1 week ago
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Cunk on Life has received widespread praise after finally hitting screens on Monday night for a 75-minute special on BBC2.
The feature-length episode sees the ignorant but hilarious documentary maker, portrayed by Diane Morgan and created by Charlie Brooker, head on an adventurous journey to answer some of life's most profound and existential questions.
From the Big Bang Theory to artificial intelligence, the show sees hapless Philomena interview a number of experts and academics in a bid to educate viewers, with her deadpan delivery unsurprisingly raising plenty of laughs.
Hours after airing, critics hailed Diane as 'peerless' and her alter-ago - who first appeared in 2013 in newsy British comedy series Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe - as 'exhaustingly funny'.
The Guardian says of the programme that 'the jokes plentiful and wide-ranging', with The Telegraph noting it's a 'visual spectacle'.
However, many warned that Philomena's deadpan jokes could grow tedious after a while, with The Times stating: 'It’s the kind of daft comedy that’s hilarious when not being just too puerile, but which can wear thin after, say, half an hour.'
Cunk on Life has received widespread praise after finally hitting screens on Monday night for a 75-minute special on BBC2
The feature-length episode sees the ignorant but hilarious documentary maker, portrayed by Diane Morgan and created by Charlie Brooker, head on an adventurous journey to answer some of life's most profound and existential questions
While The Telegraph adds: 'A minor downside is that one or two jokes – mainly about our souls and other nethers – grow repetitious'.
Meanwhile, the comedy has left a number of fans divided as they took to X, formerly known as Twitter to give their verdicts.
Many praised the show's humorous writing and declared that actress Diane was at her best, with one even stating it was the 'funniest thing' they've watched in 2024.
They penned: 'Absolutely hilarious. Loved the bit about the soundman and the theme of arseholes all the way through.
'Pure class! the best writing of the year, saved for the end...
'#CunkOnLife was just outstanding, watch it if you didn't already, so good
'Catching up on #CunkOnLife, pure genius...
'I'm 10 minutes in and it's already the funniest thing I've seen all year.'
From the Big Bang Theory to artificial intelligence, the show sees hapless Philomena interview a number of experts and academics in a bid to educate viewers, with her deadpan delivery unsurprisingly raising plenty of laughs
Hours after airing, critics hailed Diane as 'peerless' and her alter-ago - who first appeared in 2013 in newsy British comedy series Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe - as 'exhaustingly funny'
However, many warned that Philomena's deadpan jokes could grow tedious after a while, with The Times stating: 'It’s the kind of daft comedy that’s hilarious when not being just too puerile, but which can wear thin after, say, half an hour'
Meanwhile, the comedy has left a number of fans divided as they took to X, formerly known as Twitter to give their verdicts
Many praised the show's humorous writing and declared that actress Diane was at her best, with one even stating it was the 'funniest thing' they've watched in 2024
'pure class! the best writing of the year, saved for the end...
'#CunkOnLife was just outstanding, watch it if you didn't already, so good.'
However, many hit out at the 'repetitive' jokes, with many declaring the 75 minute episode was too long.
They shared: '#CunkOnLife has to be the worst of the series yet. There were too many moments where Diane Morgan had to step aside to make way for cheap Charlie Brooker gags. Could have easily been 20 minutes shorter, of purely classic Cunk instead
However, many hit out at the 'repetitive' jokes, with many declaring the 75 minute episode was too long
'Funny bits...but WAY too long... Repetitive jokes that weren't funny... Not her best.
#CunkOnLife dumb**s against brainiac getting boring now #bbc #onetrickphony'
Diane often stuns viewers with her witty and sharp sense of humour - and is celebrated for her previous BBC mockumentaries Cunk On Britain and Cunk On Earth.
The actress first debuted her alter-ego in 2013 while on the newsy British comedy series Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe.
She became a fan favourite and was soon hailed as a 'national treasure' - and has also appeared in Motherland as Liz alongside Anna Maxwell Martin.
More recently, Diane has starred in After Life, Death to 2020, and Death to 2021.
Cunk on Life will be available to stream on Netflix on January 2 2025, and is already available on BBC iPlayer.
Cunk Of Life - What the critics say
The Guardian
Rating:
Lucy Mangan says: 'Morgan is peerless, the jokes plentiful and wide-ranging, from the light twistings by people who know exactly what the facts are and how far they can be stretched for comic effect all the way through to the “our souls”.'
The Telegraph
Rating:
Jasper Rees writes: 'In aping the lordliness of the grand science documentary, this ramble around the meaning of life expands to 70 minutes. The reward is visual spectacle and a travel budget that takes her all the way to Vegas (“a Mecca for people who aren’t going to Mecca”). Its inventive mockery is exhaustingly funny. A minor downside is that one or two jokes – mainly about our souls and other nethers – grow repetitious'
The Times
Rating:
James Jackson shares: 'It’s the kind of daft comedy that’s hilarious when not being just too puerile, but which can wear thin after, say, half an hour...
'All I know by the end of this exhausting, fitfully very funny nonsense is that Cunk was making me genuinely consider how not everything is made up of atoms because “thoughts aren’t”. Where she can possibly go next after all this really does make the mind boggle'
The iPaper
Rating:
Rachael Healy says: 'Cunk on Life is classic Brooker, with another flawless performance from Morgan. Its creators have made the most of the feature-length format, rewarding us with something that steps beyond the standard mockumentary. But, with the final scene teasing a potential extraterrestrial follow-up, if Cunk returns, I hope she has the chance to try something new.'
Financial Times
Rating:
Dan Einav pens: 'Ingeniously, Cunk’s guileless, blasé approach to sacrosanct and controversial subjects often sheds light on injustice, absurdity and hypocrisy. So while there are throwaway jokes about, “ET the existentialist”, there are also disarmingly pointed barbs about, say, Hollywood abuse scandals, capital punishment and reproductive rights: “This is where, incredibly, the miracle of life begins and the precise moment a woman’s right to choose ends”.
'And while the hit rate slackens a bit towards the end — especially with a cheap Sesame Street-spoof — it’s testament to Brooker and Morgan that so many of the punchlines not only land but surprise, and that the character herself never feels stale. After all these years, Cunk remains as funny as ever — which is more than you can say for Marx or Sartre.'
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