Things You Should Have Done is a British television sitcom created and written by Lucia Keskin, first broadcast on BBC Three and available on BBC iPlayer from 29 February 2024. It stars Keskin as a 'stay-at-home-daughter' who is left to fend for herself after her parents unexpectedly die.
Production.
On 24 May 2023, it was announced that the BBC had commissioned a sitcom created by Lucia Keskin. Filming for the series took place at several locations in Thanet, Kent, including Broadstairs, Margate, and Ramsgate. The series was inspired by the loss of Keskin's grandfather.
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In September 2024, it was announced that the BBC had renewed Things You Should Have Done for a second series.
Reception.
Critical reception.
"Things You Should Have Done" has received mixed reviews from critics. Isobel Lewis, in a four-star review for "iNews", praises Keskin's performance as "a deadpan masterpiece; it takes an incredibly sharp comic actor to play dim this well", and that "this is comedy built entirely around her tastes, and those craving a properly silly show will lap it up".
In a review for "Digital Spy", Jamie Windust writes that "Keskin's dark comedy perfectly cast and hilariously stupid" and "taps into comedic devices that twenty-something Brits love". In comments for "The Guardian", Coco Khan adds that the sitcom "showcases the best of Keskin's creative journey" and "her clear potential as a screenwriter with a knack for what audiences find funny and moving".
In a three-star review for "The Guardian", Lucy Mangan writes, "[the show] has a fine cast, some good moments [...] and plenty of unrealised potential on show", adding that "the death of Chi's parents is just a device – and a potentially wasted one at that: it doesn't make it in any way a show about grief, which might have provided more depth". She concluded that the show "stops feeling quite so much like a loose coalition of slightly underbaked ideas" when "Karen or Lucas ground it more firmly in reality – emotional or otherwise". Lucy Sweet, writing for "The" "Big Issue", states the show "is still a work in progress" and "the plot seems pretty unhinged and might be in need of some intervention", but adds that "it's worth it to see Keskin flexing her deeply weird skills".
During an episode of the podcast "Off the Telly", co-hosted by Joanna Page and Natalie Cassidy, Page branded the series as "shit" and "boring", adding that she "shouldn't have bothered [to watch it]". In response, Keskin reacted to Page's review with a TikTok video, later stating on Twitter that "there is a way of [criticising] without making someone feel terrible about their work whilst being in the industry themselves". Page was subsequently criticised for her comments. Page's "Gavin &amp; Stacey" co-star Mathew Horne however described the series as "the best thing on television right now".
References.
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