With its stellar commissioning record, the UK has a strong reputation as the birthplace of some of the finest comedy-dramas ever to grace the small screen.
From Gavin & Stacey and Miranda to more recent shining examples like Alma's Not Normal and Sky TV's Brassic, we know how to get a good chuckle out of audiences. Equally, pulling on heartstrings and hitting them right in the feels is also where UK talent shines.
Stories of hardship and overcoming societal marginalisation continue to score sky-high ratings, like the BBC's recent adaptation of Bernadine Evaristo's heartfelt book Mr Loverman, starring Lennie James, or the moving portrayal of adoption and self-acceptance seen in Lost Boys and Fairies. Just look at the impact of ITV's Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
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Sometimes – especially for audiences from under-represented communities – there's a desire to be seen on screen while also being able to feel a sense of relaxation and comfort while watching.
It's a balance that can often be missing. But that sweet spot is exactly what BBC Three's new comedy series Smoggie Queens delivers.
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Written by and starring Phil Dunning as Dickie, a chaotic protagonist with a penchant for a messy wig and an unevenly drawn eyebrow, Smoggie Queens is a palate cleanser following the more emotive and trauma-heavy LGBTQ+ dramas we've seen throughout this year.
Set in Middlesbrough, we are brought into the world of Dickie and his queer family as they try and help him win back the love of his life through a romantically out-of-tune rendition of 'My Heart Will Go On'. With Coronation Street's Alexandra Mardell fleshing out the friendship group with glamour and wit as well as Waterloo Road's Mark Benton as Mam, it ticks boxes for those who feel comforted by a familiar face.
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Dunning's series tackles topics like escaping toxic relationships and heartbreak while not taking itself too seriously. This is seen straight off the bat in its first episode, with a wild goose chase in an ice cream van around the North Yorkshire town.
Aside from the chaos, the comedy acts as light relief for the LGBTQ+ community who, outside of the world of fiction, are often at the tail end of hardship.
As LGBTQ+ stories continue to be seen across TV and streamers, TV execs and commissioners are often only looking for one of two options: a heartfelt coming-of-age moment that retroactively heals generations of queer folk, or a deeply sad and traumatic look at what it's like to not be accepted for who you truly are.
Do they provide a meaningful, and often poignant, long-lasting impact on audiences? Yes, of course. But sometimes audiences crave emotive and comedically rich drama. People of all ages want to relate to characters on screen while being able to feel every emotion possible, not just see their experiences pigeonholed into one of two archetypes.
We no longer operate in the days of just having to see queer people as sad or closeted. We also want more than the 'gay best friend' trope – comic relief without substance.
Smoggie Queens is proof of that, as Dickie and his gang of misfits show us that underneath the comedy and Northern charm, there is a heartfelt tale of chosen family and togetherness.
As seen by the continued success of RuPaul's UK franchise of her world-dominating hit RuPaul's Drag Race, the UK's camp heritage and unique sense of humour is much loved yet hard to capture.
But Smoggie Queens has managed to find just the right way to bring to life the sincerely individual charm of small, close-knit communities and their one-of-a-kind inhabitants – even dragging veteran of the Drag Race judging panel Michelle Visage into the show's ensemble cast.
LGBTQ+ stories are no longer focused only on the major towns and cities of the UK – instead Dunning and co have shown us that there are funny, relatable, heartfelt and stupidly camp stories to be found in every inch of this United Queendom.
Smoggie Queens is available on BBC iPlayer.
Jamie Windust is an award-winning editor, writer and author specialising in writing about LGBTQ+ storytelling, film and TV. As former Contributing Editor at Gay Times, they have interviewed talents such as Jack Lowden, Owen Jones, John Bell and Jack Rooke.
Their debut book In Their Shoes: Navigating Non-Binary Life detailed their experiences growing up as a trans person and how influential culture, fashion and TV and film were in helping them to express themselves with confidence. In Their Shoes was longlisted for the 2021 Polari First Book Prize.
Bylines include The Independent, Metro, Mashable and ELLE UK.
