Tom Rosenthal (I)

We're now more than halfway through the second series of the ancient Rome-set sitcom, which follows the surprisingly still relevant sex and city-based trials and tribulations of Marcus (Tom Rosenthal) and Stylax (Joel Fry). Written by Sam Leifer and Tom Basden - with the latter's sporadic appearances as taunted office water-carrier Aurelius a definite highlight - the show boasts an impressive supporting cast, with this series' cameos including Rosenthal's sport commentator dad Jim and Basden's sometime comedy partner Tim Key.

Radio Times review

The toga-clad comedy about three idiotic and hormonal lads in ancient Rome continues with Stylax (Joel Fry) finding a male admirer in the public latrine - and Grumio (Ryan Sampson) getting very sick after fishing out an apple from the same cesspit and eating it. Will Marcus (Tom Rosenthal) pay for a doctor to cure him - or will he pray to the goddess Hygea with the sexy Cynthia? Like it isn't obvious.

A shamelessly rude and puerile TV date that will once again divide viewers between the haters and those like me who have acquired the taste.

Radio Times review

A clutch of idiotic, skint blokes who constantly fail to attract the opposite sex as they bumble through life is a sitcom staple. But setting them in ancient Rome is the well-worked twist for this bright, engaging and frequently quick-witted comedy that won best new comedy at the British Comedy Awards in 2013.

In this series two opener, Marcus (Tom Rosenthal) tries to win the heart of the girl next door, while flatmate Stylax (Joel Fry) has his heart set on a lady-magnet chariot. Slave Grumio (Ryan Sampson) is probably the biggest delight with some fabulously deadpan asides. There's a decent new role for Neil Stuke, too, as the disreputable husband of the lads' fearsome boss Flavia (Doon Mackichan). And nostalgic sports fans will have a treat with Rosenthal's dad Jim commentating on the chariot race.

Tom Rosenthal on Plebs and the scene he can't watch

Ahead of tonight's series premiere, RadioTimes.com caught up with Tom Rosenthal to hear all about breezy tunics, boring history lessons and the worst thing he's ever seen himself do...

Tom Rosenthal on Plebs

Tom Rosenthal tells Digital Spy how he uses Plebs to make friends, reveals his outrageous diva demands and promises us a shot at stardom.

... the other team to watch are the hugely engaging Tom Rosenthal and Naz Osmanoglu. Shame about the title -- Flat TV -- which would only work if people actually used the phrase 'Flat TV', rather than 'Flat Screen TV'. But that quibble apart, this series has legs. The situation may be hackneyed -- hopeless male flatmates yearning to get off with the much sassier girls in the flat next door -- but it works because the chemistry is great, the lines are funny and the set-up quirkily digressive and post-modern.

The premise is that the boys inhabit a universe where their real lives collide with a TV fantasy world on their in-house channel Flat TV. So, when they're trying to decide which note to pin on the girls' door, their respective efforts are judged by an X-Factor-style panel (with Rosenthal doing a bravura Simon Cowell). It ended disastrously (in a good way) with the boys smashing to smithereens a live lobster in front of the deeply unimpressed girls (one of them an ardent vegetarian who can't eat anything 'with a face'), as part of a misguided attempt to demonstrate a theory one of them read on the internet that lobsters are immortal.

After something of a hiatus (the last series screened in 2012) we're back at the North London home of the bickering Goodman family for more middle-class Jewish mayhem. Writer and producer Robert Popper's sitcom may have a modest canvas - it rarely strays beyond its four suburban walls and plot development is minimal - but the show packs plenty of colourful farce into its frantic half-hour slot.

The opener of tonight's third run is no exception, hinging on a premise rife with comic opportunity. Eldest son Adam (Simon Bird) is bringing his new girlfriend Emma (Sophia Di Martino) round for dinner. As expected Mum (Tamsin Greig) has an eye on marriage potential, brother Jonny (Tom Rosenthal) sets out to embarrass and Dad (Paul Ritter) makes no attempt to curb his eccentricities.

Whilst the family dynamics are sharply observed and pleasingly quirky, this is soft-centred, amiable stuff bolstered by some top-notch performances. Ritter, as ever, is superb as shamelessly shirtless Martin, imbuing the character's oddities with pathos. A witty Di Martino also stands out, sweetly unfazed by the chaotic clan she's been invited into.

One-liners are thin on the ground but Popper's real skill is in his structuring, pulling together the episode's separate comic strands into a satisfying, climactic whole. There's no breaking new ground here and a fourth series might stretch things too far, but for now the Goodmans are still worth spending part of your evening with.

Ponderings from the Friday Night Dinner cast

Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal give an insight into life in their own homes - from mischief to solitary playtime.