Back to Life is a real and unexpected gem of a series

The Hollywood Reporter

The six-episode BBC dramedy, which premieres Sunday on Showtime, stars Daisy Haggard as a 36-year-old woman named Miri who returns to her small hometown after serving half her life in prison. Back to Life has drawn comparisons to Fleabag because it has the same producers (not including Phoebe Waller- Bridge.) "The beauty — and much of the humor — in the story comes from Miri being so optimistic about life," says Tim Goodman. "She's relentlessly positive and nice and she never once has to remind anyone that she's paid her debt to society. The past is, in fact, so distant that Miri has moved almost naively beyond it — but the town hasn't, and Back to Life deftly weaves their bitter memories and fears into their present-day interactions with Miri." Goodman adds: "There is darkness and laughter here, just as there was in Fleabag and, if you must know, a similar melancholy-filled mystery to it, though Back to Life isn't built to brilliantly spring a reveal on you at the end. It's just a wonderfully nuanced story that's both extremely funny and tragically sad, but never leans too hard in either direction to get a reaction. It just exists and, after six episodes, it ends — and when it does you get the full appreciation of how exceptional it is."

ALSO:

• Back to Life would be deeply depressing were it not for its pointed strain of humor
• Daisy Haggard says viewers looking for the next Fleabag will be disappointed: “I passionately believe that a show can be touching and funny and sad and mysterious and dramatic,” she says of Back to Life. “You don’t have to choose one thing.”