Even as a child, I was never one for holiday cheer. The only festive film I liked growing up was The Nightmare Before Christmas—especially the part where Christmas is ruined—and even when I sang in the school choir for the annual candlelit carol service, I only really enjoyed the spooky ones. (My favorite was the splendidly eerie “Coventry Carol,” which, it turns out, is actually about babies being slaughtered.)
So you’ll have to forgive me if my recommendation for something “you really should have” watched this year—and that I’m encouraging you to dive into over the holidays—leans toward the darker side. I was first introduced to Such Brave Girls, a pitch-black comedy from the BBC (available on Hulu in the U.S.), by my friend Charlie. He recommended it based on my love of Julia Davis’s gleefully unhinged Nighty Night, my favorite TV show of all time. (I even managed to persuade my American colleagues to include it in Vogue’s list of the greatest TV shows of the 21st century.)
Like Nighty Night, Such Brave Girls takes a sledgehammer to the flimsy framework of manners that holds British society together, exposing the malice and envy that often lurk beneath the politeness. (If you think I’m exaggerating about that malice and envy, just leaf through a British tabloid.) The dysfunctional family at the show’s center consists of three characters: Josie, a suicidally depressed, bisexual twentysomething (played by the show’s talented creator, Kat Sadler); her chaotic narcissist of a younger sister, Billie (played by Sadler’s real-life sister, Lizzie Davidson); and their single mother, Deb (played with exquisite nastiness by Louise Brealey). Deb was left in financial ruin when her husband walked out a decade ago and is now trying to secure a “Willy Wonka ticket out of hell” by ensnaring the hapless but wealthy widower Dev into marriage. I think the word Charlie used to describe it was “depraved”—I was sold.
And I was delighted to discover the show lived up to those lofty promises. In the first episode alone, Deb invents a false backstory that her husband died (even visiting a random man’s grave) to bond with Dev, before yelling at Josie to stop killing Dev’s sex drive with her permanently mopey expression. (She often reminds her daughters of the Johnson family motto: “Ignore, repress, forget.”) In episode three, Billie leaves her job at the children’s soft play center, “Kidz Cauldron,” to get an abortion, breezing past the chance to change out of her work clothes—a Wicked Witch of the West costume, complete with prosthetic nose and green body paint. The first shot of her in the clinic waiting room in full witch regalia, and the nurse’s puzzled look at her getup, had me weeping with laughter.
After devouring the first season in a matter of days, I moved on to Season 2, which dropped in July. It continues in an equally vicious, vulgar mode—at least on the surface. The family members are all up to their usual hijinks: Josie is kidnapped by her mother at art college and marched to a surprise wedding with her deadbeat boyfriend Seb, then tries to get herself institutionalized to escape him; Billie enters a tumultuous “sugar baby” relationship with the much-older Graham; and Deb is desperately trying to claw her way back into Dev’s favor after he discovers she lied about her ex-husband dying. Along the way, all of them use self-help buzzwords and weaponized therapy-speak to justify being terrible people. (There’s a memorable scene where Billie develops a thesis that being a mistress is somehow feminist.)
And yet, Such Brave Girls isn’t quite as misanthropic as I might be making it sound. You can’t help but root for them.For Josie, this is especially true in Season 2 as she tries to spread her wings, exploring her creative passions and her sexuality while still serving as the family’s perpetual punching bag. You also can’t help but feel a little sorry for Billie, whose endless search for validation from uninterested men is clearly a product of her upbringing, especially as we watch her mother continue to trample over her daughters to secure her own financial life raft. Even Deb is a victim of a very British kind of class anxiety—not just trying to survive, but struggling to deflect the shame of being a poor single mother in a society that looks down on women like her.
And, of course, at the heart of it all is the loyalty and genuine care the two sisters have for each other, even if theirs is a bond forged in trauma and often expressed in toxic, destructive ways. So yes, I encourage anyone with a taste for gallows humor to try this deliciously poisoned pudding of a show over the holidays. And if you find it all too unrelentingly bleak? You can always take a page from the Johnson family playbook and just ignore, repress, and forget.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the brilliant show Such Brave Girls framed as questions a real viewer might ask
Getting Started The Basics
Q What is Such Brave Girls about
A Its a dark comedy series that follows the dysfunctional lives of a single mother Deb and her two adult daughters Josie and Billie as they navigate financial ruin disastrous relationships and their own chaotic mental health with zero filter
Q Where can I watch it
A In the UK you can watch it on BBC iPlayer Its also available on Hulu in the United States
Q Is it based on a true story
A While its a fictional comedy the creator and star Kat Sadler has said she drew heavily from her own experiences with mental health family dynamics and therapy which gives it its painfully relatable and authentic edge
Q Who are the main actors
A The core trio is Kat Sadler as Josie Lizzie Davidson as Billie and Louise Brealey as their mum Deb Sam Buchanan plays their hapless dad and Paul G Raymond plays Josies disastrous love interest Nick
About the Humour Style
Q Why is it described as chaotic
A The show moves at a breakneck pace blending cringe comedy brutally honest oneliners surreal visual gags and moments of genuine emotional whiplash The characters often make the worst possible decisions in the most dramatic way
Q Is it really that dark
A Yes but brilliantly so It tackles topics like depression anxiety suicide ideation and family trauma headon but finds the absurd hilarious truth within them Its for people who find catharsis in laughing at the bleak stuff
Q What other shows is it similar to
A If you like the unflinching family chaos of Fleabag the cringe and heart of This Way Up or the surreal fastpaced wit of Chewing Gum youll likely enjoy this Its also been compared to I Hate Suzie for its raw portrayal of a woman falling apart
Deeper Questions Themes