Born and raised north of the river, the 28-year-old comedian, actor and writer moved east a few years ago — and it’s probably the furthest he’ll venture from home. To cope, he’s sporting a red Vivienne Westwood scarf over a simple black jean jacket and white T-shirt. To his credit, Reich did once try out New York City for a month and a half in the early days of his stand-up career.
He’d grown up a fan of movies and shows set in the Big Apple — “Frances Ha,” “Girls,” “30 Rock” — but it didn’t live up to his expectations. Reich is approached twice, once by a friend and once by a stranger, both gushing with praise about “It Gets Worse.” “I haven’t laughed out loud like that in ages!” a 20-something girl excitedly tells Reich. And on Friday, it will premiere across the pond on Paramount+.
Inspired by his favorite American shows, including “Girls,” the comedy follows three best friends and roommates — Ethan (Reich), Abi (Emily Fairn) and Sam (Olive Gray) — as they navigate their 20s in London after moving out of their shared flat. It possesses that dry, awkward, self-deprecating British humor that is clearly shared by its author, along with a healthy dose of pessimism (as is implied by its title). The result is a hilarious, all-too-real depiction of the existential angst that has come to plague Gen Z-ers across the globe.
In short, adulthood isn’t what they thought it would be. This is your real life.” Was “It Get Worse” based on Reich’s real life? But it’s not true events,” Reich says.
Ethan, Abi and Sam aren’t based on real people, but are instead “sort of different versions of me,” he adds. As for Ethan’s love life: “That’s based off like, 50 people — an amalgamation of some of the most inaccessible kind of bisexual men that I’ve thrown myself at in the most desperate ways. All of whom I’m still friends with.” Beyond the three main characters, “It Gets Worse” also features an eclectic ensemble with some of the most impressive cameos in recent TV memory: There’s Andrew Scott as a hot therapist, bestselling author Zadie Smith as the show’s narrator and voice of reason, artist BabyMorocco as a douchey DJ, “Chicken Shop Date” host Amelia Dimoldenberg as an annoyingly nice it-girl and “Inbetweeners” star Blake Harrison as a quirky lodger Ethan’s mom takes in.
Reich even recruited “Girls” creator Lena Dunham to play the Millennial girlboss at Abi’s office, who has become — in a plot twist 13-year-old him would not believe — a mentor of sorts. The two met after Dunham watched a recording of Reich’s breakout Edinburgh Fringe Festival comedy show “Literally Who Cares?!” in 2022 — before it was picked up for HBO Max. I couldn’t believe it.” That part was in “Too Much,” Dunham’s return to TV nearly a decade after “Girls” and love letter to her new life in London.
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