Catastrophe

Catastrophe review

Catastrophe has evolved into the most realistic comedy on TV. At the same time, it is also the most inventively sexual and foul-mouthed.

Catastrophe starts its third season where the last one ended: with a whiff of unfaithfulness. On Sharon's part, with that little rock star, half her age, but she was so drunk she doesn't remember what exactly happened. Now she's feeling guilty ...

Hey, good news, she didn't cheat! Unless kissing him - OK, and holding his penis, but just holding, nothing more - counts as cheating. "I should have known; I gave my knickers a good sniff the next day, and they just smelled like, you know, normal bad," she tells Rob, reassuringly, at A&E, because their son fell off a chair and cut his head open while they were arguing.

The brilliant thing about Sharon and Rob (Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney) is that they're almost certainly going to be all right. It'll take a while - two or three months he reckons - but he'll learn to forgive her. It's the brilliant thing about Catastrophe too that, under a pile of knickers and all the filth, it is actually very sweet. Romantic, even. That and the fact that it is hilarious; the filth is top notch, glorious filth.

So many choice moments and lines: the browser history snooping, which found nipple hair electrolysis and fat Johnny Depps; the lame attempt to blame the unfaithfulness on Brexit, and Trump. ("Fuck you for a second, OK? Fuck your guilt or whatever"); and "Do I want to break up with you? What are we, 14?" No Rob, but her new boyfriend is (nearly) ...

Actually my favourite moment of all belongs to Ashley Jensen and her character, Fran. Sharon's on the phone to her, seeking advice and comfort from an old pal. "I have to go because my life coach has just arrived," says Fran. She hangs up, reaches for the remote control, and puts on Loose Women, which has Katie Price talking about drinking. Fran lifts a left cheek from the sofa and lets out a little fart, while making an "I'm-farting" face. Lovely.

Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney pick up where they left off: season three opens by continuing the scene in which "Rob" discovers "Sharon" has furtively bought the morning-after pill. Has she cheated? She was too drunk to know, so there follows an almost agonising farce in which two vulnerable characters wonder if their relationship is over. Thanks to Horgan and Delaney's mastery at mixing cringe with rude, roaring laughs, though, it's still a joyful catharsis.

Sharon Horgan talks Catastrophe

One way effectively to describe Irish-English Bafta/Emmy-awarded writer, actor, director, and mother of two, Sharon Horgan, is "busy".

Catastrophe's Rob Delaney: interview

The writer and comedian is also a huge fan of the UK: "I love the NHS. I love the BBC. I love the Tube. I love the bus. I love tea. I love bacon sandwiches"

Catastrophe series 3 preview

Between seasons one or two of Catastrophe, the action leapt forward several years to land Sharon and Rob with two young kids. But no such trickery this time around, as series three starts exactly where the last one ended: with Rob finding a receipt for the morning-after pill his partner brought after a drunken fling, and Sharon with some explaining to do.

Preview - Catastrophe

A welcome return for the excruciating sitcom that is guaranteed to have you squirming in your seat.

Catastrophe, series 3: preview

Just because a sitcom is about a family, doesn't mean it has to be family friendly.

TV preview: Catastrophe, Series 3

Delaney and Horgan have such fantastic chemistry in every scene they share I'm surprised they haven't run away together in real life. But if nothing else writing this series is a constant reminder that love affairs are never, ever simple.

Review: Catastrophe gets off to a flyer

The opening episode of the third series was rich in incident and laughs finds Ben Dowell.

Catastrophe series 3 episode 1 review

As the third series kicks off, it's clear that Catastrophe's biting, barb-tastic writing is as strong as ever.