Such Brave Girls

A family of three (mom and two daughters) is trying to solve their existential problems involving love, trauma, money, housing, by hooking up with men that they think are there to grab.

The mother is lying and doing her best to charm a single odd man who has a big house with heated floor though he never pays for anything in their relationship.

The beautiful daughter is being silly after a guy who cheats on her and leaves her every time he feels like it.

The second daughter is a wannabe complex girl who is afraid of anything and is making excuses to drop and run away from anything coming her way.

I love all three of them.

The comedy is smart, at a fast pace, quirky, and has few sexual scenes, one in particular involving the two sisters trying to test for pregnancy right after one had sex. Imagine what s coming down.. Anyway, big surprise seeing such a unique take on comedy and drama.

You should see this one.

This script is incredibly sharp, with very few wasted words or predictable lines. The dialogue seems to go from one ridiculous and funny line to the next. And there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in every episode, usually when somebody says something in an unusual way. I particularly enjoyed the absence of any moralising. There is a whole spectrum of opinions on things like mental health, and this comedy lampoons them all. It is more interested in the absurdity of human nature, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

All the genuinely funny sitcoms seem to be created by women these days (Sharon Horgan, Alma, Miranda, Roisin Conaty etc). I don't know if it's because the BBC and Channel 4 have stopped commissioning any men with original ideas, or if the men just prefer to do the inane banter on panel shows. Such Brave Girls was written by Kat Sadler, who also plays the central part of Josie. Her acting is equally as subtle as her writing. The mum is played by the excellent Louise Brealey, who also played the funniest character in "Back". Lizzie Davidson plays the part of Billie, a feisty sister who is the opposite of Josie in every way imaginable. The scenes largely involve the three "girls" plotting to either attract or reject three totally unsuitable men. I really hope there is a second series, as these girls haven't yet resolved any of their issues (and, of course, they never will).

If it hadn't been for a brief iPlayer promo of this series after a tribute to Caroline Aherne I would never have known it even existed; it's as if the BBC likes to keep some of its best shows well hidden.

It starts off as warped, then progresses through some very black comedy into filth; sheer, utter filth, but very, very funny. At times it strays into territory that even The League of Gentlemen (or Something About Mary if you're American) might have shied away from, but the writing is so incredibly sharp and witty that it casts aside the usual boundaries with ease.

It wasn't until I looked them up on here that I discovered that one of the sisters (Kat Sadler) was actually the writer, with no previous acting credits at all. Then, stranger still, it would appear that Lizzie Davidson, who plays her sister Billie, has never previously featured in anything of any kind. Completing this wildly dysfunctional family is the rather desperate mum, wonderfully played by Louise Brealey, who somehow seems incredibly familiar to me, but not from in anything that I recognise.

Paul Bazely, as mum's prospective suitor Dev, seems one of those characters who you have seen pop up in minor roles for years, without ever really taking much notice. His character is a seriously creepy widower/divorcee/fraudster/murderer - who knows? With his odd lifestyle and strange behaviour, he is the one thread which remains loose and unexplained.

This is of of those very British comedies which could almost certainly never be shown in America, where exploding heads are fine, yet subjects such as abortion within the context of comedy are completely out of bounds. Also ruling out a US showing is the absence of a laughter track, which is thankfully absent here and would have killed it stone dead.

There are probably enough loose ends to make a second series if there was sufficient demand, but I feel it might be better to leave this as a true classic of a one-off (see also Bridget Christie's The Change). I feel that one thing we can be sure of though is that we certainly haven't heard the last of those involved.

It might be because I hyper identify with this family dynamic, but this is the greatest, tight season of comedy tv I've seen in a good long while. Damn, Brits take self deprecation to another level of art and I'm all for it. Kat Sadler is an incredibly talented writer and artist. The most compelling drawing of a horse I've ever seen.

Every character is great. The actor who plays Seb is like a bizarro Michael Cera but funnier. Billie goes all in on being "that girl" and the desperation is palpable. There's complexity in here that mocks tropes and is totally self aware. I also love the nod to bodily functions, and the closeness of female relationships. This show kind of addresses all the qualms I have with quirky sitcoms! Can't wait to see more.

Sometimes it is worthwhile to remember that British comedy tends to set the bar, and then other countries belatedly copy the best of the best for their own audiences. This is an example of razor-sharp comedy that both explores brand new territory and yet, at the same time, will be extremely hard to copy or imitate. Because the writing is not only based on the real life experiences of its creator, but in fact the stars (Sadler and Davidson) are real life sisters. WOW. No matter how much you think you know about comedy writing and snappy dialog, this show will teach you a lot of new tricks. The 25 minute episodes move so quickly you will invariably be left wanting more. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))