Everyone Else Burns

This spankingly new comedy from Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor (themselves quite new) is a functional little slice of familial and theological ribbing. It's not reinventing many comedy wheels and some of the side plots and characters are a little sketched-out, shallow or unfinished but there's some solid 'twists' (if you can call them that in a sitcom), quite a few surreal asides, and a genuinely effective character arc or two in here. The focus is mostly on the family so it doesn't feel too punch-downy on the little fish of the evangelical world, but it's lack of specificity makes it feel oddly toothless. I'd be interested to see what another series could add to it.

It was quite clear it was the cult I grew up in in the first 5 seconds of the show, it was so unbelievably funny and accurate the person who wrote it must have grown up in the cult because there was so many tiny things you would only know if you was one, they even got characters down to a T - i could deffo relate also I liked the diversions for copywrite purposes lol it was refreshing to see this and it helps to laugh about this past traumatic life lol I hope they keep it rolling!

The problem is I'm not sure how funny it would be to people who never was in the cult, I don't think it's a relatable or understandable life to others, cult members would definitely not find it funny and most likely would avoid. However for us ex's it's fab gives you a chance to confirm yep you were living that life and thank god your not now- but your not alone so laugh instead of crying (as our ex members have really bad mental health after leaving the jehovahs witnessess or being disfellowshiped ) it shows you the humours side! And also it gives you a chance to show those around you a glimpse of what you had a live through.

If you were brought up in a cult Christian religion then you'll have an "in" to what's going on. I don't think it's based on any one cult but is a very clever mix of several that I'm aware of and grew up in. E.g. The cult I was associated with did discourage going to college and encouraged full time door to door ministry.

This series though adds humour to the situation and although the elder arrangement appears made up. Heck it cuts close to home especially the controls exerted and gossiping by elders wives.

My wife and I crack up with the dating ritual and ducking down to avoid being seen unshaperoned. That is true to life LOL.

Good scripts and a fine premise. A parody of Jehovah's Witnesses and various hard line Christian sects. A talented cast that is let down by Simon Bird who is only capable of rehashing the same character seen in In-betweens. He's got no other range and it takes the whole story line into comedy cliché, where as all the other cast are quite rightly playing the characters much straighter and therefore stronger.

Shame. He was poorly cast. I may stick with it but it's borderline because he continually ruins the plots with his pantomime over acting. Hopefully future casting directors will take note and we won't see him for a while.

Exploring an extreme of cultist religion, Everyone Else Burns feels fresh and funny, and as the series progresses it really blossoms into some heartfelt developments.

Not entirely unpredictable, but paced well and the tension caused by the differing character traits within the family gives off some great (awful) chemistry. It is a little slow to begin with, but once each family member's wants and needs become apparent, its easy to become invested in the storyline.

To an extreme where every belief, action and scenario grows into something silly, the straight performances do provide the laughs, which eases through plot arcs which can be intentionally frustrating. It takes a little time to get into (which isn't ideal for a 6-episode series) but once it all clicks, Everyone Else Burns is truly enjoyable.