Trust the Germans to have the perfect word for a very British social phenomenon – that of fremdschämen, or, in lay terms, the embarrassment you feel for someone who has embarrassed themselves. This second-hand cringe at another person’s faux pas is the kinder, gentler relation to another, more familiar German phrase, schadenfreude – joy at someone else’s pain. Think a Best Man’s speech falling flatter than yesterday’s bubbly, the uncool boss trying to be down with the younger staff, that chat-up line that wildly misses its mark… More importantly, fremdschämen is the mainstay of many a great British comedy series, whether that’s The Office, Twenty Twelve or W1A, where the awks moments pile up like car crashes on a motorway.
Award-winning writer and director John Morton, the comedic genius behind both Twenty Twelve and W1A in all their excruciating glory, is the driving force behind Ten Percent, out now on Prime Video – a gloriously British version of the cult French show Dix Pour Cent following the ups (and many downs) of a group of agents managing a host of real-life A-listers. Think a dramedy cross between The Office and The Devil Wears Prada, filmed and set in central London’s chic media heartlands of Soho and Fitzrovia.
