Cockroaches

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Episode four of the quirky post-apocalyptic comedy starring Daniel Lawrence Taylor and Esther Smith as Tom and Suze, the hard-done-by survivors of a nuclear war. When their daughter Laura and her peers from the campsite begin to turn a gruesome shade of green, the pair fear the kids have been affected by radiation. Luckily, the smooth-talking doctor (Alexander Armstrong) is on hand to offer a cure for their malady. There is a catch, however, when he asks for an insalubrious favour.

Jack Whitehall & Freddy Syborn on their friendship

It started with a fight at school, but the 26-year-old comedian and 27-year-old writer are now best friends who also work together. "It's a bit like a marriage," says Jack.

Finally we come to ITV2's new post-apocalyptic sitcom Cockroaches written by Freddy Syborn who wrote alongside Jack Whitehall on Bad Education. Although Whitehall does appear in Cockroaches his is a supporting role as Cuckoo's Esther Smith and Hunderby's Daniel Lawrence Taylor take the lead.

Smith and Taylor play Tom and Suze, school friends who hook up just before a nuclear attack wipes out most of the British population. Ten years later, they find themselves walking an arid wasteland alongside their daughter, and product of their hook-up; Laura. The main body of action takes place when the reluctant couple happen upon a camp run by Suze's ex-boyfriend (Whitehall). There's an obvious jealousy between cool and cocky Oscar and the slightly geeky Tom which is magnified when the former sleeps with Suze. Although she later realises her mistake, the whole situation escalates to a final scene involving a Wicker Man and a severed finger.

Syborn has certainly created a unique sitcom in Cockroaches although not all of his ideas are great. My main bugbear in this first episode was the character of Oscar as it appears that Syborn has let Whitehall play the character as broadly as possible.

Luckily both the leads are likeable and Syborn has created two protagonists that I cared about as the episode progressed.

The laugh-out-loud lines were few and far between but I preferred the quieter moments where Suze and Tom tried to decide whether their relationship was based on love or simply convenience.

Despite not being as impressive a showing as it could've been, Cockroaches definitely showed promise due to its unique premise and likeable leads. By the end of episode one I feel that the sitcom had more than found its feet and I look forward to seeing what will happen to our central couple now that Tom is in charge of a rather haphazard post-apocalyptic community.

Cockroaches, ITV2, review: 'not laugh-out-loud enough'

Jack Whitehall gave a jarring performance in this sitcom from the creators of Bad Education.

You can't move for post-apocalyptic worlds on screen these days, but this new comedy proves there's still drama (and jokes) to be mined from the wastelands. Tom and Suze have been holed up in the latter's basement since a nuclear holocaust 10 years ago and conceived their daughter in a fug of certain-death panic. Now, the couple are traipsing aimlessly around the badlands of Britain - until they encounter Suze's swaggering ex Oscar (a cringeworthy Jack Whitehall) and his fun-loving tribe.

Why post-apocalyptic Britain isn't the end of the world

Fleeces, So Solid Crew and third nipples - Freddy Syborn, writer of ITV2's new black comedy, explains why armageddon doesn't have to be doom and gloom.

Radio Times review

It's one long, surreal trip down memory lane for ageing impresario and self-styled noble, Count Arthur Strong. Recalling his teddy-boy days via unreliable flashback, the episode riffs on West Side Story, Oliver! and even The Great Escape. It all begins when a guilt offering from Michael (Rory Kinnear) takes Arthur out of the cocoon of Bulent's greasy caff and out to the airfield. Thanks to a cleverly constructed misunderstanding, an ordinary scene of two people walking towards some light aircraft becomes something hysterical.

Radio Times review

The complete nuclear destruction of society might not seem like the obvious basis for a sitcom, but that's how this new ITV2 series kicks off. Youngsters Tom and Suze are brought together romantically by their assumed imminent death, only to get stuck with each other after the bomb drops.

Despite the slightly tasteless premise Cockroaches is actually pretty funny, with a vein of dark comedy well mined from the tropes of post-apocalyptic films combined with a very British rationalisation of events. Also, watch out for a fun role from Jack Whitehall (who co-wrote Bad Education with Cockroaches writer Freddy Syborn) - he pops up as Suze's street-talking ex, Oscar.

Cockroaches, ITV2 - TV review

Like The Walking Dead with a sillier sense of humour and a British TV budget.