The Mimic

Terry Mynott interview

Where are all today's distinctive voices? That's the question The Mimic star Terry Mynott and I are left asking as we chat about the inspirations behind the many voices he masters during his off-beat comedy.

The Mimic makes its most welcome return this week. Following Martin choking spectacularly just moments before his big break on the telly at the end of the first series, we pick up as Terry Mynott's troubled lead is without work, but still able to turn in an uncanny impersonation. His son Steven is in a listless depression after the death of his mum Dionne, and Neil and Jean's relationship looks like it might already be on the rocks. Oblivious to the fact, Neil becomes Martin's new manager, with predictable results. Marvellous.

Radio Times review

One of 2013's best debut sitcoms returns, as downbeat, sad and kind as ever. Martin (Terry Mynott), the lonely loser with a secret talent for doing impressions, lost his nerve at the end of series one when stardom beckoned. Now here he is, in his pants in the kitchen, heating up tinned food while absent-mindedly perfecting his Walter White. Unwanted help comes from Neil, the nervous newsagent who becomes Martin's new agent - "it's only one letter different!" - and insists he try busking outside Timpson's.

This isn't one of those misery-coms that doesn't have any jokes, but little disappointments drizzle down constantly onto Martin's prematurely grey head, the main source of pain being his own lack of endeavour. Classic sitcom leads are confident but delusional - Martin, played with real gentleness by Mynott, is humble and awfully self-aware. That he somehow finds things for him and us to laugh at is what makes The Mimic quietly comforting, like sugary tea on a wintry day.

Terry Mynott on impressions, failure and more

We talk to the star of Channel 4's beautifully understated sitcom about how he found his voice, and how not to impersonate Nicolas Cage

TV preview: The Mimic, C4

I'm not sure if it is possible to have a slow burn, under-the-radar sitcom these days. Everything comes with so much hype and baggage it either sinks or swims quickly in the glare of publicity and wildly hysterical Twitter responses. Except for The Mimic.

Terry Mynott interview

I caught up with Terry Mynott who plays Martin to find out a little bit more about the series. Here's what he had to say...

Terry Mynott interview

Terry Mynott tells us what we can expect from Series 2 of The Mimic.

The final episode of the comedy. Martin's big break has arrived, after Steven scores his mimicry a spot on a TV show, but as the performance approaches, he loses his voice. A potentially clunky twist is made much less so by the acknowledgment that it's all probably psychosomatic, and then given an extra fillip with a joyous cameo from Ralph Brown as Neil's dad. The news of Dionne's illness is treated gently, too, avoiding the potential for mawkishness, while the whole thing appears to be left rather open for a second bout.

Finally, Martin's hit paydirt. Well, kind of. Steven has sorted him out with some work voicing Satnav commands - however, a day of intoning 'turn left at the roundabout' in the voice of Barack Obama leads to a gentle meltdown. Martin's array of voices aren't just impressions - there's something genuinely confused and schizophrenic about him and this gives The Mimic its heft. When Martin's wig-out goes viral, it's apparent that, while everyone else is excited, he's vaguely ashamed.

Elsewhere, Neil's artistic bent is revealed, Jean deals with an inevitable dumping and Dione's reasons for encouraging Steven to get to know his dad become clear - this last development will have to be handled carefully if the show isn't to descend into Coldplay montages, group hugs and emotional manipulation. Still, thanks to the nicely observed writing and excellent performances, The Mimic continues to sustain itself pretty well.