A star rating of 5 out of 5.
A re-run of Trying’s early series on the BBC this year ought to have won this show a few new fans, but it’s still the best British comedy you’re probably not watching. In season five, north-London couple Nikki and Jason (Esther Smith and Rafe Spall) are closer to middle age than their (not very) wild youth, which gives them new problems that they solve in the same old way, with kindness and love. It’s as deft and sweet as ever.
A while back, the pair achieved their long-cherished dream of adopting children (when we first met them years ago, they’d given up trying for a baby and were starting the process of trying to adopt). They are now raising teen siblings Princess (Scarlett Rayner) and Tyler (Cooper Turner) in the way we always knew they would: uncertainly and worrying about every little thing, mainly the appearance of the kids’ biological mother Kat (Charlotte Riley).
The new dynamic is a chance for writer/creator Andy Wolton to show off how robust Jason and Nikki are as complementary sitcom protagonists. She is fretful, impulsive and self-deprecating, but with a core of steel when it comes to protecting those dearest to her. He is funny, slapdash and not minded to let anything worry him too much, but beneath the laddish exterior there’s a deep desire to care for people.
She’s not a tutting, burdened wife carrying the emotional load on her feckless hubby’s behalf; he’s not a freestyling charmer being held back by an uptight nag. It would be easy for either of those cliches to creep in, but Trying delights in flirting with the hackneyed, the cheesy and the twee before pulling back and revealing itself to be too smart and thoughtful for all that.
And so this year, as we rejoin the family in their slightly Richard Curtis-ish version of Camden (they live in a flat on a chocolate-box road, despite Jason and Nikki not having any visible means to afford it, because neither of them has the confidence to make big career choices), Princess and Kat’s increasing closeness threatens to drive Jason and Nikki apart, with her worrying about it too much and him not enough.
That season arc further refines the main characters’ already nicely rounded personalities, and along the way are some classic sitcom shenanigans: a trip to a theme park where Nikki pretends not to be scared of rollercoasters, Jason finding himself on a night out with a gang of cautious, health-conscious students, and an episode where Jason and Nikki go on holiday to Tuscany by mistake.
Each adventure ends with a moment of hugging and learning that could easily be emetic pap but never is because the writing’s too emotionally intelligent and the cast are too damn lovable. Instead, Trying has the power to bring a tear to the driest eye without warning, and that’s the case again in season five.
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It’s less of an ensemble piece than it was in the early days, with Ophelia Lovibond, Paula Wilcox and Imelda Staunton having all drifted out of what used to be a ridiculously starry supporting cast. But we still have Phil Davis as Jason’s no-nonsense dad Vic, who now turns his DIY acumen into a handyman business, the success of which he finds as low-key annoying as everything else in life.
Then there’s the fabulous creation that is Nikki’s brother-in-law Scott (Darren Boyd), a poet, sculptor, crooner, self-published author and all-round buffoon whom Wolton has never wanted to portray as purely a figure of fun. As Scott’s quest to row across the Atlantic inevitably ends in failure, even a character who seems to be pure comic relief is given just the right amount of nuance and shade.
Trying tries to find the good in everyone – it helps that, purely as old-fashioned comedy, every episode is so awfully good.
Trying season 5 releases from 8 July on Apple TV. You can sign up to Apple TV for a seven-day free trial.
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