Stefan Golaszewski

TV review, Mum, episode 2, BBC2

If you haven't seen Mum catch the two episodes so far on iPlayer and make an appointment to view from this Friday. Don't say I didn't tip you off.

It's February, and Cathy's first Valentine's Day since the death of her husband. Not wanting her to be alone, her brother Derek arrives, much to the chagrin of his partner, the spiteful tact-vacuum Pauline, who obviously had something a bit more spiffy in mind and makes sure everyone knows it. Lovelorn Michael also pitches up for the same reason, and finds Cathy in possession of a mystery Valentine's card. It's subtly brilliant work from writer Stefan Golaszewski.

Mum had no laughter track, but that wasn't the singular difference about this remarkable comedy [compared to Upstart Crow]. The fact that the glorious Lesley Manville hasn't played more comedy was the thing. An utter natural, she's so far been constrained by having to win seemingly endless awards in bittersweet Mike Leigh films, as if there's any other kind, but is now apparently freed up to slum it. Slum on, say I.

It's Butterflies for yet another generation, and as delightful. Again, a subtle mother - in this case a sudden widow- is the sane fulcrum around which certain fine madnesses, ranging from the silly to the grotesque to the heartbroken, revolve and tilt. It's a rather brave piece of engineering by BBC2 schedulers, gambling that the Friday night 10pm slot might attract an audience of wise young drunks, as well it might.

Manville is perfectly complemented by Peter Mullan, playing against type as seldom before - awkward, stuttery, shrinking, though I'd still never want to bat away his accent in a dark alley, and I'm bloody Scottish. Elsewhere, it's a dead heat for acting honours between Lisa McGrillis, as the son's exuberantly gauche girlfriend, and Dorothy Atkinson as the haughty sister-in-law, ("So what stopped you getting a pond in the end? Did you just realise it was...tacky?"). Two absolute stock comedy stereotypes, but seldom done better, and writer Stefan Golaszewski (Him & Her) somehow raises everything to a sharper level.

Mum is a new observational piece from Stefan Golaszewski who previously created fantastic Him and Her. The mum of the title is Cathy (Lesley Manville), a recently widowed fifty-nine year old who we follow over a year of her life. The opening episode takes place on the day of her husband's funeral in January and sees her meet her son's rather ditzy girlfriend Kelly (Lisa McGrillis) whose airhead nature is exposed early on when she decides to wear red to the funeral. As the episode goes on we meet the other colourful characters in Cathy's life including her good-natured brother Derek (Ross Boatman), his highly-strung girlfriend Pauline (Dorothy Atkinson) and her late husband's parents (Karl Johnson and Marlene Sidaway). The most intriguing character of the piece though is Michael (Peter Mullan), an old family friend who is quite clearly holding a torch for Cathy. Michael is painted as Cathy's only confidant in a houseful of oddities and their sweet-natured conversations are a good contrast for the laugh-out-loud moments found elsewhere in Mum. Anyone who enjoyed Him and Her will know how good an ear Golaszweski has for natural dialogue and if anything the conversations in Mum feel more organic than those in the creator's previous series. I think everyone will find something in this first episode in Mum that they identify with especially when the characters talk about what the post-funeral buffet will involve. Mum brilliantly combines its humour with moments of pathos such as the latter part of the episode when Cathy finally lets her grief get the best of her. By this point in the episode Cathy has already been painted as a sympathetic character by Golaszewski and the fact that we care about as much as we do is also a testament to the performance put in by Lesley Manville. Manville totally captures Cathy's feelings on the day of the funeral and is brilliant at reacting to the various characters that have come to her house. However it's the aforementioned breakdown that sees Manville at her best and I'm hoping that next year sees her win the BAFTA she lost out on this year. Great support is provided by Lisa McGrillis as Kelly and Dorothy Atkinson as Pauline the latter of whom utilises a number of great pompous facial expressions. But of the cast I was most impressed by Peter Mullan who is a revelation giving a rather subdued performance as the kindly Michael. Watching Mullan and Manville together on screen is a particular treat and their scenes together are some of Mum's best and that only continues as the series gets going. Mum is one of those series that I just can recommend enough and I urge people go and seek it out as it is really that good.

Mum review - Lesley Manville puts the fun in funeral

A new sitcom from the Him & Her creator shares the same warmth and subtle characterisation - though it starts, incongruously, with a burial.

Mum review

The tone is gentle, observational, the pace glacially lifelike. Stefan Golaszewski, who also writes plays, won a BAFTA for his previous television comedy Him & Her. Mum is more unassuming.

Preview: Mum, BBC2

One of BBC3's epic fails was axing the relationship sitcom Him & Her. Now at least BBC2 has gone some way towards making amends by commissioning writer Stefan Golaszewski to pen a new comedy, Mum. It's in the same chatty, conversational vein but much more mature. Imagine Him & Her 30 years on with 'Him' dead and this could be the result.

Siblings episode 1 review

The light tone and broad humour put this more in tune with long running cult US sitcom It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia than the bedsit grime of Stefan Golaszewski's Him & Her.

So, a fond and final farewell to Becky and Steve, Laura and Paul, Shelly and Dan, the trio of very different couples at the heart of Stefan Golaszewski's sharply comic take on modern romance. The honeymoon night is looming but before that there are grudges to be satisfied, wild oats to be sown and secrets to be spilled. Will anyone get out of that wedding reception with the sniff of a happy ending? Keep your hankies handy.

Much of this final run of Him & Her has been almost unwatchably excruciating. But tonight, with the wedding disco providing the banal backdrop, we get to the heart of the matter.

The wedding has essentially been a smokescreen. This series has really been about Steve and Becky being dragged out of their natural bedsit habitat and into the realm of other, less well-adjusted people. And, whether it's Dan and his peculiar sleepwalk through life, Paul and his anguished confusion or Laura and her bottomless well of outwardly projected self-loathing, all of these people test them to breaking point. Accordingly, this finale is animated by a horrible tension: it couldn't go wrong for the real happy couple, could it?

Well, we've been safe in writer Stefan Golaszewski's hands so far. So we can trust him to fashion something with heart, humour and the ring of truth here. An undersung comedy gem concludes; we hope we haven't seen the last of these two.