Marianne Faithfull

FM is a new sitcom, with the same kind of vibe as The IT Crowd - we're in the workplace, the stars are a woman and two blokes, one of whom is funny Irishman Chris O'Dowd. OK, so the "sit" is different. FM takes place at an indie radio station (it's FM as in frequency modulation). But the "com" is similar - puns and witticisms, misunderstandings, awkward situations. Old-school then, to be polite. Or lame, if you prefer.

The longest-running gag is that O'Dowd somehow gets himself a slot as a proper DJ in a club, even though he doesn't know how to do it - couldn't even mix a metaphor. So he cheats, gets a CD of mixes off a kid (a black character who wears a baseball cap back to front and says "bro" a lot, slightly embarrassingly), and just pretends to be playing vinyl and scratching and doing all that. Guess what, the CD gets stuck (as it was always going to), and he's made to look like an idiot. Do you get it?

There is the odd glimmer of hope. I woke up at one uncharacteristically shocking - and uncharacteristically funny - line. It's too rude to repeat here, but if you saw it you'll know the one I mean (yup, the one about mother-loving). And it has walk-on (kinda) celebrities - in this one, Justin Hawkins from the Darkness, the Guillemots, and Marianne Faithfull in the distance. Celebrities can be funny. We, the jury, will stay out for one more episode, then. But I'm not over-hopeful. It's a brave thing to set a sitcom in a radio station. The last one I can think of is Frasier. No pressure, then.

Sam Wollaston, The Guardian, 26th February 2009

British TV comedy is more and more influenced by the fast, gag-rich American model; no bad thing (it's great to have Frasier and Will & Grace in the mornings). FM is set in an indie radio station and features a DJ who's uncool, his spiky producer and a potty-mouthed sidekick who was once in a boyband and desperate to regain his glory.

The writers Ian Curtis and Oliver Lansley cleverly parlayed dirty and silly jokes while somehow convincing Guillemots and Marianne Faithfull to get involved. The producer thought her boyfriend was boring and was about to dump him when she discovered Faithfull was his mother. Too late: she got dumped. The comedy of losers is a British speciality: FM skilfully continues the tradition.

Tim Teeman, The Times, 26th February 2009

Any new sitcom pairing C4 wonderkid Kevin Bishop and Chris O'Dowd from The IT Crowd has got to be worth checking out. It's set in a small radio station where the pair host an indie show (produced by Nina Sosanya from Teachers).

And what rock 'n' roll credentials this has got! It was co-written by Ian Curtis! Although obviously, and very disappointingly, not the late Joy Division singer - who wasn't exactly known for his screwball humour while he was alive.

Each week FM will feature real bands and tonight's talking guest is The Darkness's Justin Hawkins with a live performance from The Guillemots and a cameo from Marianne Faithfull.

But it'll need to crank up the gag volume in coming weeks if it's going to be a hit.

Jane Simon, The Mirror, 25th February 2009