Raised By Wolves (the UK one)

Warning

This guide and all of my reviews contain occasional bits of rude language,

and opinions some people might find offensive but for which I won’t apologise.

                    Don’t read any further unless you are open-minded.

As hard as I try not to give away too much, I can't guarantee there are no spoilers.

 

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Raised By Wolves - Comedy Series 2015-2016 UK 2 Seasons


Warm comedy with an aware, lefty, feminist slant

Della Garry lives in a Midlands council house with Germaine, Aretha, Yoko, Wyatt, Mariah, baby Cher and Grampy. Raised by Wolves is built around a loose but updated version of the upbringing of the two sisters who wrote the sitcom, Caitlin and Caroline Moran.

This is a show about characters who live in a Midlands council house. Della has a lot to say and each episode is less than 30 minutes long. Three cheers for subtitles while our ears adapt to different accents and topics.




Yes, I know that elsewhere I have commented that women doing stand-up can be a bit yawny about women’s stuff – in this show when Yoko gets her period for the first time the topic is handled with warmth, humour and drama, not preachiness. Plus, the menstruation material is only a small part of the whole episode and woven well into the total fabric of the storyline.

In the first episode we also see

• Grampy work hard to get his leg over;
• Della take her children to the Common to forage for food (because they'll need survival skills when capitalism collapses); and
• oldest daughter Germaine obsess about her unrequited lust for local plumber’s son, Lee.

When she learns Yoko has reached menarche, Della is determined she’ll have a positive view of the fact she is now a woman:

DELLA:

Right, Yoko. Let's get you kitted out. You probably want to start off with these. They're basically a small mattress in your pants. They're simple, and they get the job done. We'll leave the talk about what they do to the environment and how you're basically better off with a flannel for another day…

YOKO:
I don't think I want to be a woman, Mom.

 

DELLA
No-one does, love - but the men are too chicken-shit to handle it, so here we are.
Aretha, go next door and get one of those fuck-off big Toblerones.

No real spoilers – I’ve omitted some great lines from this transcript. The object of the exercise here is simply to give you an idea of the show’s values and what the characters are like.

Della’s “not a date” outing is good value. She challenges Michael to park his big truck in a tiny space and even though he warns it will be a tight fit he rises to the occasion.

 

Bingeability: AND MA 15+ Rating:

Raised By Wolves is a clever, warm show. Grampy might be a pot head who sometimes has acid flashbacks, and the family might have some unconventional ideas, but they are not your “normal” dysfunctional family. I loved every minute I spent with them.

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