Big Mood
“I fix problems and you have them” is the line that Eddie says to Maggie in Channel 4’s brand new Big Mood. This succinctly captures the essence of the show. We watch as this unravels over an espresso shot of six episodes, the two women trying to navigate life in their early 30s while maintaining their decade-long friendship.
Nicola Coughlan lights up the screen in every role she plays, whether that’s deep in Derry or the Regency era, and her Maggie is no different. From the very first scene, Coughlan is magnificent and grizzly. Maggie convinces her best friend Eddie (It’s a Sin’s Lydia West) to accompany her to her old high school in order to give a speech to the next generation; the whole trip is hilariously disastrous, and ends with Eddie asking Maggie if she’s manic again. The crux of the show, it transpires, is Maggie’s bipolar disorder, for which she has stopped taking her medication.
British television is no stranger to show dealing with mental health; Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag and Aisling Bea’s This Way Up are both award-winning and beloved takes on this delicate but highly necessary subject. Camilla Whitehill’s debut certainly holds its own. The writing is whip-smart and far from cringe, and, as there should be in a series like this, there are many hold-your-breath uncomfortable moments. The colour palette cleverly shifts to reflect Maggie’s mood, as does each episode’s mini-story. Coughlan plays Maggie so honestly, allowing herself to sit in her knots and tangles and not be scared of them, but to let them loosen themselves. It is a vital look at life with bipolar disorder.
West’s Eddie is the show’s rock. Struggling to save her dad’s bar from surveyors, she must go on her own journey to save this thing that is so important to her, no matter what anyone else says. At the start, it feels like Maggie is the central character, but Whitehill is careful to give Eddie her own meaty storylines, ensuring the best friend and seemingly stable one has depth to her too. The programme’s length sometimes stunts such depth, and we are left with a longing for more context to Maggie and Eddie’s long-haul friendship.
Overall, Big Mood is memorably written and gloriously acted. Not one scene is a throwaway, and everyone on screen pulls their weight.
Talitha Stowell
Big Mood is released on Channel 4 on 28th March 2024.
Watch the trailer for Big Mood here:
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