The third season of Jack Rooke’s Big Boys has finally aired on Channel 4, providing a spectacular capstone to the British sitcom. Starring Dylan Llewellyn, who can be easily recognised from his role as Jack in Derry Girls, the show is semi-autobiographical in nature, based largely on Rooke’s time at university. The series explores his sexuality and the process of transitioning to adulthood at school, filled with hilarious anecdotes of the awkwardness of first going to gay clubs, the struggles of making friends during freshers’ week and putting up with dodgy student accommodation.
However, the series also tackles much deeper themes, dealing with mental health and loss. Specifically, the challenging death of Rooke’s father who passed away, just ten days after being diagnosed with cancer, the summer of the writer’s GCSEs.
Rooke draws from his earlier works: Cheer the F*** Up, Happy Hour, and Good Grief, the latter of which previously aired on BBC Radio 4. This obvious experience of writing about death, sometimes comedically, sometimes with the highest gravitas makes it a rare gem among television of today. Some of the most touching and heartbreaking moments of the show come from this examination of grief itself and the way in which the Rooke family attempts to deal with death, ultimately uniting as a community.
The final season is an exceptional portrayal of Jack’s final year of education at Brent University, and of what comes next in life, where a student goes from there. Featuring the same cast of both seasons that have come before, the wit and charm has not at all been lost. Aswell as this, season 3 finally tackles the tragic suicide of Jon Pointing’s character Danny, based off a friend of Rookes. Big Boys achieves the awkward task of spinning both the plates of being effortlessly hilarious and uncommonly tragic, cementing itself as one of the finest British sitcoms of the last 15 years.