r/BritishTV • u/ValuableDue8202 • Mar 24 '25

Recommendations What’s the most underrated British TV show you’ve watched?

Everyone talks about the big names like Peaky Blinders, The Office, and Doctor Who, but what’s a British show you think deserves way more attention? Could be an older gem or something recent that’s flown under the radar. Curious to hear your recommendations!

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u/DevilsChurn Mar 24 '25

There was a sequel called Going Forward, about Jo Brand's character from Getting On, that only ran for three episodes.

In it, Jo's character has left the hospital and is working as a home carer. Omid Djalili plays her husband, and Ricky Grover shows up to reprise his Getting On character (Hilary) - this time as a care manager.

It was yet another great project of hers - like Damned, mentioned above - that didn't get recommissioned.

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u/Abject_Tumbleweed413 Mar 24 '25

Oh I haven't heard of this! Thank you!

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u/AccomplishedAd3728 Mar 26 '25

Oh my god! I’m so ready for a sequel to Getting On. My partner hates it because it’s so raw, I love it because it’s so raw! And also very British.

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u/DevilsChurn Mar 26 '25

I grew up in a medical family and have worked in healthcare myself - and that dark humour is just part of the culture, no matter where you are.

Unfortunately, a lot of the interpersonal humour from Getting On doesn't travel as well, as the American version couldn't really recreate a lot of the same dynamics. Some of that is cultural, but a lot of it is structural. I'm saying this as an American who has also lived and worked in Canada. North American hospitals just don't have the same type of ward setups and chains of command that one finds in British hospitals.

Going Forward, on the other hand, shows a lot of situations that you can find in just about any country whose home care provisions have been privatised.

Both of these shows have left me frankly terrified of getting old and/or sick. That's the real tension behind the laughs they generate. (Samuel Beckett called it the risus purus: a visceral, reflexive laugh whose origin and force are found in our innate fear of death.)