The Inbetweeners ran from 2008 to 2010, and it remains one of the sharpest comedies ever aimed at teenagers. Created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the show follows Will, Simon, and Neil, three friends at a fictional London comprehensive who spend their days trying to fit in and failing spectacularly. It is crude, mean-spirited, and completely, utterly brilliant.
The show is built on the principle that teenage life is a series of humiliations. The characters are not cool. They are desperate. They are socially awkward. And they are funny.
Trailer, via E4.
Will, Simon, and Neil
Will, played by Simon Bird, is the show’s straight man. He wants to be clever, but he is too nervous to say anything. Simon, played by Joe Thomas, is the comic engine. He is loud, rude, and unafraid of anyone. Neil, played by James Buckley, is the third wheel. He is shy, sexually frustrated, and often the butt of the joke.
The show also features a recurring cast of grotesques. There is the school bully, a teacher who sleeps with students, and a group of popular kids who treat everyone else with contempt. These characters exist to make the protagonists feel smaller.
The Episodes
The show’s best episodes are the ones that focus on social anxiety. The episode where Will tries to get a girlfriend by pretending to be gay is a masterclass in humiliation. The episode where Simon and Neil try to join a gang is a study in fear. The show is at its best when it is uncomfortable.
The show is also very, very British. It is full of references to football, music, and pop culture that might fly over American heads. But the core of it — the fear of rejection, the desire to belong — is universal.
What Works
- The writing is sharp. The jokes land.
- The performances are committed. The actors sell every humiliation.
- The show is honest about how terrible adolescence can be.
What does not work is the show’s cruelty. Some of the jokes are mean. Some of the characters are cruel. The show is often at odds with itself. It wants to be funny, but it also wants to hurt.
The final season, which aired in 2010, is a mixed bag. The show attempts to grow up, and the result is uneven. Some episodes are better than anything that came before. Others are weaker. The show ends with a graduation ceremony that feels both triumphant and hollow.
The Verdict
The Inbetweeners is a show about failure. It is a show about being small. It is a show about being laughed at. And it is very, very funny.
The show is not perfect. It is not kind. But it is honest. It is specific. And it is a joy to watch.
The show’s influence can be seen in everything that followed. The style of teen comedy changed after The Inbetweeners. The show proved that audiences would pay to watch young people suffer.
The show is worth watching. It is worth rewatching. It is worth quoting.
The Inbetweeners is a show about the worst years of your life. It makes those years hilarious. That is a rare skill.
The Inbetweeners is a show about the worst years of your life. It makes those years hilarious. That is a rare skill.
The show is available on various streaming platforms. If you have not seen it, you should. If you have seen it, you know why you keep coming back.
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