I was a latecomer to London Irish. This a series written by the same team responsible for the current UK smash Derry Girls. Like me, many others have enjoyed Derry Girls and are keen to discover other work by the same writer.
This series was slated by the press at the time which is why its a mainly forgotten UK comedy series. However it appears to me that the dislike is mainly to do with snobbery from people who lack the life experience to understand how realistic the show actually is. There are very few shows which deal with working class heavy drinking culture which is a big part of Scottish and Irish life. The cast are seen drinking, getting drunk, smoking and swearing heavily which is obviously too much for the genteel middle class reviewers who basically view themselves as superior as they would never behave this way. The reality is this is a show which is reflective of many 20 somethings who come from this culture and who have no middle class aspirations. Its a very funny show but its obviously aimed at a similar audience that Trainspotting was, its simply written for a specific audience.
While it does have similarities to Derry Girls, its basically DG with less swearing, drinking etc and with a supposedly older cast. I say this as the cast of DG are in their 20s and 30s! You could argue that London Irish are the Derry Girls and boys after they have left school and relocated to London.
London Irish looks like it will have a second life after the success of Derry Girls and rightfully so. If you are the sort of person who looks down their nose at drinking, smoking and swearing this isn't for you and simply doesn't have to be.
