Josh is a British sitcom television series about three young adults who share a flat near Holloway Road in north London.[1] The series was created by and starred comedian and namesake Josh Widdicombe. A pilot episode aired in 2014 as part of the BBC "Comedy Feeds", and a full six-episode series aired from 11 November to 16 December 2015 on BBC Three.[2] A second series of Josh was released from 22 September 2016 on Three's then online-only channel.[3] The day that the final episode of series two aired on BBC One, the BBC announced it had commissioned a third series, which was released on 2 October 2017.[4]
Characters
- Josh Widdicombe as Josh, a struggling stand-up comedian who gets stuck with bad luck
- Elis James as Owen, a Welsh lothario who works in a cafe
- Beattie Edmondson as Kate, a neurotic slacker
- Jack Dee as Geoff, the eccentric landlord to the three protagonists
- Jennifer Saunders as Judith, Kate's mother (also Edmondson's real-life mother)[5]
Critical reception
In their review of Josh, The Independent commented that there was "nothing original or remarkable about the set-up – or much of the script – but there's promising chemistry between its stars." They said that the main actors were far too old to be convincing 20-something university pals. However, they singled out Edmondson as "very watchable", saying her "comic timing stuck out".[6]
The Arts Desk was scathing about the series, saying "It's horribly bland and it's difficult to see how Josh can avoid suffering the ignominy of lasting only one series".[5]
The Guardian thought there was "a nice chemistry" between the three main characters and the series was funny "in a nice, cosy, safe, familial, familiar kind of way".[7]
Chortle said "the comedy, which returns to BBC Three tomorrow despite a tepid critical response last year, is technically competent and adheres to all the rules of the genre: the scenes are tight and each line works towards a gag. But it’s also bland, lacking a strong personality or deeper purpose other than to deliver contrived lines. Nothing much has changed since the first series."
DVD releases
A DVD set containing the episodes of the first series was released on 5 September 2016.[8] A second series DVD set was made available on 31 October 2016.[9] A third series DVD set was made available on 13 November 2017.[10]
References
- ^ s2 e5
- ^ "Josh". BBC Three. BBC. December 2015.
- ^ "Josh". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^ "BBC Three sitcom Josh commissioned for a third series". Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ a b Leel, Veronica (12 November 2015). "Josh, BBC Three". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ Newall, Sally (11 November 2015). "Josh, TV review: Beattie Edmondson's comic timing stuck out". The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 June 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ Wollaston, Sam (19 November 2015). "Toast of London review: not as well done as it was, but Toast is still delicious". theguardian.com. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ^ "Josh - Series 1 DVD". Amazon. 5 September 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ "Josh - Series 2 DVD". Amazon. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ "Josh - Series 3 DVD". Amazon. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
External links
- Pilot Episode (2014) at BBC Comedy Feeds
- Josh at BBC Online
- Josh at British Comedy Guide
- Josh at IMDb
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