Michaela Coel stars as Tracey Gordon in Chewing Gum.
Michaela Coel stars as Tracey Gordon in Chewing Gum.
"I'm looking for a tiger who can also be gentle - like Drake," Tracy Gordon tells us in the new season of Chewing Gum, one of the better original comedy series on Netflix.
As the quote might suggest, Chewing Gum follows the absurd trials and tribulations of a hapless 24-year-oldwoman living in a housing estate in London. Created by and starring Micaela Coel, Tracy tries to shed her strictly religious upbringing and lose her virginity before her nether regions, quote unquote, "shrivel up".
Beyond that, there's all the achingly ordinary facets of 20-something life; from working a job you hate to stalking your ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend on Facebook until you lose your mind.
In season one, we watched Tracy bumble through countless failed sexual exploits. Every time she became aroused she would get a nosebleed, just one of the many inside jokes Coel shares with the audience in confidence. In season two, Tracy continues to break the fourth wall, talking about tiny cow penises (udders) and the ideal man (still Drake) like a close friend. She's all over the place, a flawed narrator who works in a corner shop, uses whiteboard marker for eyeliner and swaps out Fanta for Champagne.
Michaela Coel returns as Tracey Gordon in the Netflix series Chewing Gum.
"Why do you lie so much?" her ex-boyfriend asks her as they slump together on the floor, lit only by the fluorescent glow of the fizzy drink fridge. "I'm not sure" Tracy replies.
It's hard to pin down, so Chewing Gum might be described as a glorious Frankenstein of some of the most successful comedies in recent years - incidentally all driven by women, too. It has the down-the-barrel nods of fellow UK triumph Fleabag, without the technique ever feeling too smug or played out. The awkward horror of human intimacy that Girls pioneered is mixed in there too, without any of the self-obsessed melancholy. Fans of the hokey screwball charm of mainstream darling Miranda will fill their boots, and there are more than enough surreal sequences to rival Broad City.
With all that in mind, it might take a little bit of getting used to for those more accustomed to the glacial pace of slow burners like The Office or Louie.
The blaring graphics, quickfire conversations and hallucinogenic montages take no prisoners in their frequency. Although it first premiered on UK's E4 channel, Chewing Gum is a show that thrives best in the online form. In a climate where TV shows premiere with episodes longer than the Lord of the Rings trilogy, it's nice to know a show can still get the job done in 25 minutes.
Chewing Gum remains firmly grounded in its council estate setting in a way that feels new. Instead of being framed with patronising pity, or like a kitchen sink tearjerker, Tracy is completely frank about her surroundings and their failings. Sometimes she's mad there isn't actually enough dangerous crime happening around her.
Tracey Gordon is your typical 20-something, trying to get her life together.
There's something about the everyday locations that make the outrageous melodrama all the better. It's nice to see relationships heal in a musty dairy, or fall apart in the disgusting toilet of a bar.
Chewing Gum is one comedy that won't lose its flavour anytime soon. Every episode feels as fresh as the one before, the mundanity and hilarity of Tracy's shambolic existence holding up a mirror to everyone who has ever had an awkward moment on a date, in a bedroom or walking down the street. And every day, Tracy endlessly shakes herself off and tries to start anew every day. Just like the rest of us.
