This arresting new series is a Gen-Z existential crisis masquerading as a sex comedy. Written and created by the comedian Leo Reich, and produced by A24, it follows three best friends in their early twenties as they attempt to forge some sort of path through the modern world, without any clear sense of purpose or destiny. It has a Girls-like flair for generational angst, an undercurrent of abrasive nihilism, and a considerable roster of excruciating sexual experiences.
Reich stars as Ethan, who has been living in a shared flat in London with Abi (Emily Fairn) and Sam (Olive Gray), his best friends from university. This is a starry proposition from the off: Zadie Smith narrates Ethan’s plight, adding a philosophical framework to the story, and he first appears on a therapist’s couch opposite an older man played by Andrew Scott. Ethan’s brain has been addled by his screentime and a generalised sense of pointlessness and ennui. “It just feels like everything’s already over,” he explains, in a rare moment of candour.
In his search for meaning, Ethan mostly makes a lot of mistakes. There is a short gap between rental properties, so the flatmates all have to find somewhere else to live. This breaks up their codependent relationship and nudges them towards their imminent, much-delayed adulthoods. Ethan ricochets between hookups and his mother’s sofa. Abi secretly moves in with her boyfriend Tom (Sean Delaney), whom her friends suspect of being an “incel”. Sam moves into an earnest warehouse community with a washing-up rota, mostly so that she can be close to her toxic ex-girlfriend.
Each of the six episodes has the structure of a short story and the attention span of a social media native. There is a hedonistic pursuit of pleasure here, at club nights and house parties, but it comes with a certain grim determination that suggests that all is not as blithe and fun as it seems. Ethan keeps falling for straight men who toy with his emotions, and his acidic quips mask a sensitive soul. Abi and Sam need to work to pay the rent — Ethan is bankrolled by his parents — and the gig economy is not kind to either of them. Lena Dunham pops up in a brief and brutal role as Abi’s demanding girlboss manager, while Sam, an aspiring writer with a Substack, is tutoring GCSE students, who may, like Tom, also have inclinations towards the manosphere.
The show is endlessly self-aware. Smith’s narration highlights the primary motif running through the series, which is that, in theory, the lives of Ethan and his friends are the “easiest in recorded human history”. This recalls a meme in which people in their twenties or thirties look back at what their parents, grandparents or great-grandparents were doing at their age, becoming homeowners or parents or living with archaic illnesses. Yet for Ethan and his friends, life still feels like an impossibly bleak grind. Humour is the only defence they have against despair.
There is a slight sense, ironically, that some of its tropes have been seen before, not least in its recent stablemate Break Clause, which also touches on twentysomethings navigating a cold, unfeeling capital city. But It Gets Worse is brisk, crude and witty, and it may have the capacity to make older viewers very grateful for their additional years.
★★★★☆
On Channel 4 in the UK from October 22 and on Paramount+ in the US from November 6