The End of the Fxxxing World
Channel Four, Netflix
Genre: Dark comedy, Comedy-drama
Based on The End of the Fucking World by Charles S. Forsman
Written by: Charlie Covell
Directed by: Jonathan Entwistle & Lucy Tcherniak
Starring: Alex Lawther, Jessica Barden, Gemma Whelan, Wunmi Mosaku, Steve Oram, Christine Bottomley, Navin Chowdhry, Barry Ward.
Nobody does dark humor like the British. Oh, Americans and French are pretty good at it, but if you want a situation that is blacker than black and utterly hilarious, look to the Sceptred Isle. Cleanup on Isle Six, please. Somebody just dropped a load of jewels there.
The End of the Fxxxing World is about two seventeen year olds (played convincingly by Alex Lawther and Jessica Barden). He’s convinced he’s a psychopath because he can’t feel anything. She has a pretty clear case of antisocial personality disorder. They find a sort of mutual attraction. She likes bad boys, and he’s looking for his first murder victim. Truly, it’s a match made in Yorkshire.
She very nearly figures out that he is plotting to kill her (“Grandma, what a big knife you have”) at the same time that he decides he doesn’t want to kill her after all. But she does develop a few doubts about the relationship.
As the viewers learn more about the characters, their depth and humanity come to the fore. And of course, that’s when the mordant fun really begins. And the series becomes much more than just a silly caper show.
On Netflix now.