'The Full Monty (2023)' is a sequel series to 'The Full Monty (1997)' that follows the cast of that movie as they navigate their daily lives. It doesn't focus on performing at a strip joint (there's only one nod towards the group's iconic stage show), instead spending its time charting the various stresses and struggles of these working class characters. It mixes family drama with social commentary, bouncing between its cast members so that they've pretty much all got at least one episode dedicated primarily to them (except for Tom Wilkinson, who kind of just sits there, and Hugo Speer, who only makes a handful of appearances). It takes quite a while to get into its groove, with a couple of notable dips here and there, but it eventually ends on a fairly strong note (even if the way it handles a certain significant element of its ending is notably strange). Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, Lesley Sharp, Paul Barber and Steve Huison all reprise their roles really well, and the writing typically does these legacy characters justice. They're joined by a few newcomers, the most notable perhaps being Miles Jupp, but these are given perhaps a bit too much attention considering they aren't really who we came to see. Still, everyone does what they need to do and they mostly do it well. It's not a great series - and it's not particularly necessary, either - but it's enjoyable enough for what it is and it has a couple of stronger episodes in its back half.
