Early this morning Netflix released the entire first season of The End of the F***ing World, a British dark comedy/drama that first aired on Channel 4 in the UK this past October, and now launches as a Netflix Original series for the the rest of the world. The series is based on the award-winning graphic novel by Charles Forsman.

James (Alex Lawther, Black Mirror) is a 17-year-old self-proclaimed psychopath. At the age of 8 he realized he had no sense of humor; at the age of 9 he put his own hand in a deep fryer just to see if he could feel anything; and shortly after that he got a taste for killing small animals. Now he’s eager to try to kill something larger. That’s when he meets Alyssa (Jessica Barden, Penny Dreadful), the new girl at school. She’s a foul-mouthed rebel who can’t stand her mom and step dad, and finds joy in annoying people. James decides to pretend to fall in love with Alyssa in order to get close to her so he can kill her. The two quickly form a bond and embark on a road trip, but things don’t go quite as planned. They soon find themselves involved in a bad situation, and just get themselves deeper in trouble with each day that passes, becoming like a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. In pursuit of the young couple are cops Eunice (Gemma Whelan, Game of Thrones) and Teri (Wunmi Mosaku, Guerrilla), who have some relationship issues of their own.

It took me a couple episodes before I really got into this series, but once I did, I was hooked, and binged all 8 episodes in one sitting. The season plays out like one long 160-minute movie, with each episode picking right up where the previous episode’s big reveal or twist left off. The series has a nice blend of humor and drama, set to an excellent late 1950s/early 1960s soundtrack. The writers do an excellent job of evolving the characters of James and Alyssa over the course of the season. In the first episode, pretty much all of the “dialogue” comes in the form of inner monologues inside James’ and Alyssa’s heads, but as the series progresses and the characters grow, there is less inner-thoughts and more actual talking. The inner-dialogue is then used more to add punches of humor to the story. I really enjoyed this series, and while I don’t know if there will be a second season (I hope there will be), the first season does provide a solid story and emotional arc for the characters.

Tonight I’ll also be watching Child Support, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

For additional suggestions on what to check out tonight, including MacGyver, check out the If We Controlled Your Remote… 1/5/18 post at TVisMyPacifier.com.