The Kennedys

The Kennedys is loosely based on The Tent, The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy and is set in Stevenage in the late seventies.

I was born in 1979, so the nostalgia for me in this show is minimal. That said, it does remind me of my eighties childhood a little. I have seen some criticism of the show's anachronisms, something I'll admit to not noticing. I'm sure that could be irritating, but this isn't a documentary and shouldn't detract from the show's strengths.

The show focuses on the Kennedys and their friends Jenny and Tim, two young families grappling with the challenges of their era. Trying to be modern and fashionable at a time when lasagne is considered exotic.

Putting the past under the spotlight could easily descend into laughing at their ignorance and feel very mean spirited. Fortunately, Emma Kennedy's writing is much fairer than that. The characters' charm shines through and gives warmth to the humour that allows it to be absurd with out seeming ridiculous. While there are appeals to a sense of nostalgia, The Kennedys doesn't rely on it and allows it's humour to work in it's own right giving it appeal to me in my thirties and my parents who were in their twenties when this show is set.

The cast are fantastic. They manage to use the quirks of their characters to full comedic effect while keeping them grounded and believable as friends and family. This level of quality from the older actors is impressive, the fact that Lucy Hutchinson is up there too is astonishing.

I haven't read the book the show is based on, but the strength of the writing here really does recommend it.

I can't believe The Kennedys didn't get a second series commissioned! It felt unique and was laugh-out-loud funny each episode.

It has made me want to read the source material its loosely based on - The Tent, The Bucket and Me by Emma Kennedy. The first episode in particular had us laughing until we cried and excited that we had somehow stumbled upon a hidden gem.

Things were just as funny when 'the bucket' itself makes an appearance. Glad I never went camping with them. In fact, I don't think I'll go camping in a tent ever again now! It's the kind of show that makes you smile while reminiscing about it.

Not every episode was a winner though. Some fell flat, and even though it wasn't a long series, it did somehow manage to lose momentum. Still, the acting was all great and the lines delivered with excellent comedic timing. Will definitely watch again, especially when needing some laughter medicine!

This show was fantastic and the BBC made a huge mistake in not commissioning a second series. The whole cast were perfect and the stories were based on a book which was also hilariously funny. A shame that we only got six episodes.

I felt the need to write this comedy after reading reviews which were extremely negative.

This new comedy from the BBC has been extremely funny from start to finish. It is refreshing to have a comedy without a laugh track.

Set in the 70's The Kennedy's offers an extremely funny and witty slice of 1970's England.

The cast of the Kennedy's is brilliant with Katherine Parkinson shinning as Brenda.

I really hope it will return for an equally comedic second series.And that we see more comedies of equal quality.

This is one of the funnier sitcoms I have seen in quite some time. Post Covid, I started to run out of series to watch and found The Kennedys. I'm glad I did! One season, still worth the watch and some good belly laughs. It's a shame it only ran for one season. I hope it gets a reboot with added seasons but I have to say, the chemistry of the acting team will be tough to beat.