# Trying (2020)

> A childless London couple pursue adoption while their dysfunctional friends and eccentric families keep derailing them.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/82564

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 40
- Episode runtime: 28 min
- Status: Returning Series
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Andy Wolton
- Network: Apple TV
- Cast: Rafe Spall, Esther Smith, Ophelia Lovibond, Oliver Chris, Yasmine Holness-Dove, Scarlett Rayner, Cooper Turner, Tarik Mesfun
- TMDB rating: 8.0/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10982034/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: cringe-laden, warm, sharp-tongued, bruising, affectionate

## What critics say

Audiences broadly rate Trying as a warm, sharply observed British comedy about the strain adoption places on a couple and their chaotic circle of friends and family.

## Synopsis

Trying (2020-present) is a British comedy series created by Andy Wolton for Apple TV. Nikki (Esther Smith) and Jason (Rafe Spall) want nothing more than a baby, and when conception fails they turn to adoption, which means submitting their lives to a stern adoption panel that must decide whether they are fit to be parents. Their quest is repeatedly sabotaged by their own impulsiveness and by the chaos around them: friends such as Erica (Ophelia Lovibond) and Freddy (Oliver Chris), along with screwball relatives and a wider circle of friends whose own lives keep spilling into theirs. Each episode is built from awkward social situations, embarrassing mishaps, and tense meetings with professionals, all filmed with the tight, bruising timing of modern British comedy. The show runs across five seasons of eight half-hour episodes each and is a single continuing story rather than a case-of-the-week format. Its tone is cringe-laden yet warm, with an undercurrent of genuine longing beneath the sharp-tongued humor. Fans of Catastrophe, Peep Show and Fleabag will find the same mix of mortification, affection and marital strain set in contemporary London.

## Shows like Trying

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- [Outnumbered (2007)](https://ember.film/tv/11925)
- [Back (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/64197)
- [Here We Go (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/123597)
- [Spy (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/38203)
- [My Family (2000)](https://ember.film/tv/608)
- [Breeders (2020)](https://ember.film/tv/78918)
- [Still Up (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/134353)
- [Alice and Steve (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1105067)

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