Back in 2018, Pakistani-born, British actor and comedian, Mawaan Rizwan created a show for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which became the basis for this television series. I would be curious as to how Rizwan staged the show because this television program is very surreal with many flights of fancy and almost constant, very whimsical elements. This series premiered exclusively on BBC3 in 2023 with its first, six episodes. The second series premiered in 2025 with its final, six episodes. Rizwan won the BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance at the 70th British Academy Television Awards. He was nominated again at the 72nd BAFTA Awards, which he lost in May 2026. In the run up to those awards in April, all of the episodes were made available on World of Wonder's streaming service called WOW Presents Plus. It may have been made available on Tubi in the United States before then, but thanks to the promotion by World of Wonder, I was able to become aware of it and finally watch the whole series, which is probably the case for a lot of American audiences who might be interested. It's enjoyable for anyone, as the show is mostly about this one man's anxiety and insecurities when it comes to his job, his family and his dating life, something relatable to all.
Mawaan Rizwan stars as Jamal Jamshidi or "Jamma," a man in his late 20's who works in London at a marketing company. Yet, he doesn't feel appreciated or even seen at his job, particularly by his boss, a really Devil Wears Prada kind of boss. He's very competitive with others in his office who are also vying for promotions. Yet, Jamma also feels unappreciated and unseen among his family. He feels as though his mother who is a former actress and currently a theater director takes the spotlight often. He also feels as though his brother also gets the spotlight, even for doing nothing. It's a constant source of frustration for him, every time he visits his family.
Russell Tovey (American Horror Story and Looking) co-stars as Guy Harvey, the boyfriend of Jamma, a man in his early 40's, so he's significantly older than Jamma. He also works as a therapist. He's a very mature and very buttoned-up kind of person. It's not to say that he wasn't a bit wilder or looser when he was younger, but he's older now and at this point in his life, he's more stable and arguably more self-assured about things, although it's revealed in the second series that he has own insecurities when it comes to his family. Yet, mostly, Guy's confidence contrasts with Jamma who isn't self-assured. For example, when Guy tells Jamma that he loves him, Jamma freaks out. Guy seems genuinely like he does love Jamma for who he is but because Jamma has had so many experiences where he's felt under-appreciated that it almost seems strange or bizarre to him that Guy isn't also under-appreciating him. Jamma is basically insecure, and Jamma sees Guy as like cake, something that's sweet and frothy but not for long-term nutrition or commitment.
It's funny because throughout the show, Jamma notices that his parents are having marital problems. His father ends up leaving the home because of his insecurities and commitment issues. He doesn't express it in the same way, but Jamma is very much like his father. The parents' relationship might be a mirror for what Jamma and Guy are going through. Guy isn't like Jamma's mother, but it's probably not a coincidence that Guy and Jamma's mother get along better than Jamma and his mother do. Jamma's mother is an actress, a performer, and it's revealed that Guy is also a performer of sorts. He sings in a choir, so there are definitely parallels.
Nabhaan Rizwan (Kaos and Station Eleven) also co-stars as Isaac Jamshidi, the brother to Jamma. Nabhaan is also the real-life brother to Mawaan Rizwan. Isaac is rather aimless. He doesn't have a job and he's not really sure what he wants to do with his career. He's ostensibly an artist. He does paintings that he hopes to sell and use to up his profile. He's not exactly sure of his own voice. He tends to copy others. He particularly copies his brother, getting a job at the same marketing company. He's not invested in it. He's just drifting, and he'll attach himself to whatever is the closest thing. The prime example is his connection to Jamma's roommate, Winnie, played by Emily Lloyd-Saini, who has a very funny gag where she has to come out as straight because people believe she's a lesbian. This contrasts to Jamma's mother who is hinted at having a lesbian lover of her own.
Jamma's coping mechanism to all these things is his imagination. Almost in an Ally McBeal (1997) way, Jamma will have these daydreams or moments when he's in his own head living out moments in ways in which he controls the reality. Sometimes, they're like musical numbers in terms of how bold and colorful they are, and in which he's literally dancing. His movements at times feel very much choreographed. He's like a dancer in those regards. Of course, ridiculous things happen. At one point, he imagines his father is a talking mouse. In the second series, he imagines Guy's house as the setting of a multi-camera sitcom and things play out according to the format of such. The opening of the second series was that of a toy diorama, animated to show certain events. It reminded me of Julio Torres' Fantasmas (2024). It's a wild and crazy show that's thoroughly enjoyable.
There are special guest stars who I would have loved to have seen more. Marc Elliott (Holby City and EastEnders) plays the ex-boyfriend of Guy. He pops up in the first series. I wish he would have returned for the second. If one is familiar with British soap operas, one might remember Elliott's run as a closeted Muslim man, but he was so brilliant that having more of him would have been absolutely delightful. The same for Chuku Modu (The Good Doctor and Game of Thrones) who plays Lloyd, a man who initiates a threesome. Here, he's subverting the sexy threesome trope. He's certainly eye-candy but he proves quite funny as well.
Rated TV-MA.
Running Time: 30 mins. / 12 eps.
Available on WOW Presents Plus & Tubi.
