I Hate You (2022) User Reviews

Lame comedy that really dragged

[JRB-NorthernSoul · 5/10 · 17 October 2022]

Writer Robert Popper has worked on some real comedy gold like the Inbetweeners and Peep Show but this wasn't one to add to that portfolio. Despite a good cast and production values the premise and script fell short. It had some amusing moments and good one-liners here and there but the storyline was quite improbable and overall it didn't come off.

Would like to think it will get better over time but can't see a second series for this one as I'm not sure who the audience will be. Not traditionally structured and written sharply enough for older viewers and not 'hip' enough to attract a younger audience.

Bottom line neeeded to be a lot funnier. A middling sitcom that will soon be forgotten.

Poor imitation of Friday Night Dinner.

[MrJamesMoore · 6/10 · 2 October 2022]

Poor imitation of Friday Night Dinner.

Basically the same premise. Follows two people that constantly prank each other. However, instead of being siblings, they are flat mates.

This time the show is a little wackier and doesn't have the heart of FND. Acting is good, but not the same calibre.

Definitely not the worst show in the world; you might get a few giggles out of the first two episodes. After that it gets pretty repetitive.

The best thing honestly is the opening titles.

Doubt it will get a second season, so will look forward to what the creator does next. Hopefully something different.

A fun show with a lot of potential. Reviews need to calm down

[claraburton-13978 · 7/10 · 23 October 2022]

I found this show funny and genuinely heartfelt at times, with two funny leads, Sure, it was a little cringe from time to time, such as the incesty plot points, but so was Friday Night Dinner, and most leading comedy shows at the worst of times. It was easy to get into and watch, and I was sad when I reached the end of series 1. I liked that the in-jokes between the friends were explained naturally to the audience, as if you were meeting very close friends for the first time in real life. Got some real laughs out of me. Definitely needs more time to find its footing, but I can see a lot of potential in it.

When going into this show, I already knew that it had an uphill battle due to its association to other very well-known comedies and the fact that the two main characters are women. A lot of the reviews I have seen for the show are extremely misogynistic and uncharitable. Many of the common critiques can also be thrown at the Inbetweeners or Friday Night dinner. Protagonists with questionable decision making? Fine when it's a man, but apparently completely irredeemable if it's a woman. I think some of these reviewers are having trouble realising that the characters are fictional people, and their actions have no real bearing on the world.

So what would I say to someone looking to watch this show? Go into it with an open mind, there is some genuine fun to be found in this series, and try not to take everything so seriously!

Gets better as the series goes on... but still isn't that good

[davidallenxyz · 6/10 · 4 December 2022]

So for some reason they decided to start the series with the "edgiest" storyline, where the 20-something flatmates sort-of date a couple of pensioners. It's a ridiculous premise with very few laughs and to be honest I was going to not bother watching any more...

...but I've had a quiet afternoon so I came back to it and watched the rest of the series.

Any you know what - it's not that bad. The two lead actresses pull off the slightly awkward friendship between Charlie and Becca really well, a handful of the jokes are chuckle-worthy, and some of the supporting characters are very good (in particular Becca's boss and her stepbrother).

But there's plenty that doesn't work. Lots of the pre-launch focus was on the creator, Robert Popper, who's been involved in loads of British comedy shows over the years. He's an old man writing a show about two young women. And although some of the script doesn't ring true, the worst characters are the men. Charlie's boss is an unrealistic idiot, a man that has a crush on her is, well, an unrealistic idiot, and Becca's co-worker is, errr, an unrealistic idiot.

Highlights? Spilled coffee, an awkward Chess accident and a curious greeting.

Second series? Needs stronger jokes and better supporting characters to be worth it.

As unfunny as you can get

[deedoo19 · 1/10 · 17 October 2022]

I've just come to this hot off of Game Face and, truly, how C4 can air two comedy shows, one of which (Game Face) is brilliant and the other so dire, I have no idea. This probably has to be the worst 'comedy' I've seen in ages. I parenthesise it because to actually call it comedy is an affront to comedy. The characters are one-dimensional and lacklustre. I can only compare them to those people who tell you how 'nuts' they are and what a good laugh they are. The moment someone says that, you know that they're not. It's too try-hard. We have lines like 'Fair enough' and the repartee thrown back in response is 'furry muff'. I mean, I like a bit of crass humour along with the best of them - but serve up something less juvenile than this, please. I doubt my 12 year old would even laugh at that.

A lot of the dialogue is just meaningless - as are the 'situations'. When you think of great sitcoms, like Not Going Out, they take a premise and build on it until it reaches a comedic climax - sometimes the viewer sees it coming (which is intended by the writers), other times it's an off-the-wall surprise. Either way, it provides a satisfying resolution; the story arc has paid off. No such thing happens in this. We have Charlie having some conversation at the start of episode two about having seen a ghost car. It's puerile, unfunny and adds nothing to the story. Is it intended to show how whacky the two friends are and what jolly 'bants' they have together? If it is, there are better ways of doing this (show don't tell applies to TV too).

There was an unfunny moment in episode one, where Becca stops outside a dog shelter and changes the words 'dog adoption' to 'dog abortion'. It wasn't funny the first time but then, for some reason, she does the same thing in episode two. I couldn't tell you if this is some pathetically unfunny running 'joke' as I didn't get beyond episode two. We have more mind-numbing dialogue - Becca says: 'I thought it was access denied' (having been told she couldn't go somewhere with Charlie). Charlie's response: 'Well now I'm saying it's access 'nied'. In what universe did anyone think that was funny? It's not even delivered in an amusing way. While Tanya Reynolds (who plays Charlie) was pretty good in Sex Education, she falls flat here. Perhaps because she's inherently quirky and trying to make her quirkier just doesn't work.

I'm not really sure where the series is going. I was delighted to see Joe Tracini in this - he plays a minor character in the haberdashery shop where Becca works. Frankly, he's the best thing in the show - he needs his own show. Some people are naturally funny, even without saying much - and where Melissa Saint (who plays Becca) and Tanya Reynolds feel like they're straining for laughs, Joe Tracini just lands things in a natural way. I looked up the episodes to see how many he was in (I'd have only kept watching for him) and could see he's in just two. What a waste. The same goes for the (again) unfunny character of Mr. Oxygen, Charlie's boss. So we have two episodes featuring the girls' respective workplaces. We have what looks like (another unfunny) running joke being set up, around Mr. Oxygen always falling asleep at work. But, clearly, nothing else is done with these characters. In fact, a look at IMDB shows that Tanya Reynolds and Melissa Saint are the only two characters in all six episodes. This means that there's no building of characters and relationships. And if you find the interactions between Charlie and Becca staged and unfunny, then it's not likely to get any better, because all that's carrying the series are these two characters.

It's hard to say why some comedies work and some don't. Of course, it's often subjective - but even if I don't find certain shows funny, I can still appreciate (objectively) why other people do find them amusing. Not so with this one. I can't find one redeeming thing about it. I suppose the main thing I felt was that it was unprofessional. It came off like something a couple of university students would write. I'm not convinced Reynolds and Saint are naturally comedic actors (but maybe they were let down by the writing) and I don't feel this show is one people are going to be talking about or recommending as a must-watch.

Well named

[damsmith-68404 · 1/10 · 23 October 2022]

Robert Popper wrote the excellent Friday Night Dinner, so I had high expectations for this new venture. How sad. Not one of the characters are likeable, not even a little bit. Indeed, I genuinely hate most of them. And it's just not funny. Not at all. Ok, changing the sign to dog abortions was quite funny the first time. We expect some running gags (nice bit of squirrel, salt, spray cream, etc), but the EXACT same gag, every week with no variation or evolution at all, soon gets boring. Unfortunately, that really was the high point. Downhill from there. I have to admit to having given up by episode three. If it happens to get (a lot) better later on, then hopefully that will be reflected in later resided. If not, please don't make a second series.

Unfair hate

[chris_rowe-881-168820 · 8/10 · 4 October 2022]

To be honest I read a few reviews and thought about skipping it but I like her from sex education and thought I'd give it a go. It was like a lot of British comedies, a bit all over the place, new age humour isn't particularly funny, trying to tie in the contradiction that Is the social media hypocrites, it's impossible to please everyone.

There were bits that were natural, I thought parts were very funny, but sometimes they tried to force a joke, that was poor. But overall it was a decent comedy, passed the time on a sick day and I'd watch a series two, I thought there's potential, problem we have these days is people rate 1 or 10/10 so stuff gets loved or binned off. I'd give this one more go, women don't have an easy route in comedy.

The one thing I thought was funny was the intro, it felt like someone watched peacemaker and tried to clone it and it was a fail, it immediately made the characters tougher to like and route for so that was a mistake.

A one show argument for the sale of Channel 4

[peter-stead-740-486963 · 1/10 · 16 October 2022]

Dear Channel 4. A "sitcom" is short for "situation comedy". That is, a comedy that comes from the situation. And these situations come from characters, whose actions reflect their personalities and who are different from each other. Even bad sitcoms understand this.

What you have here is the kind of cringe, forced spontaneity that Channel 4 comedy has been churning out for the last ten years. Two protagonists with a series of gags where their personalities should be, who do identically the same stuff in set ups that might work in sketch shows but definitely do not in sitcoms. I suggest you go back to the drawing board and research shows like Happy Endings, Workin' Moms or (the first 4 episodes of) Broad City.

For anyone looking to check this "sitcom" out - you will predict the climax of Episode 1 - I guarantee it.

Funny and Quirky

[hwyzbj · 9/10 · 20 October 2022]

Decided to check out the cast on here after enjoying a couple of episodes. Sad to see some really poor reviews (in my opinion). Give it a shot, it's a bit quirky but fun and I'm sure some can even relate to some of the situations!

I won't bother deconstructing the poor reviews that have unfairly picked holes in every little detail they could. If you don't find it funny then switch over (don't complain you've wasted your life watching three episodes that you didn't find funny....that in itself is comedy gold haha!), chances are others won't appreciate your humour either. It's all subjective! Enjoy!

Everything wrong to today

[qnxfbkyhf · 1/10 · 20 October 2022]

I come across this by sheer chance, late at night and it was put on after a show I had been watching. The cast was the first thing that stuck me, two main characters, both with very sub par acting skills and both equally lacking any form of comedic acting, maybe the real comedy is how bad both of them act. I decided to watch 3 more episodes, all of them didn't give me a single smirk, the show is awful. I understand the writer has some great names under their belt, but this, this aint one.

I highly do not recommend wasting any time at all on this show. Hopefully it dies a one season death, but who knows, other reviewers found this show acceptable.... Mind blowing.

Middle age spread

[frukuk · 2/10 · 28 October 2022]

I quite enjoyed the first episode ("Canada"), but having watched the first four episodes, I find myself enjoying this less and less.

I think I've worked out what's wrong with this show: the two main characters, Becca and Charlie, talk like their dialogue was written by a middle aged man.

And this is so, so tame. Take Becca's obsession with her stepbrother: it's at the level of preteens in the playground.

So I don't think this is absolutely terrible, but there's no need for there to be any more than one episode. They should definitely, absolutely, not commission a second series (aka season) of this.

Fun & Funny

[webloid · 10/10 · 19 October 2022]

Feels like a lot of the bad sentiment about this show comes from a place of misogyny; god forbid young women make complicated decisions and have a libido. Would thoroughly recommend to anyone that enjoyed the same silly humour on Friday Night Dinner.

The lead actors perform the sharp, humorous writing well, and a convincing yet bizarre world is established around them. Again, anyone fans of one the previous lead's past experience (Sex Education), or of the creator's past project, Friday Night Dinner, should thoroughly enjoy the show.

The show covers a range of different concerns facing those in their mid-20s, especially those living around London and big cities, with a light, funny but, when needed, heartfelt touch.

Some laugh out loud moments

[batesaj-17759 · 8/10 · 29 October 2022]

So much comedy is simply not really funny and raises the odd titter. I personally have no idea why "Friends" was so massive for that very reason.

Once you take the time to get into this it has some truly laugh out loud moments.

The concept of having two very strong central characters, surrounded by a selection of very funny and quirky almost cameo performances, works incredibly well and is extremely well cast.

It's no "Friday Night Dinner" but that really is an impossible act to follow, on of the funniest shows I have ever watched and will live on in our minds for many, many years.

I would like to see more new comedy like this, not playing safe and breaking a few boundaries.

Not for U.S.A. or "Telegraph Doofus"

[johnpreston-21780 · 9/10 · 5 March 2023]

9/10, not because it is close to perfection, but it is far better than the snap-judgement harsh reviews would suggest.

It's a shame that quirky cannot make it past knee-jerk jerks. Michael Hogan in The Telegraph cites one of his irritations in a one-star review as a "Talking horse". Grossly unfair, because he seems to set out to hate the program. The horse is there, but only for two seconds at the end of the opening title sequence.

And I can't really take the opinion of a bearded fuddy-duddy seriously when his recommendations include "The Wheel", and "Saturday Night Takeaway". Pitiful. One of his scathing criticisms is that it is a storyline about two young women, written by - shock horror - a middle-aged man. Of course, J. R. R. Tolkien failed miserably with LOTR because he wasn't a wizard, elf, sentient tree, or hobbit.

But, back to what I see as plusses for "I Hate You". Two excellent leads, snappy lines, curiously amusing situations and niche comedy brilliance (Sustaining an injury after ignoring advice not to try running while listening to Jazz), and the occasional quickly handled running gags (DOG ADOPTIONS).

It's not for everyone. I mentioned the U. S. A. Because I watched the pilot of "Two Broke Girls", and two sentences in, the "audience" are in paroxsyms of laughter.

No such cues for the dim in "I Hate You".

I found Jonny Sweet's Bob Oxygen had a great name, but a stilted delivery, and a slightly irritating character. "A. Plant" was good enough, but it is Tanya Reynolds and Melissa Saint that shine. They perfectly deliver lines such as the response to "Post-punk, but also retro".

I'm not really a fan of Robert Popper's work - I thought "Friday Night Dinner" was a bit of a dud - but I found lots in "I Hate You" to enjoy, and was hoping for at least a second series. Thanks to lazy journalism and reviews seemingly given after viewing 2-3 minutes of one episode, there will be no follow-up.

I was quickly drawn in by the endearingly zany (and well-choreographed) title sequence, and the debate on whether humans have evolved from bears touches on many aspects of relationships, and fake news, without labouring for one moment.

Why oh why does "Mrs. Brown's Boys" never flushes, but something quite subtle gets culled?

I. H. Y., R. I. P. :-(

Flatmates mundane lives on steroids.

[leoalexanderscott · 8/10 · 28 October 2023]

I am in search for a quick half hour comedy to stream to fill in the time. I have had many fails but occassionally I discover an unknown never heard of short lived series. I Hate You for me is one of those unexpected surprises. It is quirky and somewhat a trance into the daily lives of two flatmates without anything special or unique but their best friendship as they naviagte their mudane everyday lives, their family, their employment, and of course their friday nights. The support character are completely over the top insantity that you will trip out catching flys in every episode. I had many laughter stitches that seems to become more amd more common as the series progresses. It is not for everyone. Its a comedy that best enjoyed by people who like to escape from their reality and plonk themselves inside another. I ended up watching the series as a binge and I my advice is that you should do the same because some of the jokes evolve from one epsiode to the next and the next. I Hate You was a surprise and a reflection of 2020's.