# Ideal (2005)

> A small-time Manchester dope dealer presides over a flat full of strange acquaintances in this surreal British sitcom.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/1383

## Facts

- Seasons: 7
- Episodes: 52
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Graham Duff
- Network: BBC Three
- Cast: Johnny Vegas, Tom Goodman-Hill, Nicola Reynolds, Ben Crompton, Sinéad Matthews, Ryan Pope, Jo Neary, Andrew-Lee Potts
- TMDB rating: 8.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417332/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: mild
- Tone: deadpan, surreal, bleak, languid, absurd

## Synopsis

Ideal (2005-2011) is a British dark comedy sitcom created by Graham Duff for BBC Three. Johnny Vegas plays Moz, a small-time dope dealer whose flat becomes a gathering place for a strange collection of acquaintances, including the fussy PC (Tom Goodman-Hill) and the restless Nicki (Nicola Reynolds). The engine of the show is the gap between Moz's grand schemes and his lethargic, shambling reality: each episode turns on a petty deal, a debt, or a visitor who drifts in and derails the day. Running seven seasons across fifty-two episodes of roughly thirty minutes, it plays as a set of self-contained comic episodes rather than a single continuing plot. Set in contemporary northern England, specifically Manchester, its humour is flat and understated, with occasional surreal and trippy detours that break the realist frame. The tone is bleak, languid and oddly affectionate toward its misfits. Fans of The Mighty Boosh, Nighty Night and Shameless will find resonance in its blend of absurdity and grubby British realism.

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- [Nighty Night (2004)](https://ember.film/tv/185)
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