The reviews are unanimous in their warmth. Most critics describe Jack Rooke’s semi-autobiographical sitcom as tender, funny and unusually careful with its material, taking grief, sexuality and young men’s mental health seriously without lecturing. The praise clusters on the writing and on the central friendship between a shy, closeted student and his laddish best mate, with Jon Pointing’s performance as Danny singled out more than once and Dylan Llewellyn’s move into a leading role noted approvingly.
The spread is narrow: nothing lower than a solid pass, and the reservations amount to mildness rather than complaint. The Times is the coolest of the seven, finding it tender and poignant but stopping short of the enthusiasm elsewhere. The second series draws the strongest notices, with The Independent and The i Paper both crediting it with a portrait of working-class and LGBT+ lives that avoids cliché. Nobody dissents; the only argument is how much to admire it.