This is a heck of a TV series you may have watched. We watched it on Amazon Prime and finished all 18 episodes over the weekend. It's a comedy created out of a series of tragedies that keep happening with this middle aged couple in London - so there is a lot of British accent and tea!! There is a lot of swearing (f-word) and explicit sexual conversations which is why I guess it's not suitable for children to watch. American marketer Rob is on a business trip to London where he hooks up with an Irish teacher Sharon for a week. Everything is forgotten as Rob returns to the US when, after two months, Sharon drops a bomb over the phone that she's pregnant. Rob returns to London for good. From there on their lives converge and so does their troubles. From complicated pregnancy to work troubles to crazy parents to relationship issues of their friends, Chris and Fran, troubles just seem to be coming their way all the time - sometimes all together. The story is very well paced and with so many characters around, it stays interesting throughout. There is also a cultural aspect with an American man setting himself in a British environment and an Irish family. The differences are very subtle but some of them do create moments of humor and awkwardness. The lead cast, Rob Delaney (playing Rob Norris) and Sharon Horgan (playing Sharon Morris), is also the writing team of the series and the work is great. That possibly explains how they are at ease with their scenes in the series. The expressions (especially the "what the hell is going on????" ones), the dialog delivery, the punches are pretty much spot on. With Rob and Sharon, being originally from the US and the UK respectively also adds the required originality to the story. Another character to watch out for is Fran (played by Ashley Jensen) which is probably the most screwed up after Rob and Sharon in the series. Ashley is great to watch. Her awkward chemistry with Mark Bonnar made it even more interesting with two wildly different personas paired together. The direction has been quite good. No time wasting on unnecessary melodrama. The scenes have been shot in a quite straightforward manner. However, I'm not sure what thought-process went into creating recap section at the beginning of each episode. The recap has been very jumbled up with events shown not in the same order that they happened earlier and from random previous episodes. The series is split into three seasons (one each year) of 6 episodes each. Can't wait for the next season in 2018. Definitely to be watched!!!

I wasn't supposed to love this show.. but I did.I binged on Season 1 and 2, happily and enthusiastically!The actors are just incredible, it is so freaking funny and refreshing. I fell in love with both Sharon and Rob pretty quickly. It smart, hilarious and on-point for my general age group (ok, they are quite a bit younger, but still I can relate) regarding relationships and entanglements unique to modern times. They don't sugar coat anything, its like what a Rom-Com would be if it were Real.I watched Season 3, and I have to say, I still loved it but it wasn't my favorite. They are starting to throw some political PC stuff in and I really Don't Like It. Just please, please, please leave it alone. Its a great show- don't ruin it! You don't need to pander to the SJW crowd- they are probably not watching anyway! There are so few shows anymore that just leave it alone, this one and Portlandia come to mind. Let's all just get along and play nice, we don't need to be reassured you're in the popular crowd, OK?My favorite character is the guy who plays Chris. He is a gem. Oh and Sharon's brother- just hilarious! They are all hysterically funny.Can't wait to see what S. 4 has in store. That is all.

Instead of listing all the reasons why this show is so brilliant, I need to address the people that gave it a low score.I know the American guy wrote this series, but it is written in tune with the characters you will meet in the UK.The only people that gave this series a low score were from American cities. NOW wait... I do know that a lot of Americans scored this show highly, however, the only ones that didn't understand or like it were also from the USA.Now, without being negative or discriminatory, I have to say that this show has a LOT of UK based characterization and cultural references that are so subtle yet prevalent throughout the whole series.You don't have to be from or have lived in the UK to love this show, however, it really helps. The 'annoying' or 'depressing' or 'rude' characters that some people were complaining about are actually very accurate if not slightly exaggerated for comedic reasons. To address some of the comments on the jokes not being funny, well, they are not so much 'jokes' rather than witty responses to cultural observations. Wit plays a huge part in the structure of comedy of the UK. It IS different to the USA in that respect. I am not saying American comedy is not witty, I am saying that in the UK it is a base structure and not so much a additive like it is in USA comedies. Neither is better than the other.Just like Costanza in Seinfeld who demonstrates the highly anxious, elaborate and morally confused New Yorker, Catastrophe highlights the stereotypes of the UK in just as an elaborate way. Comedy in the UK is based around financial struggle, family problems, outlining how miserable and depressed one can get very quickly with the sharp turn of ill-fortune as well as keeping their chin up and making the most of it all by cutting someone else down for instant gratification. The wit is expressed by self deprecation and dark comedy as an observation and reaction to these dire circumstances. Comedy in the USA has a lot of different traits and I love them both. USA comedies are more often than not set in mid to high level income groups that either live in conveniently rent controlled penthouse apartments or 6 bedroom, 3 storey houses in affluent suburbs. UK comedies are usually set in low income groups where the character's lives are threatened by poverty or being perpetually ordinary.These reasons are why some people may not quite like or get the comedic flow and brilliance of this show.I do love comedies from both the UK and USA and there is no competition between them. If you don't like Catastrophe then you either simply don't like it or you don't understand the subtleties of the UK culture. THAT is NOT a bad thing, I am just saying that it happens, just like I would not understand the subtleties of Indian comedy or German comedy. They might not understand USA comedy either, it's more of a cultural gap than an intelligence thing so do not think I am putting anyone down. Thanks.

I want to like Sharon Horgan after her funny turn in Pulling ten years ago - but her portrayal of an entitled, mean spirited teacher with zero redeeming features isn't funny enough for me to find her character enjoyable. Does she hate women? Why does she write such a mean spirited role for herself? Rob fares better, he relies heavily on sex jokes, but comes across as a nice guy - it's not clear why he wants to be with her. She treats him dreadfully. They're propped up by some interesting friends - the very fine Ashley Jenson who has the best comic timing and her strange Scots husband- wish we could see more of them and less of Sharon and Rob! Can't fathom why this became such a hit, - a formulaic sitcom with unlikeable characters.