Selin Hizli makes uncomfortable comedy worth staying with when the jokes stop, particularly opposite Daisy May Cooper. We trust her with the darker exchanges, though her writing sometimes works too hard to keep us guessing.
Fi1m perspective
In Am I Being Unreasonable? (2022), Selin Hizli and Daisy May Cooper can keep a scene alive without offering an immediate laugh. As Jen, Hizli gives Cooper a partner who can sustain the unease as well as the humour, without making their exchanges feel laboured. We found their darker exchanges affecting because both performers made the hurt convincing through the changes of mood. Their chemistry is the first series’ strongest reason to keep watching, though we would recommend it with patience reserved for the mystery.
Her television work had already moved between period drama and comedy: Connie Carter in Land Girls (2011), Margaret Ward in Grantchester (2016), Debbie in Mum (2016). The important turn came with Am I Being Unreasonable?, which she co-created and co-wrote with Cooper as well as acting in it. Their comedy-thriller centres on an intense female friendship and the frustrations of everyday life. That added responsibility also makes Hizli answerable for some of the series’ less successful choices.
Cooper is the essential collaborator here, with Lenny Rush’s unforced timing as Ollie helping the programme avoid pushing too hard for laughs. Between them, the cast can make the move from humour to darker character drama seem natural. The writing sometimes undoes that work by delaying information and directing attention towards the mystery when the people were interesting enough. Cooper and Hizli can seem more interested in arranging the next surprise than allowing the previous scene’s feelings to settle. It is frustrating because their acting has already given us enough to stay for.
Her part as Auntie Karen in Things You Should Have Done (2024) continues the comedy work, but the Cooper partnership remains the clearest starting point for us. One uneven series gives us reason to follow Hizli without declaring that everything she attempts works. We would welcome writing that gave those exchanges longer to settle before sending us after another explanation. Try the first series for Hizli and Cooper; solving it need not be the main occupation of the evening.
Biography
Selin Hizli is an English actress and writer. She trained at the BRIT School and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2010.
Hizli is best known for co-creating, co-writing and starring as Jen in the BBC One comedy-thriller series Am I Being Unreasonable? (2022–), alongside Daisy May Cooper. Her other television credits include roles in Land Girls (2011), Grantchester (2014), Appropriate Adult (2011), Mum (2016) and Avenue 5 (2020). She has received BAFTA nominations for her work.
