# Uncle (2014)

> A dissolute out-of-work musician reluctantly takes in his 12-year-old nephew on the day he planned to end his life, and the two stumble into an unlikely bond.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/55217

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 19
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Oliver Refson
- Network: BBC Three, BBC Three (Online)
- Cast: Nick Helm, Elliot Speller-Gillott, Daisy Haggard, David Cann, Mae Martin, Bobby Lockwood, Nicholas Burns, Craig Parkinson
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2546866/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: irreverent, deadpan, darkly tender, scruffy, wistful

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively, praising its warm, awkward chemistry between the washed-up musician uncle and his nephew and its candid, offbeat take on care and responsibility.

## Synopsis

Uncle (2014-2017) is a British comedy sitcom created by Oliver Refson for BBC Three, running three seasons and nineteen half-hour episodes. Nick Helm plays Andy, a dissolute, out-of-work musician who is morally blackmailed by his chaotic sister Sam (Daisy Haggard) into looking after her twelve-year-old son Errol (Elliot Speller-Gillott) on the very day he planned to end his life. Andy is no natural with children or responsibility, and most episodes are built from his attempts to keep Errol out of trouble while he keeps tumbling into trouble himself. The engine is the awkward, slowly deepening bond between a man who has given up and a boy who is sharper than his guardian, with each episode a self-contained scrape played for deadpan laughs. The tone is irreverent and scruffy, with a darker undertow of depression that the show treats with surprising tenderness rather than melodrama. Its uneven edges and cringe-prone set pieces make it a short, intimate watch. Fans of Peep Show, Fleabag and Catastrophe will find resonance in its blend of bleak humour, flawed adults and a sincere heart beneath the mess.

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