Feel Good, Channel 4 and Netflix review - a fresh, bingeable comedy that digs deep but feels mild

★★★ FEEL GOOD A fresh, bingeable comedy that digs deep but feels mild

Mae Martin’s dramedy about addiction is honest and enjoyable — but is it that funny?

“I am not intense.” That declaration arrives early in Feel Good, the new Channel 4 and Netflix romantic comedy fronted by comedian Mae Martin, who plays a fictionalised version of herself. Over Mae’s shoulder, we see a literal trash fire. She’s lit up the evidence of a past drug addiction. It smoulders in the background while she smoulders in the front.

Sunnyside, Sky Comedy review - the immigrant experience and the American dream

★★★ SUNNYSIDE, SKY COMEDY Kal Penn's predictable comedy pulls its punches

Kal Penn's predictable comedy pulls its punches

The multi-talented Kal Penn (Harold and Kumar, Designated Survivor, House) took a two-year acting sabbatical in 2009 to work for the Obama administration. So he is, in theory, ideally placed to co-create, with Matt Murray, a semi-political TV sitcom about a New York City councillor.

Sex Education, Series 2, Netflix review - the teen sex show we deserved

★★★★ SEX EDUCATION, SERIES 2, NETFLIX The teen sex show we deserved

Happy Valentines: this humdrum holiday is the perfect occasion to stream the most affirming sex comedy in years

Netflix’s Sex Education has returned to our screens and streams. The show made waves last year for its refreshing take on the teen comedy-drama. It took on abortion, consent and female pleasure — subjects strikingly absent from our actual high school educations.

In the Long Run, Series 2, Sky 1 review - Idris Elba's warm-hearted comedy returns

★★★★ IN THE LONG RUN, SERIES 2, SKY 1 Idris Elba's warm-hearted comedy returns

An entertaining brew of culture clash, social commentary and belly laughs

Dust off the record player: Idris Elba’s Eighties comedy In the Long Run (Sky 1) has returned for a second series. Loosely based on Elba’s childhood, the show brings us into the day-to-day life of a West African couple, their British-born son, and the community in their Leyton council estate.

Mum, Series 3 finale, BBC Two review - superb comedy bows out

★★★★★ MUM, SERIES 3 FINALE, BBC TWO Tears of laughter and sadness as superb comedy bows out

Tears of laughter and sadness

Always leave them wanting more, a wise man once said, and there can’t be a single fan of Mum who doesn’t want its creator, Stefan Golaszewski, to change his mind about making the third series the last. But then, when you achieve perfection perhaps it’s best to sign off at the top; the finale was just scrumptious.

Mum, BBC Two, series 3 review - welcome last hurrah for adult family sitcom

★★★★ MUM, BBC TWO Welcome last hurrah for adult family sitcom

Mum's still the word as heavenly Cathy, hellish Pauline and co return

It is a cliché that never grows old. From Fawlty Towers via The Office all the way through to (so we are told) Fleabag, a great half-hour comedy that bows out after two series cements its place in the pantheon by ensuring posterity wants more. Twelve episodes seems to be the platonic ideal of the perfectly proportioned sitcom.

Back to Life, BBC Three review - Daisy Haggard finds laughs in prison release

★★★★ BACK TO LIFE, BBC THREE  Another damaged woman seeking redemption

Comedy from Fleabag producers introduces another damaged woman seeking redemption

Pre-publicity for Back to Life has been all about its stablemate. This new six-part comedy comes from the same producers who brought you Fleabag, and the hope is that the Midas touch is catching. It seems unlikely, on the face of it, to follow the same path from the experimental comedy factory that is BBC Three all the way to global domination.

Fleabag, Series 2 finale, BBC Three review - Phoebe Waller-Bridge's miraculous situation tragedy

★★★★ FLEABAG, SERIES 2 FINALE Tear-jerking farewell to a towering dramatic creation

Tear-jerking farewell to a towering dramatic creation

The problem with Fleabag (BBC Three/BBC One) is that it makes almost all television look pedestrian. It’s like the difference between Fleabag’s scummily inadequate boyfriends and the unattainable perfection embodied by the cool sweary priest. Earth vs heaven. Water/wine. And now it is gone.

This Time with Alan Partridge, Series finale, BBC One review - back to his worst

★★★★ THIS TIME WITH ALAN PARTRIDGE Steve Coogan's alter ego reverts to type

Steve Coogan's alter ego reverts to type as woke Alan has a nightmare

Piers Morgan hated This Time with Alan Partridge (BBC One) and predicted it would be pulled before the end of the series. This may be taken as a kitemark of quality. And yet the prime target for Steve Coogan’s satire was no voice in the wilderness.