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Catastrophe - Amazon comedy with Sharon Horgan & Rob Delaney [S3 up on Amazon now]

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C

Cornballer

Member
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Catastrophe is streaming on Amazon right now. It stars Rob Delaney (Twitter) and Sharon Horgan (Pulling). It previously aired on Channel 4 in the UK. The first season consists of 6 x 25min episodes, so it's a very quick binge watch. The show is a romantic comedy that has drawn comparisons to You're the Worst. I watched the first two episodes last night - the leads have great chemistry, it's a charming show, and I laughed a lot. The show was renewed for a second season earlier this year.

The show has been receiving great reviews, but there hasn't been much (any?) discussion about it here on GAF. I thought it was worth my time to throw together a thread. Check it out if you have a few minutes.

Amazon said:
When Irish schoolteacher Sharon meets American advertising executive Rob in a London bar, it doesn't take long for them to end up naked. After a sweaty, week-long fling, Rob returns to the States and his old life. A surprise call from Sharon with some "news" prompts him to fly back to London to help figure things out.
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Links:
- Amazon page
- Catastrophe - Official Trailer (youtube)
- Sneak Peak Inside Amazon's New Show "Catastrophe" (youtube)

Reviews:
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Sepinwall said:
Yet despite the show's rampant, unapologetic filthiness, "Catastrophe" is surprisingly sweet — a romantic comedy that considers the romance part at least as important as the humor — and Rob and Sharon themselves are drawn on a very human, sympathetic level. The most shocking thing about Rob, particularly if you know Delaney from Twitter, is how normal he seems. He can tell a joke — when one of Sharon's students asks if he knows President Obama's children, he deadpans, "I know Sasha, but I don't know Malia" — but he's an average guy in almost every way but height. And where the dynamic in this situation often involves the woman having to drag the man into maturity, here the scales are tipped ever so slightly in his favor, because both creators recognize how much fun it is to watch Sharon struggle with the enormity of what's happening to her body and life.
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Zap2It said:
What follows is the tale of their romance, which goes a little backwards compared to the "normal" way of doing things. But it's hilarious and heartfelt and buffeted by a cast of amazingly awful supporting characters. It's not exactly like "You're the Worst" -- Rob and Sharon are starting out from a much better place, soul-wise, than Jimmy and Gretchen on the FX comedy -- but it's in the same vein.
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NY Times said:
Mr. Delaney and Ms. Horgan, as writers and actors, are able to make most of the serious moments believable and bearable, even touching (though the twist ending of the season finale feels like a miscalculation). And while the show’s humor, alternately subtle and pummeling, doesn’t always click, each episode has its moments.
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Time said:
Racy, amiable and honest, Catastrophe doesn’t feel the need to amp up its story with surprises either. It just does the exact thing it’s supposed to.
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NPR said:
And that's what sets Catastrophe apart from many other TV comedies trying to build a modern romance story: Rob is an adult. He's not a man-child avoiding responsibility, or getting a forced crash course on how to commit.
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NY Mag said:
Amazon's new six-episode series Catastrophe is a powerfully charming rom-com in all the best ways (including being British). It's also an example of how little premise good comedy actually needs: Specificity, yes; joy, yes; charisma and wit and smarts, yes. He's Rob, she's Sharon. And that's kind of it. Go.
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Yahoo said:
One of the smartest, most charming and funny shows you’re likely to see all year is Catastrophe
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SF Gate said:
So what is the secret to a great sitcom? There may not be one, but in the case of “Catastrophe,” it’s great writing with a savvy juxtaposition of comedy and sometimes ugly everyday real life. It doesn’t hurt that the writers and stars are the same people as well. “Catastrophe” is wonderfully misnamed.
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S

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
fenners said:
It's really smart & well written, and there's great chemistry between the two of them.
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I think the fact that they both wrote and produced the show together contributes to their own voices coming through in their characters. Really great little show, can't wait for more of it.
 
P

peppermints

Member
My wife and I watched all 6 episodes the past couple of nice.

It was enjoyable. Some parts seemed a little forced (like Rob's American friend) but most of it worked.

Felt like the show did a really good job of creating its own feel and color scheme.
 
W

whytemyke

Honorary Canadian.
I think it's amazing that Delaney is finding success because he (Im assuming) has such a great Twitter presence. I know he's done stand up for a while, and the book was cool, but I'm glad to see the show happen. I'll check it out this weekend.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Interview in the Guardian about creating the series:

- Catastrophe: the romantic comedy that banned the words 'I love you'
The pair say that they settled on the fact that everything is about 49% autobiographical. “I did get pregnant very quickly in my relationship with my husband so that we had to make some pretty fast decisions that we have to stay together now and we should probably get married and we should probably find out a bit about each other,” says Horgan, also known for creating the UK series Pulling.

Delaney agrees. “We really did stripmine our lives and the lives of our partners and our kids and the way they were conceived and any hiccups along the way. We wanted to make every feeling feel real even though every data point might not be.”

Delaney and Horgan didn’t meet on a business trip, however. Like many things in Delaney’s life, it happened through Twitter, where the comedian has more than 1 million followers and is regularly regarded as one of the funniest voices on the social site. He noticed she followed him and was a fan of her work, so they got to know each other. Eventually the idea for Catastrophe was born and the two hashed out the scripts in a series of hotel rooms, borrowed offices and friends’ flats while visiting each other in London or LA, where Delaney lived at the time. He’s since moved to London, which has provided even more fodder for his character’s jump across the pond.
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C

Cornballer

Member
I finished this up last night. Very much enjoyed it front to back and it's highly recommended. The major cliffhanger at the end is a bit of a bummer, but at least the show is renewed and we'll see S2 next year.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- Andy Greenwald for Grantland: This Is 40, Knocked Up: Amazon’s ‘Catastrophe’ Is Funny, True, and the Best New Comedy of the Year
Catastrophe, a series from the U.K.’s Channel 4 now streaming in its entirety on Amazon Prime, is nothing if not honest. It is side-splittingly honest: About love, anger, attraction, aging, pregnancy, and “sex musk.” It is also, not coincidentally, the finest and funniest new comedy of the year. Just six episodes in total (that’s a brisk three-hour binge, for those planning an evening in) Catastrophe is almost absurdly enjoyable. It satisfies all of the most basic rom-com pleasure centers — attractive people, sexual and social high jinks — and then keeps hitting them. Nearly every story line spills over into all sorts of unexpected, often uncomfortable truths. Don’t get me wrong: Catastrophe is a show that firmly believes in laughter as the best medicine. It’s just that, unlike the majority of our watery, domestic sitcoms, Catastrophe understands that medicine is something you need most when you’re sick.
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G

greendomo's ghost

Member
My wife and I just finished watching this tonight. We both really enjoyed it, and hope it finds a bigger audience. The chemistry between the leads and the tone is really great. Just wish season 1 was longer!
 
R

RatskyWatsky

Hunky Nostradamus
I finally got the chance to check this out - I liked it a whole lot. It's the best new comedy of the year, for sure. This year's 'You're the Worst'.

How does this thread only have 12 posts? :(
 
M

Massive Nights

Member
Best sitcom (dramedy?) I've seen in a long time. Sharon Horgan is amazing in this, that episode where she meets the down syndrome girl in the street nearly had me bawling.
 
W

woodchuck

Member
Just watched them. Sharon hogan is brilliant in this. Rob Delaney is kind of a shitty actor though. But the writing is great
 
J

JonathanEx

Member
This show looks like it needs more love, so, thought I'd join in.

Watched this when it was on in the UK - absolutely loved it, very funny, very real and such a great cast. Including the characters that are dicks.

I'm delighted the second series starts soon (October-ish?)... I think Channel 4 bumped it forward from next year after how well series 1 went down.
 
F

faridmon

Member
JonathanEx said:
This show looks like it needs more love, so, thought I'd join in.

Watched this when it was on in the UK - absolutely loved it, very funny, very real and such a great cast. Including the characters that are dicks.

I'm delighted the second series starts soon (October-ish?)... I think Channel 4 bumped it forward from next year after how well series 1 went down.
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Is it on 4od?
 
G

Gamer @ Heart

Member
Loved the show. Blasted through it in one night.

My only complaint:
I was sort of OK with a cliffhanger, I've dealt with those before, but that last fight between them was horseshit. They have literally verbally blasted each other all the damn time for months and then laughed it up right afterward, and now you want me to swallow that on the wedding night it finally blows up? It just felt so wrong, after all they have been through, that that moment is when they finally clear the air, after MONTHS of brutal honesty with each other and new found respect for each other. It was too TV, and didn't sit well at all.

All that said. Can't wait for more. I always wondered what delany was doing in the UK when he showed up on my British panel shows all those months ago.
 
E

Empty

Member
it's slightly galling that this show has so little interest here, i mean even relative to the truly mind-numbing programs that only the most dedicated tvgaffers watch it's being ignored.

i think it's utterly fantastic and the rare modern comedy that's really honest and really funny. confident enough to let the wackiness come from eccentric side characters and let the main force just come from simple human relationships. i like the stuck between the atlantic feel, it's british in style and sensibility but delaney brings a brashness, warmth and optimism that distances it from your thick of its, your peep shows. though this split identity is maybe why it struggles with an audience.
 
A

AcridMeat

Banned
A friend recently recommended this show to me, watched the first couple and it's very clever and funny. Quite like it, showed it to another friend tonight.

Is it that it's Amazon Prime that it isn't getting attention?
 
S

soco

Member
AcridMeat said:
A friend recently recommended this show to me, watched the first couple and it's very clever and funny. Quite like it, showed it to another friend tonight.

Is it that it's Amazon Prime that it isn't getting attention?
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Probably part of it. They're terrible at promoting and making content navigable.
 
A

Akahige

Member
I didn't even realize there was a thread on this show, I watched the first season a few months back and it was great.
 
daemissary

daemissary

Member
Nice, I loved the first season of this but I was really disappointed by the small amount of episodes. Is season 2 longer?
 
F

fenners

Member
It's a British tv thing. Traditionally 6 episodes for scripted series that aren't soap operas :) It's loosened a little but still occurs frequently. Small writing/production teams compared to the big 20+ week US shows.
 
S

Squalor

Junior Member
Nothing wrong with the episode count.

This show did more in six episodes than a lot of comedies in twenty.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
S2 reviews:

- Variety
Life is absurd, and couples like Rob and Sharon, who live together but whose daily experiences are seriously divergent, can feel real insecurity about their futures, but this show never goes to contrived places to reflect any of that. And underneath its well-honed digs and silly wit are some kind and thoughtful observations about connection, depression and what it takes to survive not only parenthood but the quest to be a semi-moral human being.
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- Sepinwall
Conventional wisdom in American TV comedy is terrified of both happy couples and babies, but Catastrophe is actually even better this year than it was last year. The contrasts are bigger, the breaches of decorum more of an amusing relief, and Delaney and Horgan — like the characters they play — have a keen sense of when to shut the hell up and attempt some ridiculous sex.

Again and again, the show toggles between shock humor and sentiment like the two are the most natural fit in the world. Tonally, the show's a miracle, on top of just being balls-out funny.
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C

Cornballer

Member
Talking TV with Ryan & Ryan:
- Episode 186: Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan talk 'Catastrophe'
Hi, it's Mo here, and I've got Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan talking about their Amazon series 'Catastrophe.' It's great and you should watch it (and both seasons are on Amazon Prime in the United States). I didn't record an introduction to this podcasta because GarageBand decided to be difficult. Still, they're great, 'Catastrophe' is terrific, and ideally you will enjoy both. One note: Toward the end of the podcast, I mention a show called 'Divorce,' which is a TV series that Sharon is working on for another network (it's nothing to do with 'Catastrophe').
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P

pj

Banned
This show has a few great one liners per episode but overall it's not very funny or interesting. Rob is a bad actor and his mouth annoys me. There is never any conflict on the show that lasts more than 5 minutes. I watched S2 a while ago so it's already fading from memory, but it feels like this happens all the time: "grr I'm so mad at you maybe we should get a divorce * 30 seconds and 2 jokes later * just kidding lets have sex" Nothing ever goes anywhere and there's no consequences for anyone's actions.
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
Amazon romantic comedy - you mean Channel 4, right?!

I watched series 2 with my wife recently, and it was pretty solid. I feel like Rob and Sharon have good chemistry together, and it has a pretty good mix of serious themes and fun, silly scenarios.

One thing I found a bit odd was that series 2
immediately skips forward by about 18 months and has them with a newborn second child. The infant rarely plays directly into stories they're trying to tell
, so it struck me as an odd decision.

Also, the whole thing is available to view on 4OD: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/catastrophe
 
C

Cornballer

Member
- NYT review
Mr. Delaney and Ms. Horgan share writing duties, emphasizing their characters’ sharp-tongued camaraderie. Ms. Horgan is a comic actress, while Mr. Delaney is a comedian who happens to be acting, but they have a natural rapport. They joke splendidly and fight even better.
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- Washington Post: ‘Catastrophe’ and the case for short television seasons



Triggerhappytel said:
Amazon romantic comedy - you mean Channel 4, right?!
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Thread was made so that the Americanos wouldn't miss the first season as noted in the OP. I'm just glad both sides of the Atlantic get to enjoy this. :)
 
E

echoshifting

Banned
We just watched the first episode of Season 2 and we were both cracking up the whole time. It's rare that happens. I think we're gonna power through this thang in one night, here
 
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