Pulling

Splendidly black and acerbic, 'Pulling' is like a middle-class 'Shameless', which means that equally bad behaviour is accompanied by lashings of shame and self-loathing. After a slow-ish first episode, the series really gets going, full of outrageously brilliant lines and painful situations. The acting is good, and the characters superbly created - they're close to cliché, but one key step removed - you always believe they're really living this life. And that it's a life not so dissimilar from that lived by many real people is what gives the comedy its savage edge; it's certainly the funniest thing I've seen this year.

Thirty something Donna (Sharon Horgan) has a "moment of clarity" before her wedding and suddenly realises that the Karl (her husband to be) is a bit of a dullard and she doesn't want to go through with it. Instead she decides to move in with her equally dysfunctional mates Karen (Rebekah Staton) and Louise (Tanya Franks).

What could seem -- on paper -- like a micro budget version of Sex And The City is actually a modern f-word morality play based on women that act like men and -- as a result -- have the very same problems. Drinking, casual sex and communal living have their consequences and problems, but this is played for farce and farce is generally the comedy of embarrassment.

The trio are the slut, the virgin (ok, she hasn't had sex for two years) and the confused. Modern archetypes who play modern life like a pinball machine - always trying to bounce off the cushion for the bonus, but more often going straight down the middle.

Is it funny? Yes, actually. Some really good lines in every show, although the rules of comedy are always on show: Nobody gets away with anything and the next day's breakfast table is full of regret and "never again" (as if we believe it!)

Cheap? Yes! Cheerful? Yes! Funny? See above! So there you have it. If you are up for a slightly bonkers comedy with characters from hell then it well worth a look. It may be a lads comedy in dresses, but go to big UK town on a Saturday night and you'll see plenty of this for real.

For the benefit of non UK parties, Pulling is going out and finding someone to go home with - usually aided by a few cheap drinks and a few cheap chat up lines.

The writing and cast are brilliant and some sequences will leave you howling and gasping for air! In particular, Tanya Franks, as the alcoholic, completely inappropriate teacher, steals every single frame that's she in! Why she hasn't been invited to play in more American shows is a complete mystery. She's one of the best comedic actresses on the screen.

This BBC Three series is a very funny, dark sitcom set in suburban London. It's about the lives of three very different women who are friends. The acting is very good, and many of the situations they get into are hilarious.

This was very well-written by Sharon Horgan, who also plays one of the three main characters.

I came to this from 'This way up' and one episode of 'Catastrophe'.

The bulk of episodes were filmed around 2006 and this (imho) captures much of the zeitgeist around the noughties and the anxiety around being in one's thirties. Which incidentally was the decade when I too was a 30-something.

Sharon Horgan, Rebekah Staton and Tanya Parks play characters compriing the trio of women trying to play the hands they've been dealt whilst battling their own (and their other halves) demons. There's plenty of early noughties nuance here (clothes, music) which I love! A great supporting cast and scripts makes this a must watch in the UK comedy cannon.