Liam Williams

Back for a second six-part series, Ladhood (BBC One) is a wry comedy, that started out on Radio 4, from Edinburgh comedy award-winning Liam Williams. In it, he ponders, usually standing in the actual scene, the preposterous antics of his teenage self, swaggering and sulking with his mates around Garforth, Leeds. The older Liam (Williams himself) appears to be trying to ascertain where young Liam (Oscar Kennedy) stops and adult Liam begins.

In the opening episode (all are available to stream), adult Liam has been (rightly) dumped by his girlfriend and messes up a date, which is prime Ladhood territory. It's a little like The Inbetweeners, in terms of youthful friendships, but with no "posh" characters, a period-vibe (hello again, Myspace) and a throbbing vein of male rage: Liam has anger issues, and a reputation for kicking bins. At times, Ladhood is funny (the Young Liam sections especially have a strong surrounding cast), with deft observations on such matters as sex, driving tests and trying to befriend "the indie lot". I still can't work out whether Williams pities or envies his younger self, but perhaps that's the whole point.

Ladhood review

It all reeks of adolescent hormones and acrid aftershave, and makes for fairly unpleasant viewing.

Liam Williams: regions push must be authentic

Liam Williams warns commissioners against proscribing stereotypical ideas. The broadcaster's push for greater out-of-London representation must happen "organically and authentically", according to the creator and star of Yorkshire-based BBC Three comedy Ladhood.

Ladhood review

The stultifying reality of a suburban adolescence is evoked in this Leeds-based comedy to brilliantly cruel effect.

Ladhood Series 2 review

The comic's painfully funny, semi-autobiographial sitcom returns for a second series, balancing crass banter with intelligent insights into emotional inadequacy.

Pls Like is a gleeful swipe against an admittedly soft target, easy as hitting a cow's arse with a banjo: "social media influencers". Liam Williams's third series of short spoofs is, nevertheless, sometimes tea-spittingly funny, but maybe that's just me. The shtick is that he's trying to set himself up as a contemporary vlogger, despite being an ageing person with a beard. And this allows him to take the rip out of achingly hip nonsense fads, in such areas as food, drink, "lifestyle" and ethics.

The humour is a little hit-and-miss, but the deadpan acting inspired from all involved. I particularly like the flashed snippets of graphic, whizzy faux-information ("Fact: social influencers with more than 50,000 followers are officially exempt from coronavirus restrictions"). And Williams redeems himself in the end, by admitting to quite liking younger people, after all only doing their best in their own, if very singular, contexts.

Review: Why you should be catching up with Pls Like

Written by and starring comedian Liam Williams, BBC Three's underrated, brilliantly observed mockumentary Pls Like is now on its third series of lampooning the sort of online culture that's baffling to anyone older than Gen Z.

TV review: Pls Like Series 3 Episode 1

This first episode from series 3 is a return to form though and the show at its funniest, possibly because they've changed the character of Liam back to how he was in the first batch of episodes.