Josh

Josh, Episode 3: Wedding & Waiting review

Good news - it looks like Josh Widdicombe's sitcom might have finally found its feed in this third episode.

Josh review

Right. Well this is difficult. The first episode was a little disappointing (although Jack Dee on the ironing board: amazing), but the second was brilliant.

Josh Widdicombe and Tom Craine debate TV flatmates

The writers of Josh debate on the best and worst TV flatmates.

Josh, episode 2: Mum & Dad review

Continuing on from last week's debut, Josh Widdicombe's new sitcom seems to becoming something of a damp squib, despite some good guest appearances.

This debuting comedy, Josh has both been written by and stars ;p]Josh Widdicombe] who seems to be portraying a heightened version of himself. The fictional Josh is a loser in love and lives with two of his former university cohorts Owen (Ellis James) and Kate (Beattie Edmondson). I personally didn't buy the friendship between the trio which was one of a number of problems with the show. The lead story of Josh being afraid to swim was rather clichéd as was the subplot in which Owen tried to teach Kate to be a better kisser. There was nothing that felt particularly true to life about these scenarios and instead they felt like they simply existed in the sitcom world. Jack Dee had seemingly be flown in to play landlord Geoff for the simple reason that people know who he is. However the interactions between Dee and Widdicombe fell flat and just made me remember how much better Dee's Lead Balloon was than this sitcom. Every punchline was predictable and every situation was rather weak especially the final moments involving a rather bizarre conversation about dip. The only thing that Josh really has going for it is the likeable Widdicombe who is a rather endearing central figure however he's hampered by he and Tom Crane's script. After serving us up the rather wonderful Together, BBC Three don't appear to have another hit on their hands with Josh a sitcom that didn't even raise a titter from me in its thirty minute running time. As we've seen on The Last Leg, Widdicombe is much better than this and the sooner this incredibly lame sitcom is put out of its misery the better.

Josh, BBC Three review

It's horribly bland and difficult to see how Josh can avoid suffering the ignominy of lasting only one series (Edmondson, whose previous sitcom outing was in Ben Elton's execrable The Wright Way, may want to have a chat with her agent). But it's directed by David Schneider, and next week Edmondson's real-life mother, Jennifer Saunders, joins the cast as Kate's mum. Two reasons to tune in to see if Josh gets into its groove.

'Josh' (BBC3) review

Having not seen last year's iPlayer short that acted as a springboard for this series, I was really looking forward to Josh, but have been left disappointed by the opening episode.

Corkscrew-curled stand-up and Last Leg co-host Josh Widdicombe takes the lead in this new sitcom. He plays the eponymous sadsack, flatsharing with a platonic female friend and a dim Welsh romeo, with Jack Dee occasionally popping up as their overfamiliar landlord. When Josh flukes an invite to a glamorous pool party, the insecure slob must finally tackle his lifelong fear of swimming. It feels like a distant, low-energy cousin of Spaced, but there's an appealing hangout vibe, and future guest stars include Barry Chuckle.

What Josh Widdicombe learnt

Josh Widdicombe says writing his first sitcom was the "toughest thing he's ever done". We got Josh to tell us what he learnt from a few of his favourite sitcoms.

Arriving as a series after a successful Comedy Feeds pilot, this amiable comedy follows the misfortunes of grumpy and frustrated Josh (Josh Widdicombe) who sees no way out of his life with his flatmates, the relentlessly cheerful Owen (Elis James) and childhood friend Kate (Beattie Edmondson). A pool party invitation horrifies Josh as he can't swim ("swimming is not about fun, it's about survival"), while Kate learns that she has a reputation as a bad kisser.