What to watch tonight: Sharon Horgan’s ‘utterly hilarious’ post divorce comedy Youth needs a place on your watch list
The Motherland creator strikes gold again, with a painfully true look at dating after divorce for the sandwich generation
If you miss the sharply observed look at the realities of parenting Motherland gave you, then you'll adore the equally stark reflection of midlife staring back at you in Youth.
Now Sharon Horgan, creator of possibly the best show about the dangers of the playground and the PTA ever written has moved onto the next stage of her own life, she's written another incredibly accurate comedy about it.
Swapping motherhood for midlife, when Sharon found herself suddenly single and divorced just as she was about to turn 50, she did what any self-respecting writer would do: She poured her experiences into a comedy-drama that must've been like therapy for her, and will make women of the same age tuning in feel seen.
In the eight-episode Youth, airing on HBO Max from September 21, Sharon takes on the role of Alex, a divorced sandwich generation woman trying to date while being caught between far too many responsibilities.
Alex has a job as a literary agent to hold down, a teenage son to care for, and ageing parents who are making increasing demands on her time.
She's also put herself under a lot of pressure to find a new partner quickly, before she gets "too old" and doesn't have to spend her later years alone. It is, unsurprisingly, the dating side of the show that brings many of the laughs.
And if you're wondering about why a series about midlife and the abject fear of a ticking clock is called "Youth", it's actually a nod to those in their 50s being in "the youth of old age."
Rupert Friend takes the role of Patrick, "a sort of on-again, off-again ex-flame" of Alex, whom she describes as "an institutionally single man-child."
Clubbing is also tried out for size as a place to meet a new man, while Tim McInnerny's Michael seems like the most stable choice but Alex can't seem to get past how his ageing face makes her feel about her own fall into later life.
As well as the laughs, it wouldn't be a Sharon Horgan-penned show without making the audience think at least a little about some of the more existential stuff the subject matter throws up about being old.
A lot of it comes down to misogyny and the fear of ageing and being alone that society puts on women in particular. Alex's panicked time limit she's put on finding someone to share her life with is rooted in still wanting to look young for some part of their relationship - like having an aged face would somehow ruin it all.
There's also the pressure on women to maintain their youth in the first place. When it's something fetishised by social media in an online world, those messages about life, love and romance only being worth anything when you're young aren't challenged - but Youth forces viewers to stare this ridiculous construct square in the face.
The show has already garnered a hugely positive response from critics, hailed as "utterly hilarious" (The Guardian), "painfully true" (The Telegraph) and "a portrait of midlife that's anything but mid" (Roger Ebert).
Along with that praise, if you've ever seen anything Sharon has written or acted in before, you know this needs to go straight on your watch list.
Youth airs on HBO Max from September 21.
