E4’s new sitcom has been labelled ‘the female Inbetweeners’ but after watching the first two episodes of Drifters this description seems greatly misjudged.

Yes the show’s writer and main star, Jessica Knappett, played Lisa in The Inbetweeners movie, alongside Drifter’s other main stars Lydia Rose Bewley and Lauren O’Rourke; and yes, Drifters does contain elements of that same crude and vulgar comedy that so defines the famous teenage sitcom.

But here the similarities end. Drifters is a completely different show which feels fresh, new and independent in its own right, not just a female spin-off tagging on the back of another show’s success. The programme, set in and around Leeds, follows the lives of three best friends, Meg, Bunny and Laura, as they attempt to make sense of their lives in the terrifying post-uni, pre-job phase. Many Leeds students will feel gulps of dread as they watch Meg’s tantrum over being forced out of her childhood bedroom and told to go get a job.

The three characters are likeable and amusing; the awkward Miranda Hart-esque personality of Meg, the ditzy and hippy Bunny and the uncouth and foul mouthed Lauren complement each other well but they do feel quite generic and two dimensional. The comedy itself is generally of a good standard, with a fair few laugh out loud moments, but there were times when the jokes felt very clichéd and contrived.

Drifters does show glimpses of great potential, the female trio work well together and there were some truly hilarious moments interspersed between the more awkward and unrealistic scenes. Whilst unlikely to be as successful as The Inbetweeners, it would be unwise to write off Drifters just yet.

Jessica Murray