Tom Rosenthal (I)

Apart from the smatterings of mildly bad language, this Jewish take on My Family remains a surprisingly cosy sitcom for a Friday night on Channel 4.

You can't fault the cast - which includes Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal as bickering brothers who revert to toddlerhood every time they step through the front door into the family home.

The dramas are small ones and this week a family squabble manages to break out over the colour of mum Jackie's new curtains. The bright spots in all this are Paul Ritter as the bare-chested shirt-phobic dad and Mark Heap as the oddball neighbour Jim.

Those three little words: "And Mark Heap" at the start of any sitcom are like a British Standards kitemark guaranteeing that there'll be nuggets of bizarre brilliance tucked away inside - and tonight's scene involving Jim's trip to the pub with his lager-loving dog is very odd indeed.

A family comedy like no other, Friday Night Dinner is well on its way to becoming the kind of small-scale Channel 4 hit that keeps the cognoscenti coming back year after year. The chemistry between Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird, Paul Ritter and Tom Rosenthal is terrific. Tonight's antics revolve around gin, bin bags and Mrs Goodman's efforts to improve the living room décor; it's astonishing how much comedy can be mined from a pair of pee-coloured curtains.

Friday Night Dinner is turning into a tiny treasure. It's not an eventful sitcom but my, it's a funny one, with streams of uncomplicated laughs. There's a scene in a car with a VERY LOUD stereo that left me helpless; I watched it three times before I had to be dragged away and sedated. Writer Robert Popper has nailed the in-jokes, the petty embarrassments and routine bits of silliness that make family life fun, and not in a broad, pantomime-hapless My Family kind of way. Friday Night Dinner is full of surprises and the cast work together seamlessly; Tamsin Greig as a good-hearted, slightly ditzy mum, Paul Ritter as a well-meaning, barmy dad and Simon Bird (yes, Will from The Inbetweeners) and Tom Rosenthal as their grown-up but daft sons. It's endearing, too; everyone loves each other, which is why they are so comfortable with embarrassments. Well, most embarrassments. Adam (Bird) isn't too keen on being quizzed in the downstairs loo by his dad about "females" (ie girlfriends). "Do you have to call them females? You're not a policeman."

If you liked the cleverly played-out dysfunctionality of Grandma's House, you'll enjoy this new comedy. Newcomer Jack Rosenthal and Inbetweeners star Simon Bird play brothers joining their parents (Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter) at the family home for dinner. The evening descends into enjoyable farce as a man unexpectedly comes to collect the sofa bed, Dad figures out how to avoid chucking away his New Scientists and a weird neighbour (Green Wing's Mark Heap) keeps popping in to use the loo.

Interview - Tom Rosenthal ('Friday Night Dinner')

New sitcom Friday Night Dinner kicks off this Friday on Channel 4, and judging by the comedy pedigree attached, we're in for a bit of a treat. Springing from the fertile mind of Look Around You creator Robert Popper, the series stars ex-Inbetweener Simon and comedy stalwart Tamsin Greig as members of a rather eccentric family unit. We caught up with stand-up comedian Tom Rosenthal, who plays mischievous son Johnny Goodman, to chat about his television acting debut, working with comic legends and odd family wrestling rituals!

Last year the BBC aired Grandma's House, Simon Amstell's acerbic sitcom about a dysfunctional Jewish family. The very mixed notices it received have clearly not deterred Channel 4, who keep the middle-class Jewish mayhem coming with this new series from writer Robert Popper. Each episode centres on Friday night dinner with the Goodman family. Bickering brothers Adam (Simon Bird, star of The Inbetweeners) and Jonny (newcomer Tom Rosenthal, son of sports broadcaster Jim) are reluctant attendees, while their mother Jackie (Tamsin Greig, fresh from appearing alongside Matt LeBlanc and Stephen Mangan in Episodes) and father Martin (Pulling's Paul Ritter) try to uphold some family values. In tonight's opening episode, Jackie is intent on getting the boys to watch the MasterChef final, while Martin is preoccupied with rescuing old copies of New Scientist from the dump. Things are further complicated by the continual interruptions from weird neighbour Jim (Mark Heap), who claims to have broken his loo. As a comedy, it's not mean-spirited and cynical, but actually rather sweet. Of course, It's too early to say if it'll be a hit - in particular it is unclear whether Bird has acting gears other than his sarcastic, awkward Inbetweeners persona - but there's certainly enough here to keep you watching.

Tom Rosenthal & Ben Target share Leicester Comedy Prize

The Leicester Comedy Festival's main prize, the Comedian of the Year Award, has been shared between two comics for the first time in its history.

Tom Rosenthal: So You Think You're Funny?

Comedian come actor Tom Rosenthal is breaking into the world of TV this month in Channel 4's new family sitcom Friday Night Dinner, so what better time to find out how funny he is?