There's good news for fans of Outnumbered. The unconventional family sitcom - which uses some improvisation - will be returning for a second series on BBC One at the end of September. Meanwhile to get you back into the swing of things, there's a re-run of the first series on BBC Four.
The opener, which sees the eldest child gearing up for his scary first day at secondary school, builds neatly, strengthened by the fact that Hugh Dennis plays a teacher who's also having problems of his own as he begins his new term. To make matters worse, all of the children are giving their parents the run-around.
Written by Guy Jenkin and Andy Hamilton (who created Drop the Dead Donkey), the improvisational sections work surprisingly well, especially the off-the-cuff lines delivered by the kids. The lines are so good that at times Dennis and Skinner have to suppress their own wry smiles. In addition, Dennis is a gifted comedian who can also improvise, so it's a winning combination all-round.
The series became quite essential viewing last September, despite the BBC's bizarre idea of stripping it in two bunches of three consecutive episodes across a fortnight. This sort of show works much better with a more conventional regular weekly spot. Let's hope the BBC gets the scheduling right for the new series.
Meanwhile, if you missed the first series, here's a second chance to give it a go. Don't expect belly laughs, though. This is gentle, wry humour with a bit of a twist. At times it's quite superb.
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