Sharon Horgan is a comedy writer, producer and actor that needs no introduction, but someone you might not have heard of yet is Aisling Bea.

Together, Aisling and Sharon star in new, darkly funny comedy, This Way Up, airing on Channel 4. As well as playing the lead role of Aine, Aisling also wrote the series, teaming up with Sharon’s production company Merman.

This Way Up: What’s it about?

Showrunner Aisling stars as the charming and funny Aine, a whip smart English-as-a-foreign language (TEFL) teacher trying to pull her life back together after a “teeny little nervous breakdown", as her sister Shona, played by Sharon, worries not only about her younger sibling but also about her own life choices. The TEFL school where Aine teaches brings together a room full of characters also trying to find their own hope, direction and happiness.

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“Through Aine’s own experiences, and the experiences of those around her, This Way Up explores how the pursuit of happiness differs for everybody and unveils the obstacles which come between that goal and the reality of a life lived,” Channel 4 said of the series.

It might sound like an oxymoron to create a comedy about loneliness, but that’s what Aisling describes it as, though she admits that’s “kind of a hard-sell.”

This Way Up
Mark Johnson//Channel 4
Sharon Horgan in This Way Up

“The romance at the core of the show is the relationship between two sisters. What I wanted to do was make a show not about someone breaking down, but starting broken and going ‘this way up’ on the way to recovery. And I wanted to show how messy and hard it is to get better and remain well,” she said.

“And it doesn’t have to be done in a maudlin way; People get through things with humour. It’s about family, and loneliness, outsiders, immigrants, and how we all feel like outsiders at times.”

She’s used to playing the more chaotic characters, but in This Way Up, Sharon Horgan’s Shona is a far cry from that.

“She’s the sensible, protective, maternal older sister. It was quite difficult, because playing the straight woman is not what I’ve done in the past. But for me, the show is about Aisling telling her story. It was down to her how she wanted to write it, and of course we developed it with her, and spent as much time as we possibly could working on it with her,” she said.

“It was ultimately down to her how she wanted the characters to be portrayed, and I just went with what she came up with and tried to do my best.”

Ultimately, if you’re a fan of Horgan’s previous work including Pulling and Catastrophe, This Way Up and creator Aisling Bea could well be right up your street. Bea’s debut series tackles difficult issues like loneliness and mental health in a bravely funny way, and for that reason, it’s surely a must-watch.

This Way Up
Channel 4
Aisling Bea in This Way Up

This Way Up starts on 8 August at 10pm on Channel 4. The entire series will be available to stream on All 4 after the first episode, with the show continuing weekly on Channel 4.