Ronna & Beverly

Ronna and Beverley must be hilarious live, because that's surely the only way they managed to bag a Sky Atlantic chat show that can pull in guests of the calibre of Jon Hamm and Will Arnett. Despite the duo's best attempts at outrageous sexual humour, this lukewarm comedy offering ends up being as shocking as an announcement of delays on the Northern Line. In spite of attempts to sex her up, Sue Perkins remains well within her comfort zone. And the X-rated revelation they bamboozle Will Arnett into: 'I have never had sex with Will Smith.' In between guests, one of their skits sees them upset unwitting Women's Institute members by talking about blowjobs. Isn't good comedy only meant to skewer people in positions of power?

Ronna and Beverly review

The show seems dragged out. I began watching it thinking it would only be on for half-an-hour, but no: a full hour.

Time to reclaim the chat show from comedians

As Ronna and Beverly's series begins, Gerard Gilbert feels like a change.

Sky comedy is hitting its stride, but this vehicle for Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo's bickering Jewish matriarchs feels like a sideways step. The comic chat-show is fast resembling a dead-end format, it's a schlep at an hour and the so-so line-up for this opener doesn't help. That said, there are a few belly laughs, and kudos to the hosts for making an old pro like Frank Skinner look truly uncomfortable at the sex-obsessed, scatalogical line of questioning. Dirty old cove Charles Dance, meanwhile, positively revels in the prurience, and Alfie Boe looks shellshocked when he isn't hooting with bewilderment. The ad libs are delivered with more conviction than the scripted stuff (and enough with the 'outrageous' Holocaust gags), but there's certainly something to work with here; the prospect of Will Arnett next week is delicious.

Jewish Brooklyn housewives Ronna and Beverley (comic actors Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo) bring their relentless maternal banter to UK shores. Something about that "Excuuuuse me. Terrific. Thenk you" accent makes almost every joke land, no matter how daft. Beverley shoulder-dances nervously throughout while kvetching about her labia. Ronna cuts through celebrity egos with her verbal exocets. They're terrifying and great fun once you get used to the kinetic speech patterns. Frank Skinner, Charles Dance and Alfie Boe are their first victims.

You can tell Ronna and Beverly's new chat show has been honed by their stage act, so easily do they spark off each other. Ronna and Bev are thirtysomething writer/actors Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo, who play two bickering fiftysomething Jewish mothers who give relationship advice based on their book, You'll Do a Little Better Next Time. Described as Dr Ruth meets Mrs Merton with, perhaps, a touch of Ab Fab, they grill their guests about the more personal sides of their lives. In the chair tonight, undergoing Ronna and Beverley's often inappropriate "cross-examination", are Frank Skinner, Charles Dance and Alfie Boe.