Note: only 2 episodes were made available for review.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n With Derry Girls<\/a> over and out, Channel 4<\/a> has turned its attention to Big Boys<\/a>, a six-part comedy created, written and narrated by comedian Jack Rooke.<\/p>\n The story is adapted from his stand-up material and focuses on the latter half of his teenage years, which dealt him a cruel hand in the form of his dad Laurie\u2019s unexpected death at the age of 56.<\/p>\n It\u2019s doubly devastating because he\u2019s \u201cthe only one who knew the Sky movies pin\u201d.<\/p> Dylan Llewellyn (James in Derry Girls) stars as teenage Jack and, while there are traces of \u201cthe wee English fella\u201d in his performance, he does well to differentiate the two, with the heightened, often manic energy of Lisa McGee\u2019s comedy replaced by something much more understated here.<\/p>\n For Big Boys to work, the audience has to be in Jack\u2019s corner, mourning his mega fails \u2013 a snog in the toilets goes horribly, horribly wrong \u2013 and celebrating his wins, and baby-faced Llewellyn has you punching the air on the rare occasions he does get it right.<\/p>\n After deferring his spot at university \u2013 Jack was physically incapable of dragging himself out of bed following his dad\u2019s death \u2013 he packs up his belongings and heads off into the wilds of higher education.<\/p>\n It\u2019s there that he meets the other titular big boy, 25-year-old Danny, who he winds up rooming with in a former rundown classroom on campus following a gas leak in halls.<\/p>\n On the face of it, Danny is a LAD (all caps). He\u2019s confident, only ever wears polo shirts and one of those black Harrington jackets with the tartan lining, listens to Kasabian, drinks Red Stripe, and treats every occasion as an opportunity to pull.<\/p>\n \u201cJack and Danny, that\u2019s Cockney rhyming slang for fanny,\u201d he says during his first exchange with Jack.<\/p>\n But Danny is also compassionate and well-intentioned and a really good listener, subverting the impression that he initially gives off.<\/p>\n The pair aren\u2019t each other\u2019s type on paper but they\u2019re exactly what the other needs and quickly establish a solid friendship that\u2019s for life, not just for freshers \u2013 they remain best friends to this day.<\/p>\n In quieter moments, we also see Danny\u2019s mask drop and his bravado fall away. He\u2019s on medication for depression \u2013 endearingly, he has an alarm set on his phone to remind him to take his pills.<\/p>\n His vulnerability clashes with the image that he has cultivated for himself, a persona typically held aloft as the masculine ideal by society. But like Jack, when he chooses to open up, everything feels that little bit lighter.<\/p>\n Gorgeous, gorgeous boys are in touch with their emotions.<\/p>\n It\u2019s during his first year at university that Jack starts exploring his sexuality after years of keeping his true identity concealed. He\u2019s never been in any doubt about who he is but after catching his mum wince when Todd Grimshaw kissed Nick Tilsley in Coronation Street<\/a>, he postponed that chat indefinitely.<\/p>\n Spurred on by Danny, Jack joins the LGBTQIA society, which leads him to his first gay club night and gives him something he\u2019s never really had: his very own \u201ccrowd\u201d.<\/p>\n Watching Jack openly embrace his queerness while surrounded by people who don\u2019t question it or force him to suppress his authentic self is both life-affirming and cements the beauty of queer love and expression.<\/p>\n Alongside Jack and Danny, there\u2019s student union head Jules, with Stath Lets Flats\u2019 Katy Wix doing some of her very finest cringe comedy, Olisa Odele (Chewing Gum) as fashion student Yemi, who becomes Jack\u2019s unofficial \u2013 and often reluctant \u2013 LGBTQ+ mentor, and Izuka Hoyle (The Outpost) as the academically driven Corinne, who engages in flirty but furious repartee with Danny.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also Camille Coduri (Doctor Who<\/a>) as Jack\u2019s sweet as pie mum Peggy, who has discovered a newfound passion for DIY following the death of her husband, but can\u2019t use a hammer to save her life and would be more at home on The Goes Wrong Show.<\/p>\n Following on from Derry Girls is no small feat, but Big Boys holds its own. It\u2019s warm, chock-full of personality and very funny \u2013 the gag deployment is relentless and the tone and humour distinctly British, or \u201clove of huns\u201d, as Rooke described it to RadioTimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an ode to friendship and to new beginnings. It\u2019s a steaming hot plate of beans on toast after the day from hell.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s also about choosing life in the face of grief, with Rooke taking a tragic, destabilising event and turning it into something beautiful and heartfelt.<\/p>\n The past two years have been a deeply challenging time for so many of us, but Big Boys is here to show you that tomorrow\u2019s a new day.<\/p>\n Big Boys premieres on Thursday 26th May at 9pm on Channel 4 and All 4<\/a>. Check out more of our Comedy<\/a> coverage or visit our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a> to see what else is on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a> with Jane Garvey.<\/b><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Abby Robinson Published: Thursday, 26 May 2022 at 12:00 am 4.0 out of 5 star rating Note: only 2 episodes were made available for review.\u00a0 With Derry Girls over and out, Channel 4 has turned its attention to Big Boys, a six-part comedy created, written and narrated by comedian Jack Rooke. The story is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":16040,"template":"","categories":[1,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/big-boys-review-is-derry-girl-stars-new-comedy-worth-your-time.png",1170,798,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/big-boys-review-is-derry-girl-stars-new-comedy-worth-your-time-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/big-boys-review-is-derry-girl-stars-new-comedy-worth-your-time-300x205.png",300,205,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/big-boys-review-is-derry-girl-stars-new-comedy-worth-your-time-768x524.png",768,524,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/big-boys-review-is-derry-girl-stars-new-comedy-worth-your-time-1024x698.png",800,545,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/big-boys-review-is-derry-girl-stars-new-comedy-worth-your-time.png",1170,798,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/big-boys-review-is-derry-girl-stars-new-comedy-worth-your-time.png",1170,798,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Abby Robinson Published: Thursday, 26 May 2022 at 12:00 am 4.0 out of 5 star rating Note: only 2 episodes were made available for review.\u00a0 With Derry Girls over and out, Channel 4 has turned its attention to Big Boys, a six-part comedy created, written and narrated by comedian Jack Rooke. 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