It Gets Worse centres around the lives of three twentysomethings, and it’s been a while since I was in my 20s, but I haven’t grown up, anyway, so I’m not far off, in theory.
Ethan (Leo Reich) wants to get drunk throughout his 20s, but things aren’t working out. And that’s not just because he spends money on Hinge – but largely because he doesn’t know the meaning of commitment; Abi (Emily Fairn – The Choral) knows what she wants in life, including a fridge with an ice dispenser… I have one of those!
Meanwhile, Sam (Olive Gray – Reunion) is pretty free with her love, but still has reservations about a potential sexy party coming up.
Stilll, initially, this has a separate episode intentionally set out for each character, although it does seem to default to Ethan, but then Reich just happens to be the writer/creator, too.
This also covers a number of elements of their 20s, such as how they think they’re getting into the coolest club ever – even though it seems like a total dive; they’re addicted to social media, spend time being worried about their Uber ratings.
Meanwhile, of the three, Abi wants to move out of the flat and live with boyfriend Tom, but if she does, then the other two can’t sign a contract with the landlord because she’s the only one with the requisite proper job. But can true love ever run smooth?
Either way, Abi doesn’t appear to have a Liverpudlian accent for quite some time, which is a bit odd when it just drops in.
There’s a few amusing moments in It Gets Worse, but it does take a little bit of time to bed-in and get used to it, and I only started to warm to it towards the end of the second episode. However, while it’s okay, I can’t say I’d be demanding it, if it didn’t exist.
Thanks to our friends at Channel 4 for the screener prior to release.
It Gets Worse begins tomorrow night on Channel 4 at 10pm, running at two episodes per week. From day one, all episodes will be on All 4.
It’s not yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD, but when it is, it will be listed on the New DVD, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K releases UK page.
Cert: 
Running time: 30 minutes per episode (6 episodes)
Release date: October 22nd 2026
Channel: Channel 4
Format: 2.00:1
Director: Mounia Akl
Producer: Sam Pinnell
Writer/Creator: Leo Reich
Music: Taylor Skye
Cast:
Abi: Emily Fairn
Sam: Olive Gray
Ethan: Leo Reich
Tom: Sean Delaney
Sarah: Vicki Pepperdine
Brian (psychotherapist): Andrew Scott
Narrator: Zadie Smith
Louise: Emmeline Downie
Aaron: Dane Williams
Zara: India Mullen
Jesse: Arian Nik
Leon: John Tothill
Street Preacher: Phil Zimmerman
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.