"Stath Lets Flats" is the British American Office.

I'd forgotten they'd made this!

 

 It was love at first sight between me and Stath Lets Flats, but it was only after my latest accidental binge of both series, having sat down to watch one episode, that I realise just how highly I rate it, and possibly also why. Quite early on in the American version of The Office, the show reached a point where it had come to understand its characters well enough to trust them with absurdity – the cast's performative muscle memory would be strong enough to ground anything written for them – and Stath Lets Flats has operated on this level of confidence from Episode One, possibly because, as he explains in this great interview with Rachael Healy, Jamie Demetriou has known so many of its cast for so long. His show is the opposite of "actor-proof"; it's a clown show composed of details, and every detail makes me laugh out loud.

 

 See above.

 

 But the similarities extend beyond tone. To quote the interview: "Emotional behaviour juxtaposed with masculine bravado, done well, is a treat." Like The Office's Michael Scott (and unlike David Brent) Stath Charalambos is an idealist possessed by a mutant variant of kindness: an incapacitating, all-or-nothing desire not just to be loved but to be allowed to love, which manifests itself most commonly in acts of unchecked selfishness. And like The Office's Pam, Sophie Charalambos is a healthier, self-checking, but similarly yearning heart, the show's secret focus, and the real reason we care as much about these people as we do. Originally I had thought that the last episode broadcast– not counting this bonus lockdown cracker posted above – was the perfect ending, but having rewatched it all, I now want two hundred more, and I'm very glad there's going to be a Series 3. 

 Here's Natasha Demetriou providing excellent company on Adam Buxton's podcast...

 Here's a brilliant interview with Kiell Smith-Bynoe... "I'd like to work in America, not crazy about living there. Tricky, because it seems like a great shout for black actors, not so much for black people. Tricky, mainly because I am both..."

 And here's more Katy Wix...