My Review of Big Boys - Series 3 (2025)

 

Written by Jack Rooke

Directed by Jim Archer

Danny (to Jack): "Everything's coming to an end."

It does seem to be a thing with a lot of UK comedies, that there's a sense of knowing where to end a show. Three series does seem to be that magic number and it's a perfect place to end this particular show.

In the first two series we had the friendship between gay guy Jack (Dylan Llewellyn) and his straight best mate, Danny (Jon Pointing) as the two of them navigated university life, coming out, mental health issues, family and relationships. Their friendship undoubtedly has been the very glue to this show.

For the last series, both Jack and Danny have slightly drifted apart with their lives pulling them in different directions. For Jack, that's included a brief pretentious poetry phase, hooks up ahoy, including with Yemi (Olisa Odele) and his Big D dissertation that made up some of the series. There's also meeting a certain idol of his and getting an answer to a question that's bothered him since the first series.

For Danny, he's had a relationship with Corinne (Izuka Hoyle) that devolved, a dissertation on the death of the lads magazine as well as the deaths of two family members and near downward spiral until Jules (Katy Wix) stepped in at the very minute. All series long, I did think the show was going to kill Danny off and the finale certainly led into that as well. When the show didn't, I was genuinely relieved. 

Now what about everyone else? Well, thanks to Shannon (Harriet Webb), the first episode took everyone to Greece and then back there for the last episode. Shannon also had two kids, got engaged to the rather nice Tariq (Shane Zaza) as well as a terrible reunion with her horrible mother but came out of the show in a much better place than before.

With Peggy (Camille Coduri) and Nanny Bingo (Annette Badland), they've had slightly less to do but their screen time certainly didn't feel wasted. Nanny in particular had some genuinely brilliant moments, including a nice reveal about a past love that sadly we didn't get to see. I do wish we had also seen more of Yemi as he was written out halfway in this final series.

- Episode titles were My Big Fat Gay Greek Holiday, Happy Anniversary You Silly Billy!, Thin Lips, Fat Lines & a Poem on Princess Di, Eurovision, Brexit & Shloer, Goodbye U-N-I and The Sea.

- Jack Rooke gave himself a proper acting role in the first scene of the last episode and it's a lovely moment between him and Jon Pointing.

- Jack's idol, the much mentioned Alison Hammond popped up in the final episode and I howled when Jack, Danny and Corinne were watching that moment from Celebrity Big Brother.

- I knew Tim (Robert Gilbert) was gay and the penultimate episode confirmed he was on Grindr. Jules can also speak Mandarin.

- Corinne had a story about her Scottish Independence dissertation and we met her family in the last episode. Her younger brother's named Brilliant.

- Chronology: September 2015 to September 2016 for this final series. Danny had taken over from Jules at the university.

This final series of Big Boys came and went too quickly for my liking (it was burned off in double bills like the first series) but what an incredible bunch of episodes. This show just snuck up on all of us and ended up being one of the best sitcoms of 2020s. Whatever Jack Rooke does next, I'll certainly watch it.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Big Boys - Series 2 (2024)

After the surprise success of the first series of this charming show, Channel 4 finally premiered the second series and now I'm reviewing it.

Written by Jack Rooke

Directed by Jim Archer

Jack: "I keep fancying straight guys."

Danny: "Yeah, that's going to be a problem."

If you watch the first series, you know who the main players are. You've got Jack (Dylan Llewellyn), his straight best mate Danny (Jon Pointing) and fellow students Corinne (Izuka Hoyle) and Yemi (Olisa Odele). It's their second year at university and once again, they're trying to find themselves as best they can.

It's a good depiction of that struggle as the foursome tackle mental health issues, new partners, an unexpected pregnancy which lead to an abortion as well as an episode dedicated to work experience. While Jack put his mouth in it at a radio station, you had both Danny and Corinne somewhat in their element while working for a lads magazine. As for Yemi, there was a brief look into his work as a cam guy, which naturally also connected to Jack in a way.

Specifically it connected to the character of Oscar (Jake Dunn). He's the closest to a love interest that Jack got this series but Oscar was also a big fan of Yemi's and hooked up with him too. Jack almost copped off with Oscar for real in the penultimate episode this series, only for another major storyline to impede said hook up going ahead. Oscar's quite the cutie but we don't see enough of him to get invested.

Jack's love life really didn't progress that much this series. We didn't get a lot with him and Oscar and there was an episode where he was a bit too obsessed with knowing what his abrasive tutor Tim's (Robert Gilbert) sexuality was that even Danny had to call him out on it. As for Danny and Corinne, the show kept hinting at an endgame for them but we didn't quite get it, in spite of some genuinely great moments with both characters throughout this series.

One thing that also stood out this series was a larger focus on Jack's cousin, Shannon (Harriet Webb). At times, the focus was a bit more than expected as Shannon fell pregnant by nice delivery guy Tariq (Shane Zaza) and ended up giving birth in the last episode. As for the name she gave the baby - Nanny Bingo (Annette Badland) wasn't wrong about the child getting bullied. The last episode alone had some great flashbacks to the last few days of Jack's father, Laurie (Ian Burfield), especially for the scenes with Shannon and Nanny showing their softer sides.

Speaking of softer sides, I absolutely loved the various scenes that Peggy (Camille Coduri) had with both Jack and Danny this series and I thought her burgeoning romance with Russell (James Doherty) was rather sweet. Peggy definitely proved to be a better parent to Danny than the latter's father, Dennis (Marc Warren), who really was awful and wanted to take poor Iris's (Sheila Reid) flat during Danny's birthday. There's a great line about choosing family that really packed a punch when it came to the finale.

- Episode titles were The Boys Are Back In Town, Strictly Cum Dumping, Tennis Table Tennis, Surprise Surprise, All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Gay and The Night When.

- Jack Rooke appeared in the very last scene of the series, giving this a very final feel.

- I did laugh at that glory hole gag Jack had to endure in the first episode.

- We got a Derry Girls reunion as Louisa Harland popped up as a midwife in the last episode.

- All4 released the series in December but Channel 4 waited to air it during Sundays from January.

- Chronology: A few months after the first series before heading to May 2015.

Series 2 of Big Boys felt like it could've been a good place to have the series end, given that final scene but at the same time, it kind of left me wanting one more series. There was a lot to enjoy with the series and yet again, the male friendships are some of the best depicted on telly. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Big Boys - Series 1 (2022)

It's Pride Month and there will be some LGBT themed posts on this blog this month and to get the ball rolling, here's your first one.

Written by Jack Rooke

Directed by Jim Archer

Jack: "Hi, I'm Jack. This was me in 2013. A closed mummy's boy with newly dead dad and a crap perm.When I got into uni, it was a big deal."

When it comes to LGBT content, Channel 4's history has been somewhat better than most. This as been a channel responsible for shows such as Queer As Folk, Sugar Rush, Cucumber and as recent as last year, It's A Sin. Now the channel can proudly add this sweet natured comedy into the mix as well.

Created by writer Jack Rooke and based off his book, Good Grief, Happy Hour, Love Letters, this delightful six part series focused on a somewhat fictionalised version of the author, also named Jack (Dylan Llewellyn). In this series, Jack has lost his father, Laurie (Ian Burfield) and has been a support for his mother, Peggy (Camille Coduri) but the time has come for him to embark on a journalism degree at Brent University and it's there where he finds himself not only coming to terms with his own sexuality but also meeting a set of friends that change him for the better.

The people in question including the rather laddish Danny (Jon Pointing), feminist Corinne (Izuka Hoyle) as well as LGBT activist, Yemi (Olisa Odele). While Jack has a great bond with both Corinne and Yemi throughout the series, it's his friendship with Danny that's essentially the lynchpin of the entire series. It's a beautifully handed friendship from start to finish with the show's unabashed depiction of Danny's mental health and less idyllic family background, along with failing grades. Both Jack and Danny bring out the absolute best in one another with Llewellyn and Pointing playing off each other brilliantly. 

Of course with this series also focusing on Jack's embracing the fact that he's a gay man, there's some brilliant scenes as he navigated into the gay world around him. Yemi served as a mentor along with Danny as a wingman of sorts but it's Jack's discovery of himself that led to some truly priceless moments. These included accidentally swallowing poppers, getting ashes on a hook up as well as fantasising about his hunky tutor Tim (Robert Gilbert) in his briefs to name a few.

As for the family side, there's the new family that Jack made with his new friends and there's also the one he's grown up with. Camille Coduri won over so many people as Jackie Tyler during her time on Doctor Who and she's wonderful to watch here as Peggy. The bond between her and Jack was lovely to watch as well as the way she not only accepted his sexuality but her kindness towards Danny. She's such a lovable character to watch.

Speaking of relatives, while we also met Jack's cousin, Sharon (Harriet Webb) and Nanny Bingo (Annette Badland), there was also time spent in showing audiences Danny's relationship with his grandmother, Iris (Sheila Reid). Danny's closeness to his grandmother and his despair as she no longer was able to look after herself was another poignant moment in this series and while we didn't really learn too much about Yemi, we got some context on Corinne's past with her brother, which also informed her relationship with Danny as well.

- Series creator, Jack Rooke also narrated the series. 

- The episode titles for this show were Hello You, I Wanna Take You To A Gay Bar, Merry Sexmas, Dad I Did Drugs, What A Bummer and The Letter.

- Did Tim know that Jack fancied him? He did give the impression that he did in some scenes. The character was a bit of a jerk but I did like that he tried to get Danny to appeal to remain in the university after the latter failed first year.

- Katy Wix was also rather fun to watch as campus guide, Jules, though comparing herself to Obama was a bit of a no no.

- Channel 4 did burn this series off in three double bills in a Thursday 10pm slot. They should push this series like they did with Derry Girls if it gets a second series.

- Chronology: The series took place between 2011 to 2014.

Big Boys turned out to be an absolute belter of a series. Genuinely funny, genuinely touching, smartly written and laced with brilliant references, this show was immensely enjoyable from start to finish. Dylan Llewellyn and Jon Pointing are fantastic to watch as Jack and Danny. I feel some might have slept on the show due to it's later timeslot, but I really do hope Channel 4 gives it a second series. If you haven't seen it, go watch it now.

Rating: 9 out of 10