reviewers have said the characters are like real people.....I genuinely would hate to be around so many angry bitter people who want to blame everyone for any problems in their lives.

Like I said, there is definitely a market for this kind of show. Go on twitter,insta, tiktok etc and you will find lots of angry people trying to blame strangers for something they didnt do or say..those people would love this show... If the makers turned down the contrast, called it a drama and eased off the "messages" then it could be OK. But I struggle with the comedy label...