(Picture: Sky)

Idris Elba’s semi-autobiographical comedy In The Long Run is loosely based on his childhood and effortlessly embodies the duality of being both black and British.

The series displays a multicultural London in the backdrop of the 1985 Brixton riots whilst focusing on Walter Easmon, his wife Agnes and son Kobna, who are from both Ghana and Sierra Leone – much like Idris’ home when growing up in Hackney, East London.

Making a surprise leap into comedy, one of the UK’s finest exports attempts to give British audiences something they haven’t seen since the Desmonds – which was created in the late 80s – and that is something Black-British, funny and not a crime drama about gangs in London (no offence Top Boy).

However, Desmonds featured a cast predominantly West Indian with one West African character – Matthew – who was funny because he was African. His cultural background, being from The Gambia, was the butt of all jokes.

(Picture: Sky)

In The Long Run seemingly makes a conscious shift from this problematic comic value with scene-stealer Jimmy Akingbola, who plays Valentine – Walter’s exuberant younger brother – who proves that African characters can be funny just because they are funny and not because they are ‘other.’

When news first broke that Idris will be playing Walter, a character loosely based on his late father, in something intended to be funny, many fans quickly compared it to Everybody Hates Chris, an American sitcom loosely based on the early life of African-American comedian Chris Rock.

(Picture: Sky)

But it is more than that – as African and as Black as In The Long Run is, it is blatantly British as it is littered with humour that can only be found in these Isles. 

With a warm roster of actors on hand – Madeline Appiah, comedian Bill Bailey, Kellie Shirley and the two youngsters Sammy Kamara and Mattie Boys – and the need for a family-centered sitcom, genuine laughs can be expected.

It is in its biggest device that the show’s efforts to stay as 80s as possible becomes a little overbearing; although cast and crew infuse nearly every frame with soul and laughs, many younger fans may roll their eyes at the number of ‘this is the 80s’ references.

But the need to stay as historically accurate as possible only afflicts the film for a short while, and luckily, without doubt, In The Long Run proves multicultural Britain deserves its place in British comedy (again) hopefully inspiring younger generations to write and create more content about a British experience that is not one dimensional (or gang related).

Viewers will be able to binge watch the series on Sky’s video on demand service NOW TV from 29 March.

However, the series will continue to air weekly on Thursday nights.

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