G’wed; Best Medicine; Every Year After

“If Adolescence made you fear for the future of the nation, then G’wed’s multi-faceted, multi-cultural gang suggests not all hope is lost. Sure, they’re still susceptible to the follies of youth, whether playing immature pranks, tormenting their teachers or staging out-of-control parties (“Scousechella”). Yet there’s little sign of toxic masculinity or radical indoctrination among a crowd that accepts an openly gay boy, a lapsed Muslim and two girls every bit as foul-mouthed and fearless as the boys they routinely put in their place. Despite the awards attention, strong viewing figures (it’s second only to Alan Carr’s Changing Ends as ITVX’s most watched comedy) and even a seal of approval from Russell T Davies, G’wed still feels something of an undiscovered gem. It might have left the unadulterated lad culture of The Inbetweeners behind, but the trials and tribulations of the Liverpudlian gang are just as relatable – and perhaps even more importantly, just as funny – as those of the clunge-obsessed “fwends”.”
Jon O’Brien, The i

“Best Medicine is softer than Doc Martin. Best, for example, is given a backstory to explain away his abrasiveness where the original was let stand, and there is more hugging and learning than any Briton would tolerate. But it does exactly what it sets out to do – soothe viewers’ souls with a celebration of smalltown values, of the secret goodness hidden behind even the prickliest of men and the promise that nothing for the next 42 minutes plus ads will distress us. It’s perfect rubbish and we need it very much.”
Lucy Mangan, The Guardian

“I get that an old git like me isn’t the target audience, and it will probably be a hit (hence the rather generous three stars), but this is telly by numbers. Even more ominously, I read that the showrunner Amy B Harris is talking darkly of “a five-season roadmap” for this saga. Five! One was quite enough for me. Who’s up for jumping in the lake?”
Ben Dowell, The Times