We Might Regret This season two

Disabled stories have long been told through the lens of the non-disabled. But BBC sitcom We Might Regret This is a refreshing take on life with disability, inviting us to step into co-creator and star Kyla Harris’s shoes. While Harris plays it straight as artist-turned-model Freya, those in her inner circle are comically inept, representing the absurdity of ableism through an eccentric cast of characters.

Season two opens on a timely note: benefits cuts. At a time when the Labour government is constantly threatening to resurrect Coalition-era austerity, Harris finds wit amid despair. Struggling to make it as an artist, Freya’s modelling stint descends into her appearing in a patronising ad for the DWP.

The series gets into the heart of the matter by showing how pervasive ableism is in society. This is none more apparent than in Freya’s interactions with her hapless, albeit well-meaning, representatives, The Olivias (Emma Sidi and Hanako Footman). With Freya now engaged to Abe (Darren Boyd), The Olivias encourage her to get onboard with influencer work. She’s urged to commodify and fetishise her disability by curating a viral social media campaign in the lead-up to her wedding. These scenes are riotously subversive, showing how even the most special, romantic moment that two people can share has now become another avenue for content creation and profit. “It feels a bit like selling your soul,” says Freya.

At times, the eccentricities of those within Freya’s orbit become a tad grating. The Olivias and Ty (Aasiya Shah), Freya’s PA, border on cartoonish in the pursuit of quirky. Accordingly, these characterisations sometimes feel forced, and the series is at its best when the humour flows naturally rather than descending into farce. But perhaps the preposterousness of this covert ableism is the very point of the show’s message.

Representation in media matters, and the show is a witty, heartfelt and poignant look at what it means to be disabled in a society teetering once again into the rhetoric of austerity. With We Might Regret This, Harris cleverly encourages the viewer to challenge society’s preconceived notions alongside her.