Am I Being Unreasonable? season 2 review: A bumpy start precedes a funnier second season

Here's a basic rundown – Daisy May Cooper's Nic had been cheating on her husband Dan (Dustin Demri-Burns) with his brother Alex (David Fynn).

When Alex had tried to end their affair, Nic had trapped his coat in a train door just before it left, murdering him.

While she told no one of the murder, she did confess the affair to her new best friend Jen (Selin Hizli), who she had outside the school gates of her son Ollie's (Lenny Rush) school. As it turned out, Jen had an obsessive personality and a habit of recording interactions with those around her – meaning a recording was made of this confession.

Meanwhile, Nic discovered that Ollie had killed their family cat by putting him in the tumble dryer – was Ollie developing his own mother's murderous tendencies?

That's a whole lot for this new season to contend with, and doesn't even take account of the fact that Alex's murder was witnessed by two teenagers on the same train as Nic.

In truth, it may even be slightly too much. The first season ended on a strong note dramatically, with Nic having a flashback to Alex's death while speaking at his memorial, filling us in on what really happened. But it's a strange place to pick up a new season, given that the most shocking, game-changing element of the story happened in Nic's memories.

It's an issue co-creators Cooper and Hizli have tried to get around with a structural flourish, one which we won't spoil here, other than to say the new season kicks off just moments after the last one's end.

It's a gambit which doesn't quite work. The first episode feels somewhat all-over-the-place, jumping between huge, Earth-shaking reveals and strange, long-winded comedy asides at a moment's notice. One may begin to feel as though we're in trouble here, and the second season won't live up to the first.

However, from a personal standpoint, I was always sure to remember that the first season had its teething issues too. This is a unique show, with a complex mash-up of genres and an offbeat tone. It takes some time to settle into (as evidenced by my own three star season 1 review based on having seen only the first two episodes).

I, therefore, felt it important not to rush to judgment this time around – and, come the season's end, that approach had well and truly paid off.

As a complete package, Am I Being Unreasonable? season 2 feels just as strong as the first, and is in many ways actually the superior of the two.

Just as in the first season, it takes a little time for its strengths to become clear. This season does have a somewhat bumpy start, with episode 3 proving to be a turning point.

From there on out, the series regains its footing, and starts to set up its own mysteries and compelling narrative wrinkles, rather than just riding on the coattails of what has come before and attempting to tie up loose ends.

The ways in which the narrative progresses end up being mostly satisfying, as the season still provides shocks and twists, but each of them does feel earned and sufficiently set up.

One significant improvement this time around is in the comedy. The show seems to have found its groove on this front, and a more naturally balance between the laughs and the plot developments.

Season 2 thankfully continues to utilise the comedic genius of Rush, who remains the show's greatest asset, while it also starts to more thoroughly exploit the talents of Demri-Burns, who in season 1 was primarily used as a foil for Nic, and fell into the 'dull husband' role.

Here, he gets to more full show off his comedy chops, while still remaining an absolute continuation of the man we met in season 1.

Cooper herself has settled into more of a comedic rhythm here. In season 1, it at times felt as though she was specifically straying from the type of comedy she has become known for, which made This Country such a success, in an attempt to showcase her range. Here she's back on more firm footing, and has a not-inconsiderable list of laugh-of-out moments.

Additionally, Karla Crome gets an expanded role as Lucy, one which she rises to as she makes her character's scenes a real highlight, while it's also worth taking a moment to recognise Hizli's performance.

Cooper, in many ways, gets the more eye-catching role, and Rush has become the fan favourite, but Hizli is doing stellar work here, as a character which the show simply doesn't work without.

As in the first season, any time the series starts to focus more on her character, her backstory and her motivations, it feels elevated, and everything becomes just that bit more engaging.

Jen is a fascinating character, and where the others so frequently bear their hearts on their sleeves, even when they're burying secrets, her insularity and unknowability makes her arguably the most compelling part of the show.

In contrast with season 1, season 2 is filled with celebrity guest appearances and cameos, with Chelsea Peretti, Tom Davis, Denise Black, Jamali Maddix and Kojey Radical all popping up throughout.

Some of these, such as Peretti's appearance, work a treat, and feel as though they're naturally woven into the fabric of the show. For others, this is not always the case, as some appear shoe-horned in – jarring comedy sketches that the show comes to a halt to include.

It's not that they don't get laughs, it's just that they feel unnatural, like the audience is meant to stop and clap because a new celebrity has appeared on the show.

Unsurprisingly, the stand-out guest appearance this season is from Cooper's brother Charlie, who fits into the show's aesthetic and tone just as well as you'd imagine.

His character is a ridiculous addition, but the scenes feel as though they're actually adding something to proceedings.

Any changes to the formula aside, it's hard to see many fans of season 1 not enjoying this new run. Once the highly visible plot mechanics of the first episode are out of the way, in many ways it's like we never left these characters.

They're funnier than when we last saw them, but that's so often the case with comedies – the more both the writers and the fans get to know the characters, the more naturally the comedy comes from them.

Here's hoping we won't have to wait quite so long for a season 3 – in truth, even the shortest of waits will feel like a lifetime with the way this season ends.

Just make sure you've caught up as best you can on all that happened last time around, because the pay-offs are very much worth it.

Am I Being Unreasonable? season 2 will premiere at 9:30pm on Wednesday 5th February on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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