‘The End of the F***ing World’ is a twisted and hilarious must-see show

Based on the graphic comic book series by Charles Forsman, The End of the F***ing World is a British dramedy series about two 17-year-old outsiders, James and Alyssa, who embark on a road trip to find Alyssa’s estranged father, who left home when she was just a child.

Alyssa, played by Jessica Barden of Hanna and Penny Dreadful fame, is the embodiment of existential teenage angst and doesn’t fit in at her new school despite being popular.

James, played by Alex Lawther of The Imitation Game, who is convinced he’s a psychopath, has decided it’s time to graduate from killing animals to something bigger – and he already has a target in mind.

Alex Lawther in The End of the F***ing World. Picture: Netflix

Together, the hilariously awkward pair gets caught up on a trail of violent events that grow increasingly more ominous as their quest progresses.

Sophie Gilbert from The Atlantic describes the series saying, “The eight-part first season is a surprising tour de force, mashing up the pitch-black humour of British alternative comedies with the visual punch of an auteur-driven indie film.”

She adds that it is also, “mercifully short. Individual episodes top out at 20 minutes, making the series binge-worthy, and giving it a taut, concise structure”.

Jessica Barden and Alex Lawther in The End of the F***ing World. Picture: Netflix

When the first season aired, Variety film critic Sonia Saraiya said: “It’s funny, and it’s sweet; it’s violent, and it’s romantic. The leads are both reprehensible and totally sympathetic; both scared kids and responsible adults.

I”t seems the mark of an honest production that the characters are arrestingly recognisable – and revealed so thoroughly to the audience that judging them feels impossible. By the end I was unsure if I wanted them rounded up by the authorities or free to go out in a blaze of glory; the only thing I was sure of was I wished there were more episodes.”

The End of the F***ing World made waves since it dropped on Netflix last year and the streaming network has confirmed that season 2 has finally gone into production, although no definite release date has been given.

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