An easy watch with a lot of good laughs!
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8
Who’d have thought it – a programme called ‘Car Share’, but with the car sharing removed! Yet, somehow, it still works.
After watching the first series – several times I’ll proudly say – I was delighted to hear that Peter Kay’s Car Share had been renewed for a second series. But then I wondered how could they could replicate the winning formula of John and Kayleigh driving to their supermarket workplace each day, but change the set up enough to warrant another series?
The second series started tonight (11/4) on BBC One, and the first episode gave us an insight into the changes from the first series. The simplistic premise originally followed John (Kay) and his colleague Kayleigh (Sian Gibson) driving to work, but the second series switches this up and finds John now driving to work alone, as Kayleigh (Sian Gibson) has moved to a new house. But don’t worry, she is still providing company, and hilarity, over the phone. By the end of the episode their separation hasn’t lasted, but it did provide a refreshing change to the narrative, as well as ensuring some brilliant comedic moments.
The second series has a lot to live up to, with Series 1 collecting rave reviews and even picking up the 2016 BAFTA for Best Scripted Comedy. Episode 1 picks up mere days after where we left Car Share, and hints further to a potential romance between the likeable pair – but if you’re waiting for it to be official, you’ll have to wait a little longer, as Episode 1 instead chooses to focus on an incident of road rage for John, and his subsequent internet fame. There are only the subtlest hints of romance between the pair.
The first episode shows that Car Share‘s second series is going to be much like the first, with plenty of laugh-out-loud gags, as well as heart-warming moments. If you’re a lover of cheesy music, Car Share is full of it, thanks to ‘Forever FM’ (a sure rip-off of Heart Radio) and a Now 48 CD, which Kayleigh gifted to John in the previous series’ finale. Car Share may seem simplistic in its set up, but to those eagle eyed – or should I say ‘eagle eared’ – the music plays a huge part as a commentary on the action.
Peter Kay is on great from, much like in the previous series, where his performance as uptight supermarket manager John won him Best Comedy Actor award at the BAFTAs. Sian Gibson is equally amazing, having returned to the spotlight to star in the first series after a few years off screen. The icing on the Car Share cake is Kay and Gibson’s chemistry, with the pair having worked together numerous times over the years.
What’s even better is that after tonight’s episode, the BBC have released the rest of the four-part series on iPlayer – a student’s binge-watching dream! And even if you haven’t watched the first series, the show is so welcoming you don’t need to.
Car Share continues next Tuesday at 9pm.
