''Sick of It'' is a British comedy-drama television series that premiered on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

on 27 September 2018. It was created and written by

Karl Pilkington Karl Pilkington (born 23 September 1972) is an English presenter, comedian, actor, voice-artist, producer and author. After working with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as producer on their XFM radio show, Pilkington became a co-host of '' ...

and Richard Yee (who also directed the series). Pilkington stars as both lead characters, playing his namesake Karl, and the voice inside his head that takes the form of his

Doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...

. The series is set around

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and follows Karl, a bored

taxi driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...

who has been dumped by his girlfriend Zoe and moves in with his elderly American aunt Norma, and is struggling to get his life back on track. Karl's closest companion is the voice in his head, a

sardonic To be sardonic is to be disdainfully or cynically humorous, or scornfully mocking. A form of wit or humour, being sardonic often involves expressing an uncomfortable truth in a clever and not necessarily malicious way, often with a degree of sk ...

, outspoken alter ego who takes the form of his double – it's the uncensored true version of Karl that says what he really thinks without the risk of offending others. As Karl attempts to move on from the break up and sort out his life, the voice in his head appears periodically to guide, criticise and dispense his unorthodox philosophy of life. Pilkington and Yee have worked together since 2009 on ''

An Idiot Abroad ''An Idiot Abroad'' is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky One, as well as a series of companion books published by Canongate Books, created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and starring Karl Pilkington. T ...

'' and ''

The Moaning of Life ''The Moaning of Life'' is a British travel documentary comedy television series broadcast on Sky 1. It follows Karl Pilkington around the world as he visits other cultures. Unlike ''An Idiot Abroad'', which had a similar premise, ''The Moaning o ...

''. ''Sick of It'' is the first scripted project they have collaborated on. The show was renewed for a second series, which premiered in January 2020. In March 2020 in an interview with

Lorraine Kelly Lorraine Kelly, (born 30 November 1959) is a Scottish journalist and television presenter. She has presented various television shows for ITV, including '' Good Morning Britain'' (1988–1992), ''GMTV'' (1993–2010), ''This Morning'' (2003� ...

on ''

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

'', Pilkington stated that the second series would likely be the last.

Episodes

Series 1 (2018)

Series 2 (2020)

Cast

Pilkington stars as the show’s two lead characters and appears in every episode.

Sondra James Sondra James (July 21, 1939 – September 12, 2021) was an American sound coordinator and actress. Early life Sondra James was born Sondra Weil on July 21, 1939, in the Lower East Side, New York City. She graduated from the Bronx High School of ...

plays his

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Auntie Norma. In Series 2 Norma's carer Ruby is played by

Marama Corlett Marama Corlett is a Maltese actress and dancer, best known for her roles as Aki in '' Blood Drive'', Ruby in '' Sick of It'' and Corporal Angua in '' The Watch''. Early life and family Corlett was born and raised in Malta as one of four sister ...

who also becomes a love interest for Karl. ''Sick of It'' doesn’t have a regular fixed cast and instead features guest appearances each week from actors including

Craig Parkinson Craig Parkinson (born 11 March 1976) is an English actor and podcaster. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Shaun in the E4 series ''Misfits'', twins Jimmy and Johnny Kray in the ITV series ''Whitechapel'', and DI Matthew "Dot" Cottan in ...

Kate Ashfield Kate Ashfield (born 28 May 1972) is an English actress, who has appeared in stage, TV and film roles, most famously in her role as Liz in the 2004 zombie comedy ''Shaun of the Dead''. She is the co-writer of the 2017 TV series ''Born to Kill''. ...

Perry Benson Perry Benson (born 9 April 1961) is a British character actor best known for his regular roles in British television sitcoms ''You Rang, M'Lord?'' (1988–1993), ''Oh, Doctor Beeching!'' (1995–1997) and ''Operation Good Guys'' (1997–2000). ...

, Finn Bennett,

Remy Beasley Remy Beasley is a Welsh actress best known for playing Beyoncé Evans in the Sky1 TV comedy drama series ''Stella''. She comes from Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border ...

, Mark Silcox, Raad Rawi, David Vujanic, Cokey Falcow,

Lou Sanders Lou Sanders is a British stand-up comedian, writer and actress from Broadstairs, Kent. Early life Sanders grew up in Broadstairs, Kent with her mother and her stepfather, a history teacher. Her father was periodically present. Sanders moved ou ...

Shola Adewusi Shola Adewusi (born 1963) is an England, English actress of Nigerian descent, of stage screen and radio. Her television work includes ''Little Miss Jocelyn'', the BBC Television comedy, comedy sketch show series written by and starring Jocely ...

Cavan Clerkin Cavan Clerkin (born 1973) is a British actor and filmmaker from Hackney, London. Career Clerkin has appeared in various TV shows including ''Smack the Pony'', ''The Inbetweeners'' and ''The IT Crowd'', and feature films ''Gangster No. 1'', '' ...

Julia Krynkeand & Doug Stanhope.

Reception

Lucy Mangan from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' gave the first two episodes 3 out of 5, observing, "It may not have been pure Pilkington, but perhaps in these melancholy times we couldn’t cope with that simple, shining joy anyway." Morgan Jeffery at RadioTimes.com gave the second series 4 stars out of 5, calling it "a smart, well-observed, touching and, yes, funny reflection on the intricacies and trivialities of modern life, and a step-up from the already formidable first series".

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sick of It (Tv Series) 2018 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings 2010s British comedy-drama television series 2020s British comedy-drama television series Sky UK original programming English-language television shows Television shows set in the United Kingdom