Chewing Gum: Season 1

April 5, 2017 12:52 PM - Season 1 (Full Season)

This UK-based show is written by and stars Michaela Coel, who was born in Tower Hamlets, London, to Ghanaian parents. The show is set in Tower Hamlets, and Michaela plays Tracey, a 24-year old Christian virgin shop assistant who lives with her mother and sister.
posted by larrybob (13 comments total)

Heyyyy, Chewing Gum! We're I think 4/6 episode into it and it's pretty damn great. Coel's fantastic and the whole thing manages to be unflinching without being straight-up cringe comedy ala Peep Show; you cringe at times but it's a sympathetic thing where the show's characters, especially Tracy as the centerpiece, are basically in on it and come out the other side a minute later.

Dialogue's fast-paced and patter-y enough at times that it's occasionally hard for my American ear to keep up, even though I'm generally fine on other UK stuff—wife and I have rewound a few times to catch a quick exchange—but I feel like that's sort of built into the stylized punch of the show's writing and performance.

We didn't find out until we were a couple eps in that the show was based on Coel's earlier stage play, Chewing Gum Dreams, and I'm curious at this point to find out more about that because the writing and structure of the show definitely vibe like they could be drawn from that sort of source.
posted by cortex at 12:54 PM on April 6, 2017 [4 favorites]

We watched the first 2 episodes so far. The pace is... kind of hard to adjust to somehow? But it was funny and felt fresh to me as a USian... That's interesting about it being a play...
posted by latkes at 4:31 PM on April 6, 2017

I've been watching the show with closed captions on. It helps.

By the way, also recently watched an episode of demon-hunting comedy Crazyhead, and Susan Wokoma, who plays Tracey's sister Cynthia is in it.
posted by larrybob at 10:41 AM on April 7, 2017 [3 favorites]

Yes I loved Crazy Head and it's amazing to see the transformation the actress makes as the sister in Chewing Gum.
Michaela is hilarious and I love this weird, crazy, beautiful show. I especially like the scenes when she's hanging out with her friends Candice and Nan (I think that's Nan's name?)
Man, the theme song to this shows sticks in my head for days and days. Love it.
posted by areaperson at 7:21 PM on April 8, 2017 [1 favorite]

Madcap zaniness that nows when to put the brakes on its flow and switch gears, while keeping everyone in the car. Delightful fun!
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:47 PM on April 9, 2017

No one's mention the raunchiness yet.

My God this show is raunchy. Hilariously, uncomfortably, brilliantly raunchy. I was occasionally shocked at how shocked I was, but also dying laughing and sometimes in awe at what Coel and the rest were doing. cortex nails it: "unflinching without being straight-up cringe comedy." Such a fantastic and deeply loony show.
posted by mediareport at 2:24 AM on April 10, 2017

*hangs head in shame quiet glee*

I didn't think it was that raunchy.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:12 AM on April 10, 2017 [2 favorites]

We didn't find out until we were a couple eps in that the show was based on Coel's earlier stage play, Chewing Gum Dreams, and I'm curious at this point to find out more about that because the writing and structure of the show definitely vibe like they could be drawn from that sort of source.

Maybe you've already seen it, but in a New York Times review of the second season, they include this tidbit:

The series is the outgrowth of a one-woman play, “Chewing Gum Dreams,” which Ms. Coel wrote in college, and it’s very much Tracey’s story. But for “Chewing Gum,” Ms. Coel invented some vivid secondary characters

posted by filthy light thief at 10:24 AM on April 10, 2017

I think it's filthy and I love it. There's a lot of scenes that I doubt would be allowed even on HBO.
posted by areaperson at 5:33 PM on April 10, 2017 [1 favorite]

I am halfway through Season 1 and love it. I spend most of the episodes cringing with second hand embarrassment and laughing.
posted by Julnyes at 11:58 AM on April 11, 2017

I didn't think it was that raunchy.

THERE'S PILE OF DILDOS, INNIT
HOW DID YOU MISS DAT, BRUV
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 10:09 PM on April 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Dildos aren't raunchy, they're like a wrench, every home should have several of these important tools.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:09 AM on April 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

Started this last night w/ the wife - we watched 5 episodes. Hard to beat the first episode - that restaurant date has to be one of the funniest things I've seen in ages. Coel has the most elastic, expressive face - she's up there with Jim Carey.
posted by misterbee at 9:38 PM on January 27, 2018 [1 favorite]