Leo Reich, the 28-year-old comedian behind the cult hit "Literally, Who Cares?!", has created a new Channel 4 sitcom called "It Gets Worse" that follows a group of twentysomethings navigating life in London.
The show centres on Reich's character Ethan, described as "a middle-class loser gay guy," and his flatmates Sam and Abi as they deal with being forced out of their shared home due to a rent increase. Reich describes the comedy as "Girls meets Peep Show" - blending the candid, character-driven style of the former with the British bleakness of the latter.
Though some have positioned "It Gets Worse" as the UK's first genuine gen Z sitcom, Reich pushes back against that framing. "I'm sceptical of the idea that generations have any real unifying features across the board, so I don't want it to be like: this is a gen Z sitcom," he says. He emphasizes that the show deliberately avoids a grand concept or social thesis. "The point isn't there's some big concept where everyone's a superhero, it's: these are some people dot dot dot."
The comedy is deliberately uncluttered in its ambitions. While the premise involves a rent hike forcing the characters out of their flat, Reich stresses this is not meant to be a meditation on the cost of living crisis or any other issue. Instead, the show prioritizes hangout comedy and the messy personal lives of its characters.
Reich rose to prominence through "Literally, Who Cares?!" and appeared in Lena Dunham's "Too Much." He describes his comedy approach with characteristic self-awareness: "I'm lovingly making fun of everyone I've ever met."
When asked how closely the finished show matches his original pitch, Reich offers a characteristically vague answer: "The idea, I would say, was quite broad."