Threesome. Image shows from L to R: Richie (Emun Elliott), Alice (Amy Huberman), Mitch (Stephen Wight). Image credit: Big Talk Productions.

Threesome

Sitcom about three inseparable friends who end up raising a baby together

Genre:
Sitcom
Broadcast:
2011 - 2012  (Comedy Central)
Episodes:
14 (2 series)
Starring:
Amy Huberman, Stephen Wight, Emun Elliott
Writers:
Tom MacRae, Tom Edge, Amy Shindler, Beth Chalmers
Production:
Big Talk Productions

The first narrative comedy series commission from Comedy Central UK.

Threesome revolves about three inseparable friends on the verge of turning thirty - Alice, her boyfriend Mitch, and their gay best mate Richie. The trio live together and after one particularly big night out, they have an unplanned threesome - which results in Alice getting pregnant. Rather than splitting up, they decide to raise their baby as a threesome.

Soon it's all ante-natal classes, baby showers and herbal tea. But it's still possible to have fun when you're a grown up... isn't it?

Series 2: Alice, Mitch and Richie have put their hedonistic lifestyle behind them, and are taking their parental responsibilities completely seriously. What parent wouldn't settle an argument using 'spin the baby'? But it's not all plain, sensible sailing from now on.

True, there are certain advantages to raising a baby in a threesome, such as: with three pairs of hands someone can always be taking a break. The disadvantages of raising a baby in a threesome are that, well, this is their threesome, and you can take the threesome out of the party, but you can't take the party out of the threesome.

Having a baby has ushered in a new era of glorious chaos. Bringing up a child in a world fraught with dangers - from obsessive security guards and criminally incompetent secretaries, to predatory ex-boyfriends - is never easy at the best of times. But Alice, Mitch and Richie's take on parenthood is somewhat... unique.

These early weeks with Lily are the start of a new adventure. How will Richie balance his career with fatherhood? How will Alice cope as a yummy mummy? How will Mitch cope at all, in general?

Our Review: Threesome was a wonderful first foray into the narrative comedy scene for Comedy Central. The potentially quite unlikeable situation and characters have proved to be anything but, and a healthy number of great set-piece lines and scenes really made us laugh out loud.

Whilst the critics in the popular press have been a little more split on the show, we found the first series thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish, and Series 2 just built on the first's strengths. A vibrant, laugh-out-loud sitcom with a great cast reflecting a less conventional new family paradigm.