• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, December 14, 2023

A new series positioned as a comedy is another in a long line of such shows that try to mine misery for laughs.

Whether this one succeeds or fails at this mission is a matter of individual taste. It should come as no surprise to anyone who reads this TV Blog occasionally that my own tastes do not run in this direction.

Imported from the U.K., this one is about the lives of two sisters and their mum (pictured above), and the challenges they face as they cope with their lives.

The only problem is, the first episode of the show -- titled “Such Brave Girls” and launching on Hulu on Friday – does not exactly delineate what these challenges are.

The daughters’ mental health issues manifesting as cynicism, pessimism and a general lethargy -- probably all adding up to depression -- are the most obvious challenges.

But what made them this way? There must be a reason why they are so unhappy. Perhaps this will be revealed later.

For the time being, however, we are left with two young women who are obsessed with suicide -- threatening it and, in the case of one of them, attempting it.

Their dark take on the world is likely meant to mirror the way many people regard their lives these days -- particularly younger people who see evil and environmental destruction everywhere and believe deeply that they are doomed. 

This is the target audience for “Such Brave Girls” and many shows like it. Speaking of which, if these “girls” are brave, as indicated by the show’s title, it is difficult to see how. 

“Such Brave Girls” springs from the mind of Kat Sadler, a British comedian and writer. She plays one of the daughters, Josie (above photo, left).

Her sister, Billie, is played by Lizzie Davidson (center), Sadler’s real-life sister. Their mum, Deb (right), is played by Louise Brealey.

Sadler reportedly used aspects of her own struggles with mental illness in the writing and creation of the show.

“Such Brave Girls” traffics in material that some consider “brave” these days, such as a scene in which Josie comes upon her mother and her mother’s boyfriend engaged in a graphic sex act in the kitchen.

The TV Blog watches shows like this every once in a while to keep up with current content trends. 

But after watching this one, the conclusion is that current trends in TV comedy are more or less the same as they have been for years.

A new trend might be new comedies with a lot more laughter and a lot less gloom.

“Such Brave Girls” starts streaming on Friday, December 15, on Hulu.