Sharon Horgan

The performances in Psychobitches are funnier than the one-track script in the latest addition to the Playhouse strand. Directed by Jeremy Dyson (The League of Gentlemen), the comedy sees a succession of famous women apparently revealing their true selves in front of a questioning psychiatrist (Rebecca Front, above). Cue an aggressive Mother Teresa (Sheila Reid), a lovestruck Eva Braun (Catherine Tate), a sex-obsessed Jane Austen (Sharon Horgan) and a deluded Joan of Arc (Katy Brand).

Sharon Horgan returns to the always slightly dodgy world of the BBC Three sitcom with this new series about a woman wrongly sent to prison for murdering her boss.

In Dead Boss, innocent convict Helen Stephens is trying her best to overturn her conviction, which is not easy, as seemingly everyone around her is keen on her staying banged up. Her unhinged, arsonist cellmate Christine (Bryony Hannah) doesn't want her new friend to leave her; Governor Margaret (Jennifer Saunders) can't be bothered with the paperwork; the prison's reclusive "boss" Top Dog (Lizzie Roper) once was Stephens' bullied substitute teacher whose taunts leader her to murder her own husband; and former co-worker Henry (Edward Hogg) may seem keen on getting Stephens out, but he is a obsessive stalker who wants her to relay only on him.

The show began with a double-bill, which seemed like a good move, given that the second was clearly the stronger of the two. Both had their moments, but the first seemed to be concerned with setting up the situation more than the actual comedy - which is to be expected, really. The second episode, in which the prison runs a quiz where the top prize was five years off winner's sentence, had the better plot and, on the whole, was lots of fun.

I know some critics have been likened it, unfavourably, to Porridge, which was inevitable I suppose. However, both shows have major differences in terms of content, casting, and studio audiences (Porridge had one). It might even be better to think of Dead Boss as a comedy drama rather than a straight sitcom. Oh, and stop comparing the two.

Then again everyone else will probably be saying the same thing: "Why did they cancel Pulling?"

I realise BBC3 comedies are not aimed at the more considered grown-up, but nothing will stop me from saying: "Dead Boss? Dead loss, more like." This was a prison sitcom, with one normal person (Sharon Horgan as a woman wrongly convicted of murder) surrounded by pantomime fools. The stars of Porridge will be turning in their graves. Admittedly, Jennifer Saunders was good value as the governor and there was the odd decent line (a misunderstanding involving "cellmate" and "soulmate" made me laugh), but the overall effect was flatter than a long stretch in Norfolk. It had one of those ill-advised plinky "light" jazz scores (think Dirk Gently) designed to accentuate the absence of laughter. By the end of the second episode, I was rattling the bars myself.

The premise of new BBC3 murder-mystery sitcom Dead Boss, co-written by and starring Sharon Horgan, is that Helen Stephens (Horgan) has been wrongly convicted of murdering her employer, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Further conspiring against her are a useless solicitor, her venal sister, a sinister prison governor (Jennifer Saunders, left) and a script that displayed recidivist tendencies to criminal one-liners. Perhaps the series will settle, and the actors take a cue from Bryony Hannah's quirky turn as Helen's pyromaniac cellmate.

Sharon Horgan - The queen of darkness

Forget cosy Miranda, Sharon Horgan is the funniest woman on TV for viewers who prefer their comedy with a murky twist. With two new shows on air, she tells Gerard Gilbert this is a golden age for female-led sitcoms. Here, we introduce five of the best.

The funniest new show of the week, possibly the year, was BBC3's prison-based comedy Dead Boss starring Sharon Horgan.

It's easily the most amusing thing I've seen behind bars since Jeffrey Archer. It has a sharp script, a great cast and some beautifully worked set pieces. Plus, for those who care about the finer details, Emma Pierson from Hotel Babylon guest stars in it wearing one of those dresses she likes to wear.

I'll reserve judgement on Dead Boss, Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh's comedy about a woman wrongly convicted of murder. First episodes are often awkward affairs, and this one didn't break the rule. But I liked the dodgy solicitor who offered a "no win, some fee" service and there was a nice moment when Horgan's character found her cocky insults about a prison tough and her cronies being repeated to them by a guilelessly supportive cell-mate. "I have been completely taken out of context," she stammers, raising the question of exactly what context would take the sting out of "mentally stunted trolls". Give it time.

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Dead Boss creators 'begged' Jennifer Saunders for role

Dead Boss creators Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh have admitted that they became "obsessed" with Jennifer Saunders after she agreed to appear in their new BBC Three comedy.

It's always a pleasure to see new work from Sharon Horgan. And, while this sitcom is no Pulling (which we may never forgive BBC3 for canning), Dead Boss contains plenty of Horgan's customarily waspish wit. Helen Stephens (Horgan) has been sent to prison for the murder of her boss - a crime she didn't commit. However, everything - from her selfish sister to her inept lawyer - seems to be conspiring to keep her behind bars. In certain hands, this scenario might be vaguely Kafka-esque; in Horgan's, it's gleefully silly as Helen reluctantly bonds with her needy, arsonist cellmate, gets assaulted with pumice stone after offending 'Mrs Big' and is sleazed over by the (male) screws. Not essential yet, but pretty good fun all the same.