X
- 2023
- BritBox
- 2023
- BritBox
Summary The semi-autobiographical British sitcom based on comedian Alan Carr's childhood in 1980s Northampton was co-written with Simon Carlyle. [Premiered originally in the UK on ITVX on 1 Jun 2023 and on ITV1 on 16 Apr 2024 and in the US on BritBox on 6 Jun 2024]
Created By: Simon Carlyle, Alan Carr
- 2023
- BritBox
- 2023
- BritBox
Changing Ends
Season 1 Premiere: Jun 1, 2023
84
6.9
Summary The semi-autobiographical British sitcom based on comedian Alan Carr's childhood in 1980s Northampton was co-written with Simon Carlyle. [Premiered originally in the UK on ITVX on 1 Jun 2023 and on ITV1 on 16 Apr 2024 and in the US on BritBox on 6 Jun 2024]
Created By: Simon Carlyle, Alan Carr
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
84
71% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
29% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 7 Critic Reviews
84
71% Positive
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
29% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Alan Carr’s new autobiographical sitcom, Changing Ends, is that most joyous of things: a smart, inventive, honest and charming coming-of-age story. It’s also, in the case of Carr, the making of a national treasure.
There was real sadness at the end in the loving tribute to Simon Carlyle, Carr’s co-writer, who died last year. But in a bleak world, this sitcom is a small splash of silliness and joy.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.9
77% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
8% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
6.9
77% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
8% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Funny, character driven sitcom. Very British and very 80's. Young Alan is hilarious.
Report
Season two wisely plays to the strengths it showed first time round. Young Savell’s uncanny evocation of what we imagine a young Alan must have been like is so convincing it’s almost like we’re somehow watching Carr himself.
It's a fantastic feat to have a comedy series that feels so nostalgic and familiar, while also being thoughtful, considered and funny - but Changing Ends holds up its light tone and delivers a considered representation of the attitudes of the '80s, when being gay and expressive in your sexuality wasn't "tolerated", as Carr says.
It is a steamroller of a comedy, open, welcoming and beaming with easy charm.
This is a series that pleasantly mines the comedy of small stakes: it doesn’t take much for a small town to be whipped into a frenzy nor does a pre-teen need any encouragement to be melodramatic. A few of the gags were obvious and a joke about the Kardashians – told by the older Carr – felt out of place, but there were plenty of solid laughs (like Val mixing up Helen Keller and Christine Keeler).
The lower-middle-class 80s-ness is impeccably rendered. .... The lines are peppy too. But they’re all very obviously written in the voice of the adult Carr, which means laughs comes at the expense of distinctive character credibility. And the bubbly mood sometimes sits uncomfortably atop the bigotry, like froth on a bitter cappuccino.
Production Company:
- Baby Cow Productions
- Independent Television (ITV)
Initial Release Date: Jun 1, 2023
Number of seasons: 2 Seasons