Lately, I’ve been watching the British comedy series Brassic, which takes place in a fictional town in Northern England. I would say “watching” is putting it mildly. “Binging” is the more appropriate term.
Brassic follows a tight-knit group of friends who are petty criminals. The main character, Vinnie, played by Joe Gilgun (This Is England) has bipolar. Dominic West, for any of you fans of The Wire out there, plays Vinnie’s psychologist. He’s obsessed with women’s knees.
Supporting characters include:
- Michelle Keegan as Erin
- Damien Molony as Dylan
- Ryan Sampson as Tommo
- Aaron Heffernan as Ashley
- Steve Evets as Jim
- Parth Thakerar as JJ
- Tom Hanson as Cardi
- Joanna Higson as Sugar
- Bronagh Gallagher as Carol
Everyone above is basically in every episode, so it’s quite the cast of characters and unique personalities floating around the show that play well off one another. Minor characters and antagonists include Tadhg Murphy as Gary Cullen the undertaker, Carl Rice as Erin’s good-for-nothing criminal brother Ronnie Croft, Ramon Tikaram as the dangerous Terence McCann, Neil Ashton as Davey MacDonagh, and Jude Riordan as Erin’s son Tyler.
Each night, my wife and I watch a new episode of Brassic. Sometimes, after she heads off to bed, I secretly watch another episode. I need more, damn it! The next day I rewatch the same episode with her, all the while pretending I’ve never seen it. The show’s that good, and one episode a night doesn’t always cut it for me.
Allison: I can’t believe that happened.
Me: Me neither… I swear.
We’re on Season 4, Episode 8 now. I got her hooked on Brassic by forcing her to watch Season 1, Episode 1 with me one afternoon about a month ago. Prior to this, we’d been watching the crime/detective series Bosch, followed by Bosch: Legacy. Once we wrapped that series, we tried a handful of other different crime shows. Most fell flat or were simply too serious in nature to continue down that route. It was time for a change of direction, plus:
I like laughing.
I need comedy in my life.
A balancing force, if you will.
In comes Brassic.
A show that reminds me in ways of hanging out with my friends when I was younger: self-deprecating as hell with dark humor mixed in.
Season 1, Episode 1 of Brassic involves Vinnie and his crew being tasked by Farmer Jim to steal a Shetland pony because Jim wants to win a local pony show. On the ride back to Jim’s, pony in tow inside the vehicle, Ashley and Cardi accidentally knock themselves unconscious when Cardi’s glass jar of chloroform (he’d brought to knock out the pony) breaks in the floorboard of their van when Cardi’s pigeon Nigel escapes out the window. They subsequently run the vehicle off the road.
That episode had me in tears. I haven’t laughed that hard in forever. So, it didn’t take much convincing my wife after she saw it herself. She was raised on British humor through her Aunt Margy.
But me? Nada. Very limited knowledge in my noggin. I’m well aware of my own ignorance on the subject. To be fair, I don’t know anything about French humor either.
Before watching Brassic, I knew very little about British humor, except for Death at a Funeral, The Outlaws, and Mr. Bean.
I don’t know much about British humor. No expanded vocabulary of knowledge as to what’s good and not. I told Allison I need to email my blogging pal Mike Grindle and gather his thoughts on the subject:
- What’s a good TV show?
- How about movies?
- Who are the writers and directors worth looking into?
Mike lives over there, whereas I’m one of those Americans who struggles with understanding the difference between England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. So what’s the likelihood I’ll understand the regional nuances of their humor? To be fair, I do understand the differences between England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom once I look it up. It makes sense. Problem is, within a few hours, I’ve already forgotten what I learned, so I’m back at square one.
My limited knowledge and ignorance extends far beyond the correct geographic or political usage and well into British humor.
My limited knowledge of British humor is as follows. I find the original Death at a Funeral movie hilarious. The American version isn’t bad, but it doesn’t quite hit the same notes. Two years ago, my wife Allison and I watched The Outlaws, a comedy/crime television show available on Prime. Apparently, there are multiple TV shows and movies called The Outlaws.
The one I’m referencing stars the 6’7″ string bean Stephen Merchant, co-writer and co-director of The Office, which, I’m not sure how many Americans know this, but The Office began as a British mockumentary in 2001 before traveling across the Atlantic to the U.S. in 2005 with Steve Carell.
Growing up, I watched Mr. Bean. What channel was that on: PBS? I feel like it was PBS. My sister had a Mr. Bean poster in her room. As an aside, I can do a pretty mean Mr. Bean voice impersonation.
But Mr. Bean doesn’t talk you say.
Untrue.
He does say a few words like “hello” and “Teddy.”
And I can freaking nail it.
Besides this, and I’m sure there are a few other movies I’m forgetting, that’s about the extent of my knowledge of British humor. Not exactly an Encyclopedia Brittanica.
Brassic isn’t for everyone, but if you’re into self-deprecating, often absurdist humor, you may find your new favorite TV show/series.
I tend to be leery of recommending books, music, movies, and television shows to undefined swaths of people. What I like may be vastly different than what you like. Everyone has their own taste.
For example, when it comes to stand-up comedians, Bill Burr is king for me.
So, is the television show/series Brassic a good fit for you? I don’t know. You’ll have to watch an episode or two to find out. But I can’t say I’d recommend my mom watch Brassic. Some episodes, yeah. But she may find other episodes repulsive and raunchy.
Granted, she watched Eddie Murphy movies in the 1980s and 90s like the rest of us in our house, so who’s to say?
I mean, there’s no way in hell I could sit in the same room with my own mom and watch Brassic and it not be awkward. It can get a wee bit vulgar at times. My wife, yeah. My mom? Pass.
To be honest with you, I had no idea the Brits (am I using that correctly?) pushed the envelope like that.
With all that said, my mom watched The Beekeeper with my Aunt Rhita recently, so again, who knows? Maybe the two of them will start binging Brassic, too. Maybe they already do.
Which streaming services in the United States carry Brassic?
Depending on which streaming service you have, you should be able to find the show. I have one streaming service, Amazon Prime, and every season is available (with a caveat for Season 5). Netflix I believe has it, too. So does Hulu (I think). I know Peacock has Season 5 but unsure if they have all the seasons or not.
Prime is weird in that Seasons 1-4 are free, Season 5 is available but only if you do a free trial of Peacock, and Season 6 is free. Season 7 is the final season and not yet available on Prime. Coming soon? I hope.
Anyway, there you go.
An American with limited knowledge of British television shows and what defines their humor who loves Brassic perhaps more than any comedy show I’ve ever watched in my entire life.
Ever seen it?