Hebburn

Gavin & Stacey has a lot to answer for: in its wake have trailed a slew of gentler, flabbier, less funny copycats. Jason Cook's Hebburn - named after the Newcastle suburb 'where dreams come to die' and this com comes to sit - is, on the surface, more of the same. There's culture clash (nice Jewish girl marries into rough northern family with collective heart of gold). Overbearing family (inappropriate dad, slutty sister, smothering mum). And flashes of a darker wit at work (a death at a pub, a fatalistic grandmother, a flurry of fine-tuned Jewish jokes).

Gina McKee is the pick of a solid cast, throwing everything (including her broadest Geordie accent) into her eager-to-please mother, and the climax is a well-mounted mess of vomit, corpses and spilt secrets. You'd struggle to call it ambitious - but it is undoubtedly funny.

In new sitcom Hebburn (BBC2), young Jack returns to the family home after some time working away. He's brought new wife Sarah with him. They got married on the spur of the moment ... Hang on, this all sounds familiar. Yes, it's not dissimilar to that other new BBC sitcom Cuckoo. So Cuckoo has a girl bringing an American hippy back, and Jack's a boy, bringing a Jewish girl from York home to Hebburn on Tyneside (haway the lads).

But in both much of the humour centres on the families not seeing eye-to-eye on everything with the new arrivals. And again, it's fairly traditional family sitcom fare - neither brave nor original. Vic Reeves's presence (he's the dad) doesn't bring a touch of the surreal you might hope for from him. But it's not real either; these people don't behave or speak like real people, they behave and speak like a sitcom family.

Oh it's OK, I suppose. There are some decent performances. I like the way they make bagels, with a bread roll and an apple corer. I'm pretty sure that's the only time I actually laughed though. Hebburn Meh-burn.

Hebburn, BBC Two, review

Thanks to a simple premise and some well-judged performances (especially from Chris Ramsey as Jack) Hebburn is a highly likeable comedy. Perhaps not highly laughable in this first episode, but it looks like a grower.

Hebburn is like a Royle Family with legs

What's potentially an uncomfortable culture clash is averted by the warmth and wittiness of the writing and some great performances all round.

Another month, another family-based sitcom, but at least this one has a whiff of authenticity having been written by Geordie stand-up Jason Cook, based on his own experiences growing up in the North East. The six-part series tells the story of the Pearsons, a working-class family from Hebburn, who "aren't common, you know". Jack (Chris Ramsey), the Pearsons' only son, has returned home from Manchester, and is hoping to break the news to his parents that he has married a middle-class Jewish girl called Sarah (Kimberley Nixon). Mum Pauline (Gina McKee) and dad Joe (Jim Moir aka Vic Reeves) aren't sure how to react, and begin using an apple core to hollow out bread buns to make "bagels". Vicki (Lisa McGrillis), Jack's sister, isn't afraid to speak her mind, but it's her brother's rough-around-the-edges ex-girlfriend Denise (Victoria Elliott) who looks set to be the most memorable character. The humour can feel a little leaden, but the awkwardness arising from class differences and the uncertainty about what it means to have a Jewish girl around the place is amusing: "I'm fine working on a Saturday," Pauline quips, "but I'm not sure Joe could deal with being circumvented."

Video: At the Hebburn premiere

Giggle Beats were given exclusive access to film and report on the night, nabbing some juicy interviews with executive producer Matt Tiller, Hebburn creator Jason Cook (Ramsey), comedian Steffen Peddie (Big Keith) and Curtis Appleby (Hutchy) amongst others. And with a little help from our friends at KYEO.TV, we'll be showing you all of our footage over the next week or so.

Hebburn review

This Geordie comedy is a wry look at the inconspicuous nuclear families we know and love and the shenanigans that sustain them. It will be more likely to make you grin than giggle, but this should not be read as disapproval; Hebburn is thoroughly enjoyable.

Hebburn baby Hebburn

Neil Grainger tells us what to expect with BBC Two's brave new comedy hope...

Despite a few moments when the comic timing isn't quite there as the cast beds in, standup Jason Cook's new sitcom, a kind of Tyne and Wear Royle Family, looks like a winner. The setup is that Jack (Chris Ramsey), now living in glitzy Manchester, visits his working-class folk with a middle-class, Jewish bride, Sarah (Kimberley Nixon), in tow. Trouble is, nobody else knows they're hitched. You know you're in safe hands from the moment mum Pauline (Gina McKee), wanting Sarah to feel at home, makes "bagels" by taking an apple corer to some bread rolls.

TV review: Hebburn

This week, the Stockton Arts Centre held a special advance screening of the BBC2 sitcom, Hebburn. During the event, the first two episodes were shown and an hour-long Q&A session followed. Giggle Beats columnist Ian Wolf reports...