Comedians used to have to do it the hard way. They’d slog their guts out on the pub and club circuit for months, maybe even years, in the hope of building up an appreciative audience.
For those possessing the stamina and thick skin to stick with it through those nights when they died on their feet in front of a small, silent, stony-faced crowd, the potential rewards of finally making that big breakthrough were huge.
It’s not like that anymore. Who needs to put all that time and hard graft into building a career as a comedian when they can just do it on TikTok from the comfort of their own bedroom or kitchen?
All you need to call yourself a comedian is a camera phone and a ton of self-belief. Judging from some of the amateurish drivel that would-be jesters churn out, talent is optional.
The funny thing – and not in a ha ha way – is that, despite this DIY ethic, what most comedians still seem to want more than anything is to get on television.
By his own admission in various interviews, comedian Tony Cantwell, the star and co-creator of new online sitcom Good Boy (RTÉ Player, from Wednesday, October 16), spent a few years plugging away on the stand-up circuit, with little success.
Read more
‘My wife has this infinite expertise and wisdom. She’s like a hot Gandalf’ – TikTok sensation Tony Cantwell on his comedy career and new sitcom
‘Mr Loverman’ review: Lennie James sparkles as a gay man whose married life is a lie in BBC drama
Hauntings review: These tatty old ghost stories are more dispiriting than terrifying
It was only when he began posting short sketches on TikTok that people started to take notice. Now he hosts two hit podcasts, has a thriving stand-up career and was one of the comedians on Prime Video’s dismal Irish version of LOL: Last One Laughing earlier this year.
The series, co-written by Cantwell and one of his co-stars, Hannah Mamalis, grew out of him being diagnosed with ADHD last year and is based, very loosely, on aspects of his own life.
We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.
The four episodes are between 13 and 22 minutes long. The Good Boy of the title (we never learn his real name, so let’s just call him GB for short) lives with his strait-laced brother Jack (John Doran) and Jack’s partner Lauren (Mamalis), who are both remarkably indulgent of his inability to concentrate on anything for more than a couple of minutes.
Cantwell has spoken of how, when he was younger, he couldn’t hold down any job for more than a short period, but never understood why. This is the focus of the first episode.
While working in a shoe shop, GB allows a conman to waltz out the door with a pair of expensive brogues, causes an elderly co-worker to knock himself out with a pair of steel-capped boots he’s placed on the top shelf of the storeroom, and is caught by his boss filming himself pretending to be a loudmouthed English mother when he’s supposed to be working.
Jack manages to set up a few more job interviews for him, but GB blows those too. Feeling low and with nothing better to do, he posts his English mother skit on social media. In no time at all, his phone is pinging with alerts.
It’s less a sitcom than a collection of sketches, some more thought-through than others
The video has gone viral and GB finds himself the toast of TikTok. His new fans are clamouring for more and one in particular, an obnoxious Andrew Tate-type called Joe Kane (a wildly over-the-top Peter McGann), wants him to come and perform at a right-wing stand-up comedy show he organises – a prospect that appals Jack and Laura.
Despite the modest running time of the episodes, Good Boy struggles to translate material that entertains an online audience for a few minutes at a time into something more coherent.
It’s less a sitcom than a collection of sketches, some more thought-through than others, strung together on the flimsy storyline of GB trying to follow up the success of his first skit while trying to get his head around the news that he has ADHD.
Tony Cantwell on ADHD and his new show on RTÉ ‘Good Boy’
An overlong segment featuring him going down a storm with an audience of roaring misogynists during Kane’s show turns out to be nothing more than a surreal nightmare.
The best moments are those between GB and supermarket worker/comedian Rebecca (Marty Breen) as they embark on a tentative romance.
The cast is peppered with comedians – Deirdre O’Kane as GB’s doctor mother, Kevin McGahern as a psychiatrist – so the performances are variable.
Good Boy is better than some RTÉ comedies we’ve seen over the years (a low bar, admittedly), yet there’s nothing here to persuade anyone that the future of comedy is on TikTok.
Read more
Tony Cantwell on ADHD and his new show on RTÉ ‘Good Boy’
Filmed aboard his luxury yacht ‘Michael Smurfit: Succession’ is more cheesy wealth porn than documentary
ER is 30 years old – but do you remember these other big shows from the 90s and Noughties?
