I love it when a sitcom lands fully formed. It's also nice when you gradually grow to adore a comedy but for me, it's so much better when it's love at first sight. I had that feeling with Peep Show. I had it with Toast of London. And I definitely had it when Alma's Not Normal first went out. So you can picture me jumping for joy now we have Alma's Not Normal season 2 (the whole second series is available on BBC iPlayer).
This is very much comedian Sophie Willan's baby. She is the creator, writer, executive producer and star. She even chose the pink fluffy coat that Alma rarely removes. It draws heavily on her own background, growing up in a dysfunctional family in Bolton. Her mother was a heroin addict and she was often looked after by her grandmother. Willan, who can also currently be seen as a computer expert in Ludwig, has turned this back story into award-winning comedy, picking up two BAFTAs.
In the first series, she was going through relationship troubles with her boyfriend and determined to break out of a rut. At the start of the new series, she raises her arms aloft triumphantly and declares that she is "back baby". It looks like she is living the sunshine dream in Hollywood. Until the camera pans away and she is standing in front of an advertising hoarding in her northern hometown.
Alma still has her positive, defiant streak and she needs it because her problems haven't gone away. Her erratic mother Lin (played brilliantly by Siobhan Finneran) is still having treatment in a secure ward which doesn't seem secure enough to hold her, while gran Joan (Lorraine Ashbourne) is still hellbent on being the oldest, sexiest swinger in town.
There are some changes though. Alma's bessie mate Leanne (Jayde Adams) is now running a pop-up boozer off the back of a truck that she won in a game of strip poker. As you can see this is a series that puts the experiences of women at the front. Men are mostly either absent, bad or downright useless.
Despite a formidable supporting cast though this is very much Alma's story. She is determined to move on, determined to better herself. She has ditched her bike Brenda and upgraded to a moped. "I'm a Bolton girl with Helen Mirren energy," she tells the aspiring showbiz boss at the Dedicated Monkey Agency, based in the back of a fish and chip shop.
All she needs is that one big opportunity, but all she gets is the chance to play a Victorian ghost at the local horror dungeon. And well, a ghoul's gotta do what a ghoul's gotta do. As a side note this is what the aforementioned Toast of London's Matt Berry once told me he did in real life before he got his TV break so don't give up Alma, it can genuinely be the start of something big.
Willan is a superb writer, with a finely tuned ear for a memorable line. My favorite, though I was spoilt for choice, is "I couldn't get you frog's legs so I got you anchovies." She has that knack of taking the mundane and making it hilarious, very much in the tradition of Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood. There is a nice nod to Wood's long-time performing partner in the opening episode — she calls her scooter Julie (Walters). Although I did think maybe she could've called it Vicky Vespa.
The other influence, of course, is that other late, great female comedy writer from the north, Caroline Aherne. Like Aherne's Royle Family, Alma's Not Normal manages to mix laughs with sadness. For Willan comedy and drama exist alongside each other. Life keeps throwing hard knocks at Alma and her family but they have learned to be adept at deflecting them. Usually with humor.
Willan acknowledged the influence of Aherne when she was awarded the BBC's first ever Caroline Aherne Bursary in 2018. "I discovered Caroline as a child when I watched her as Mrs Merton and instantly fell in love with her," she said at the time. "I dreamt of being a comedy writer/performer and seeing the super talents of northern women I related to like Caroline and Victoria Wood made me feel like this could be a very real and attainable achievement for a girl like me."
It is often said that TV comedy is dominated by men who have usually gone to Oxford or Cambridge. Willan proves that this doesn't need to be the case. It would be great to see Willan inspire more women from her background to pursue their dreams in the way she was inspired by Aherne and Wood. I hope that there are young women watching Alma's Not Normal and planning to follow in her footsteps. But make no mistake, Sophie Willan is very much a one-off. Genius like this does not come along every day. Or even every year.
Alma's Not Normal season 2 is on BBC Two on Mondays and available in full on iPlayer.
