Finding Joy

Oh dear. The gem that was Series 1 was ruined - simply destroyed - by the disaster that was Series 2.

The second series was played out like a completely different drama. The backstory of the lead character was lost, for a start. The best friend's nature/outlook was altered, & not to a believable character. The quirky little talking-dog feature - an original use of the concept - was sadly minimised. The housemate/lodger was changed & became a tarot-card-toting fool, simplistic in personality . . . Another incredible character. Where was the troubled but 'layered' housemate of the first series? Plus the friend/colleague/love interest cameraman became a babbling idiot, & unlikeable to boot.

The second series seemed as confused as the lifestyle & workplace that 'Joy' now found herself in. The drama had altered to being written like a bad romcom. Superficial characters, lacking any psychological depth. Chaotic & frankly crude in its structure - on several levels. Yes, it now reeked of poor workmanship . . . But fundamentally it felt like a completely different series!

Just 10 minutes into episode 1 of the second series, & couldn't get why I had enjoyed watching the first series so much. Maybe I hadn't, I thought. Maybe I had a false memory?! Surely this drama wasn't the same programme that I had found so entertaining back in 2020! Back then I'd have given this well-scoped drama an IMDb rating of 7 or 8 stars out of 10. But I was so disappointed in Series 2 that I genuinely wondered if the year-and-a-half of COVID-19 stressful events that we'd all gone through, had finally got to me . . . I.e. That perhaps it was just me & I was simply feeling too low by 2021 to 'get' this programme any more . . .

So I Googled for reviews, to see if I was alone in my dismay at the change in the second series. A series that now seemed to be written by an inexperienced 18 year old . . . And aimed at even more focus-less teenagers. And nothing like Series 1.

And I was delighted to find that - no, COVID hasn't yet got to me mentally! - that there WERE other people who felt the same way. The series HAD changed & NOT for the better.

Rather than state my own detailed opinions here, I shall - for the one & only occasion in my life - restate something online (retweeting, or indeed Tweeting, not being my thing!). I shall quote here what several other viewers have stated at IMDb. These reviewers have quite literally picked the gist of what I myself would have written, & stated succinctly too. So it would be better - rather than iterate the exact same opinions - to instead acknowledge these contributions at IMDb. If I may, I suggest you read these reviews & you'll see what I myself would have written (almost verbatim!): ▶ Sonerila7 ▶ kathrinchow ▶ claredlynch ▶ mkhiggins-22945

Their reviews state exactly what I could & would have said, and uncannily so. I want to credit their words & their phrasing. It is also relevant in my review to state that others' opinions were the same as mine. So I want to credit IMDb's review section for enabling this support. As that was my first concern: i.e. Not was the series any good overall, but was I correct in thinking that Series 2 was nothing like the first series.

As the second series appears to be an almost completely different style of programme, it was calming for me to realise - when I read the myriad reviews at IMDB - that I hadn't got this enormous fact wrong. It WAS different from Series 1, greatly so, & to no good end.

So from 7 stars down to 5. Sorry RTE, but you got this wrong. You should have stayed with a sufficiently in-depth analysis of a girl whose life had gone somewhat off-piste. Not careered into a lost set of characters!

Sweet, bubbly and dark. I enjoy these light off kilter British comedies with unusual original characters and strange setups.

RTE expect the people of Ireland to watch rubbish like Finding Joy and The Young Offenders. The only comedy in both is the forced and cringe variety. God as if one season of this wasn't bad enough they do a second one as if people aren't fed up enough. Christ.

I enjoyed Season 1 especially with the narration of canine Aidan. Season 2 was awful. I stopped watching about halfway through because I could no longer stand to watch it.

Jokes aren't funny and Amy is a terrible actress. I'm being generous getting giving 3 stars.