The end of the world proves very funny in Sky1’s new Rob Lowe drama You, Me and the Apocalypse
Ben Dowell previews the cracking new end-of-the-world comedy drama also starring Pauline Quirke, Mat Baynton and Paterson Joseph
Sky1 drama You, Me and the Apocalypse, about a world facing obliteration from a comet just 34 days away, is – you may be surprised to hear – very funny.
Without giving too much away, the comedy starts in a bunker with the world facing destruction before flashing back to news bulletins describing the disaster as an “extinction level event”.
The Wrong Mans star Baynton plays hapless bank worker Jamie who is living quietly in Slough with his slacker flatmate Dave (Game of Thrones' Joel Fry).
Suddenly he finds himself arrested for cyber terrorism based on what appears to be conclusive DNA evidence.
The only answer he can think of to explain the bizarre occurrence is that he might have a long lost twin so he asks his Mum, played by Pauline Quirke, and her answer surprises him...
Quirke has some of the best lines in the comedy which also cleverly interweaves stories from across the world, including that of West Wing star Rob Lowe’s swearing, chain smoking Roman Catholic Priest Father Jude who will clearly have a job on his hands, what with the coming Armageddon and all that.
Another problem faced by the Father is that he’s not quite sure about all this God business, telling his Vatican colleague, Gaia Scodellaro’s Sister Celine Leonti, “the world needs sceptics more than ever”.
It also needs a hero. Will Jamie be the one?
You, Me and the Apocalypse airs tonight at 9pm on Sky1
