This Way Up is a British comedy-drama television series broadcast on Channel 4. It is set in London, and is written by and stars Aisling Bea. Sharon Horgan, who co-stars in the series, is an executive producer and story consultant.
The first season was shown in 2019, and the second in 2021. In 2024, Bea announced that there would not be a third season. The series is distributed in the United States on Hulu.
Premise In This Way Up Bea plays a young, single Irish woman, Áine (), who lives in London and is recovering from a nervous breakdown. She works as a teacher of English as a second language. Horgan plays Áine's protective elder sister, Shona, who lives with her male partner but is also sexually attracted to a female colleague.
Cast Main Aisling Bea as Áine Sharon Horgan as Shona, Áine's sister Dorian Grover as Étienne, Áine's French pupil Tobias Menzies as Richard, Étienne's father Aasif Mandvi as Vish, Shona's partner Indira Varma as Charlotte, Shona's colleague Kadiff Kirwan as Bradley, Áine's flatmate
Recurring Chris Geere as Freddie, Áine's ex-boyfriend Ricky Grover as Tom, Áine's friend from rehab Ekow Quartey as James, Áine's boss Pik-Sen Lim as Chien, one of Áine's students Ambreen Razia as Emma, Bradley's girlfriend
Guest Sorcha Cusack as Eileen, Áine and Shona's mother Lou Sanders as Fran, a psychic Áine visits Jeff Mirza as Hari, Vish's father Soni Razdan as Kavita, Vish's mother Chetna Pandya as Seema, Vish's sister Nikhil Parmar as Anil, Vish's brother Tom Bell as David, Áine and Shona's Cousin
Episodes
Season 1 (2019)
Season 2 (2021)
Reception On Rotten Tomatoes, season 1 has an approval rating of 90% based on reviews from 20 critics. The site's consensus describes the show as "Devastating, hilarious, and surprisingly light, This Way Up captures the complexities of mental health with an empathetic – if at times wandering – eye." Bustle compared it positively with Fleabag. It also gained comparisons with Back to Life and Catastrophe. The Daily Telegraph called This Way Up "one of the best new shows of the year", awarding it five stars. In The Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Fienberg was less positive, but called it a "solid and familiar blend of comic and melancholic". Sophie Gilbert in The Atlantic praised the show, calling it "small in scope, infinitely charming, and intermittently devastating".
At the 2020 BAFTA Television Craft Awards, Bea won the Breakthrough Talent Award/ and in 2022 was nominated for Best Female Comedy Performance at the British Academy Television Awards.
References
External links This Way Up on Channel 4