Why Did The Inbetweeners Become So Culturally Relevant?

Intro The Inbetweeners was a TV show that  told the universal British coming of   age story that came out during a time  where wet hair gel and chinos was the   standardized uniform across Britain,  So why 16 years later is this show   still just as culturally relevant  as it was when it came out?..... The Inbetweeners was the brainchild of  Damon Beasley and Ian Morris who first   The Origins Of "The Inbetweeners" met as producers on the breeding  ground for British comedians,   Channel 4’s the 11 O'Clock Show and  then later on, on “Meet Ricky Gervais”. In fact Ricky’s friendship with the duo would  be an influence throughout their career,   with Damon and Ian naming their production  company after something he said….. In 2004 while living together they launched  Bwark productions, in an interview Iain   stated “We’d entertain each other playing  playstation and telling stories of our youth,   so we decided to scratch an itch and write  a sitcom about being teenagers trapped in   suburbia. Channel 4 commissioned a pilot - which  ended up as bunk off, the second episode of the   first series of The Inbetweeners. A lot of the  things in that episode had happened to Damon.   He did draw on a girls driveway. He did tell  a child their parents would be obliterated in   a nuclear disaster. Then channel 4 said “why  would anyone watch a bunch of teenagers on a   friday night? But E4 did a survey and found out  that young adults wanted to watch themselves.   That led to skins. They also wanted a comedy, so  channel 4 took our script out of the drawer. We   made a pilot that didn’t really work. Still,  E4 were desperate and commissioned a series,   but only if we totally recast….” And recast they did, in the pilot   Baggy Trousers - Pilot Episode episode James Buckley played Neil but off camera  he was far more outgoing, so was cast as Jay. But   you can see from this rare clip of the pilot  just how bad the characters were miscast….  After the terrible pilot a number of the  characters were cast from the british   comedy circuit, finding Greg Davis as Mr  Gilbert after watching him in a tiny pub,   hiring him directly on the spot. And finding Simon  bird and Joe Thomas for their roles after watching   them do their Edinburgh comedy show fresh out  of uni. Iain said “We thought Simon was too   Finding The Cast camp and Joe was too odd so hadn’t cast them in  the pilot. We auditioned hundreds of other Wills   and Simon’s but no one seemed right. And, when we  saw them, the producers at Channel 4 went “Where   have you been hiding these two?” Because they were  perfect. I maintain those four young men are the   funniest male actors of their generation” The chemistry between the cast was evident   in making this show, as can be seen from  behind the scenes footage of the show. Even   from the early days of filming you can  clearly see the bond and creative energy   between the cast and crew which are the vital  ingredients to making something special….. On the 1st of May 2008 the first season made  its debut on channel 4, with the first episode   The Rise Of "The Inbetweeners" & Cultural Impact getting 238,000 viewers and the entire season  averaging just under half a million viewers.   Later that year the first season also received  two nominations at the British Comedy Awards   winning both best new british television comedy  and best male comedy newcomer for Simon Bird.   By the first episode of the second season, the  show had more than doubled its average viewership   of the previous season to a million viewers  and then a further 250,000 on E4plus an hour   later. And by the third season the viewing  figures would basically double once more,   averaging 2.6 million viewers, the highest  ever viewing figures E4 had ever seen….. It’s hard to put in perspective how culturally  relevant this show had become, most notably the   saying and quotes of The Inbetweeners infiltrated  every British person's vocabulary. You wouldn’t   find a friendship group that didn’t reference or  use quotes from this show. Everything from ooooh   friends, bus wankers, clunge, completed it mate,  became part of everyday vocabulary. There are so   many scenes and lines that are used for meme  material as well that it almost becomes woven   into our identity because of the wave of  shared experience during that time period….. The soundtrack to the show was also  arguably just as important as anything   else in making this show a success. The  music was chosen by former XFM DJ Marsha   Shandur, who is likely connected with Iain  and Damon through their time working with   Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Carr on the radio  station. The sounds of The Inbetweeners was   most definitely a product of its time, with  the soundtrack including British pop and alt   rock anthems of past and of the time, helping  this show be further layered in nostalgia….. Could The Show Be Made Today? During an interview Simon Bird was asked if  he thinks the show could be made today….. “I honestly think it wouldn’t be commissioned  today. Asked about whether it was due to the   sitcom’s sexist references, he replied: “Yeah,  and the casual homophobia.” “I rationalise it   to myself by saying that at the time it was an  accurate representation of the way teenagers   talk to each other. Is that still the case now? I  assume not. Although the programme was set in the   2000’s, it was based on a pilot set in 1990, so  even in the 2000’s it wasn’t really an accurate   reflection of how teenagers spoke”. One online commenter stated “Yeah,   it’s still the most accurate summary of teenage  life in England that’s ever been shown on TV.   It’s literally like they just followed real  life teenagers around with cameras. The Banter   and everything is just so spont on and relatable,  really great show, it deserves it’s high status.”  The Inbetweeners Movie Following the conclusion of the third series  in October 2010, the cast and crew of the   show indicated that there would be no fourth  series as the programme had run its course…..  After the final series they left it how most TV’s  should end, leaving the people wanting more. The   people wanted it to keep going, but if it was  going to come back they had to do it in a way   that complimented the original series and not  taint its magic. They discovered that the least   inoffencable way to bring this IP back was in the  form of a movie. The film would see the foursome,   now 18, go on their first lads holiday to Malia  after their final year at college together…..  On the 17th of August 2011 the Inbetweeners  Movie made its debut in cinemas across the UK   and Ireland. The film had a budget of just £3.5  million and blossomed a return of an incredible   88 million dollars, the critics gave it favorable  reviews and to anyone who loved The Inbetweeners,   the film was fantastic, But when it later released  in the United States the movie received mixed   reviews from american critics, which can you  blame them, half the comedy probably went over   their head. In fact in later years watching  Americans react to the british inbetweeners   The American Remake has become big time viewership on youtube,  leading to some hilarious perspectives….  In fact two a few months before the inbetweeners  movie came out, in March 2011, it was announced   that there would be a spin off US version of the  Inbetweeners, which got picked up by MTV. This   left people both concerned and optimistic,  mainly because people had seen the success   of both the UK and US versions of The Office, so  it had a chance to be great if it translated. It   got picked up by MTV after ABC failed to create  an american version of the inbetweeners in 2008.   This led to MTV hiring Brad Copeland who is  known for writing on Arrested Development and   My Name Is Earl to write the script, with none  other than Taika Watiti to direct the pilot. The Inbetweeners USA debut in August 2012 on MTV,   but had poor reviews from the outset with  most british fans feeling like “What the fuck   is this”. However just 3 months later MTV had  decided not to go ahead with a planned second   season of the American remake, which if you  watch side by side you can understand why….  Joe Thomas, who plays Simon, stated that the USA  remake failed because they didn’t cast weirdo’s….  The Inbetweeners Movie 2 Following the success of The first movie and the  need for a palette cleanser after the US remake   crashing and burning, it was only a matter of  time until a sequel would be made. It would   detail the boys, now in university visiting  Jay in Australia who is on a gap year where   he claims to be a DJ at a popular nightclub  in Sydney and living in a luxury mansion,   however when they turn up he’s actually a  toilet attendant who’s living in a tent in   his uncle's front garden. From shitty problems  at the waterpark, bad falsetto covers of “the   first time I saw your face” and getting lost in  the desert it was another smash financially. On   the 6th of August 2014, 3 years after the first  movie the Inbetweeners 2 would be released once   again across the UK and Ireland, managing to  achieve £63.8 million at the box office after   releasing in Australia as well. The reviews of  the film were mostly still positive however a   lot of people felt it was the weakest  entry into the inbetweeners universe….  After “The Inbetweeners” Damon created a brand new  TV show about a fictional double glazing window   Cast After The End Of "The Inbetweeners" company, starring James Buckley and Joe Thomas  in 2017 called “White Gold”. The show was highly   praised by critics and fans alike, running for 12  episodes across two seasons. James also has a very   successful youtube career, with gaming, vlogging  and even podcasting with his wife. Like Damon,   Iain would continue to have a prolific writing  career, co-writing a screenplay for a movie with   Taika Waititi and writing for numours TV shows.  But it wasn’t just the creators, the inbetweeners   kick started the careers of everyone, with Blake  Harrison starring in movies and TV shows and Simon   going on to star in one of the UK’s other  most popular sitcoms, Friday Night Dinner.  The Failed Reunion Show The retrospective program would be called  “Fwends Reunited” and air on channel 4   on the 1st of January 2019, however it was  poorly received by critics and fans alike,   with many wondering why Jimmy Carr was hosting  and not Greg Davis and why it was essentially   poor mans game show, with the majority  of the cast looking uncomfortable…. One online commenter stated “This was terrible.  The lads thought they were just going to chat   about the inbetweeners but jimmy carr constantly  insulting them and acting like they were actually   the characters of the programme was jus  stupid. Feel sorry for the lads really”  The following morning after the show aired  James Buckley tweeted apologizing for the   reunion episode stating “Feeling pretty  hated right now. I’m sorry to anyone   who feels let down with last night's show. I’m  especially upset as it really the fans that made   the Inbetweeners a success , it certainly wasn’t  me. I might do an explanation video on my YT,   or might just leave it and move on #sorry” And explain the situation he did…….  19:01 - Conclusion 16 years after the show it’s a staple  within the British meme zeitgeist,   infiltrating comedy,language and  pop culture. I think the reason   it worked so well was because in the early  to mid 2000’s there were so many TV shows   and movies coming out of Hollywood that  documented American coming of age stories,   especially about mapping and exploring sexuality.  But there were very few pieces of relatable media   that documented the British experience so  authentically. So when the Inbetweeners   was born it spoke to everyone regardless of  age, gender or identity because there were   characters and experiences that you literally  lived growing up in school with your boys….. Thank you so much for watching this video. It  really does mean a lot, make sure to follow me   on all of my socials @phatmemer like, subscribe  and comment below what you wanna see next……