Dead Boss

Review: Dead Boss - Episode one & two

I'm not a fan of the trend to air double-bills of new sitcoms, but in the case of Dead Boss is was a godsend. The first half-hour wasn't terrible, but it was fighting a losing battle. The second episode was definitely stronger.

Dead Boss review: Psychoville in prison

Dead Boss is noticeably different to much of BBC Three's output. Think less Coming of Age and more BBC Two's Psychoville - It's not as dark and bizarre, but the look and overall tone of the series isn't too far off.

Dead Boss creators 'begged' Jennifer Saunders for role

Dead Boss creators Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh have admitted that they became "obsessed" with Jennifer Saunders after she agreed to appear in their new BBC Three comedy.

It's always a pleasure to see new work from Sharon Horgan. And, while this sitcom is no Pulling (which we may never forgive BBC3 for canning), Dead Boss contains plenty of Horgan's customarily waspish wit. Helen Stephens (Horgan) has been sent to prison for the murder of her boss - a crime she didn't commit. However, everything - from her selfish sister to her inept lawyer - seems to be conspiring to keep her behind bars. In certain hands, this scenario might be vaguely Kafka-esque; in Horgan's, it's gleefully silly as Helen reluctantly bonds with her needy, arsonist cellmate, gets assaulted with pumice stone after offending 'Mrs Big' and is sleazed over by the (male) screws. Not essential yet, but pretty good fun all the same.

Radio Times review

Sharon Horgan's BBC3 comeback - the axing of Pulling still grates with fans - has her behind bars as Helen, a fretting loser wrongly convicted of murder. Can she win freedom? Or is she (and are the viewers) in for a cold, frustrating stretch at a jail full of cartoon inmates and mad staff?

A lot of sitcoms fall back on everyone except the main character being a bumbling loon, which often feels like a way to con us out of the 3D creations that are hard to write but keep us coming back. Of course it's possible to do comedy that doesn't have any truth or soul if the jokes are outlandishly good but, despite a superb cast, Dead Boss struggles to reinvent incompetent lawyers and creepy screws.

Who really killed Helen's boss? The ongoing story arc is too silly to be believable, but not silly enough for that to stop mattering.

Sharon Horgan: 'I've never done anything as stupid'

Sharon Horgan is what you might call a late developer. She spent much of her twenties in dead-end pursuits, training at not-very-good acting schools and taking jobs waitressing and in call centres, before she sobered up and did an English degree at 27.

Dead Boss, BBC3 - review

Sharon Horgan seems to have randomly plucked her new sitcom out of the air, says Jack Seale.

Dead Boss: The best new comedy on TV

Sharon Horgan shines as usual but this is an ensemble piece and everyone gives an equally strong and memorable performance.

We Recommend: Dead Boss

Well, if you find modern sitcoms too boring and cringe-based, Dead Boss is one of the best straight-up wacky efforts I've seen in a while.

Dead Boss is a dead brilliant new sitcom

It apparently took Sharon Horgan and Holly Walsh several years to bring Dead Boss to screen and it seems it was certainly worth the wait as all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode. But the fun didn't stop there... oh no...