What if we just did nothing…

Unemployment. As students, we are constantly being reminded of it. That big threatening thought that looms overhead whilst we try to decide whether gaining work experience or perfecting our degree would appear more attractive to our future employers. Meanwhile, many of us are still deliberating over what we actually want to do with the rest of our lives. These decisions are terrifying and appear to come with a tight deadline. Yet it is almost inevitable that at some point in our lives we will be doing nothing. With all this stress surrounding employment, Stefan Golaszewski took a risk basing his series around an unemployed couple who simply couldn’t care less about being unemployed. However, no one can deny his risk was worth it. Since it first broadcast on BBC Three last year, Him & Her has become the most successful BBC Three sitcom to date; the crown had been previously worn by Gavin and Stacey. And now, among even more worries and constant news articles stating we are in an even bigger unemployment crisis, Him & Her returns to our screens.

The BBC Three series Him & Her is something of a ‘sleeper hit’ as it manages to hook a large number of viewers, but there has been no real hype over it.

Despite the fact the show is everything a traditional romantic sitcom is not and concentrates on a couple who live so that they can do nothing, the second series has already received lots of praise, including Sam Wollaston from The Guardian summarising it as “ the nicest thing on the telly right now.”

Amidst toast, messy clothes, stray spiders and a consistently unmade bed, we find the couple Steve and Becky. Their daily life consists of eating, drinking, sex, visits from annoying friends, visits from even more annoying relatives and sleep. How on earth does this keep the viewer entertained for thirty minutes? Bear with me; hopefully I’ll provide you with an answer.

Steve, played by the marvellous Russell Tovey, is a loveable and idiotic fool who is more concerned with watching Morse in peace than getting a job. Meanwhile, Becky, played by the equally brilliant Sarah Solemani, is his confident, laddish and very tolerant girlfriend, who also shows no interest in leaving the flat. Either down to the BBC spending cuts or Golaszewski planning it that way, the entire series only takes place in Steve’s grotty bedroom, the never-been-cleaned bathroom and the food-covered kitchen. The outside world is a mystery and one that Steve and Becky aren’t particularly interested in.

What makes Him & Her work so well is its authenticity. Gone are the 29 year olds who are pretending to be 16, over-the-top story lines or standard ‘Mary Sue’ type protagonists. Instead, we see the everyday life of Steve and Becky and the hilarity that can come from everyday conversations. Don’t let me mislead you, this show isn’t jam-packed with belly-laughter material but instead makes you cringe with embarrassment, gasp at the extremely racy lines and laugh at Steve’s guaranteed stupidity.It took me a while to get used to Golaszewski’s manner of literally leaving no stone unturned – forget warts and all, spots, faeces, farts and all is more fitting. Yet this honesty makes for great comedy viewing. The thing that makes Him & Her so unique is that it is literally about nothing. However, it’s this simplicity that makes it such a winner with the British audience.

Interestingly, this series also verges on the controversial, with topics such as race, adoption and 9/11, but there never seems to be any political motive behind it, particularly with Laura’s – Becky’s rather simple sister – comments about the 9/11 conspiracy, coupled with her belief that she can see ghosts. One of the funniest moments in the first series occurred when Steve was so upset he had been accused of racism for saying ‘black man’. Everyone continued to berate him, only Becky in a teasing manner, whilst he became more and more confused as to why describing someone’s ethnicity made him a racist. With Tovey’s trademark bewildered expression, you couldn’t help but burst out laughing as he became more and more confused and refused to move past the issue for the entire episode.

Other than Golaszewski’s writing, Russell Tovey and Sarah Solemani are the true heroes of this series. Their ability to portray their emotions through a simple movement is just another way this programme excels above others. You truly believe that these two are soulmates as they communicate their frustration about interfering neighbours with a single glance, and reassure the other with a slight smile.

Him & Her provides a great escape from the troubles of everyday life, whilst portraying just that. It depicts a realistic couple who are surviving absolutely fine, despite the fact they are everything we are taught to fear.

I am not saying they are a realistic depiction of the entire unemployed population, but their happiness and humour with each other and their nothingness definitely emphasises that even if we do have to deal with the big U word one day, it isn’t going to be the end of the world.