Religions famously enjoy being made fun of. That’s why [very extended paragraph deleted on legal recommendation]! Don’t we? We all do that. But I am having a lot of fun with Everyone Else Burns, the new Channel 4 comedy (Monday, 10pm) that centres on a hyper-religious family in Greater Manchester. There’s a lot to like here – the Sex Education-style 70s-tinged aesthetic, the gloopy storytelling where episodes shrug into one another, a supporting cast of absolute British comedy bangers – but the main thing is: it remembers to be funny. Again and again. And – and I hope you’re ready for a rare balancing act – never punches down at religion. And lo, there was a miracle.
Let’s start with Simon Bird, the family’s bowl-cutted patriarch. As Will in The Inbetweeners and Adam in Friday Night Dinner he was excellent but essentially played the same character, which is “Person who says: ‘What on Earth are you doing?’ whenever someone else does something odd”. Now, he’s the freak: as David, he gets his family up for punishing 2am apocalyptic fire drills, is hated by the church he loves and doesn’t understand why his wife and daughter are drifting away from him. It’s been a while – I’d probably put it around Mark from Peep Show – but one of comedy’s great characters is “Man who is ruining his life by his dedication to diligently following the rules”, and Bird’s David fits neatly into that fine tradition.
