18 Best TV Episodes Of 2017 (So Far)

7. Episode 6 - Catastrophe

Catastrophe Sharon Horgan
Channel 4

With its third season, Catastrophe once again moved up a notch in terms of quality, and positioned itself as arguably the best sitcom on TV - and one of the most hard-hitting.

All that was evident in the Season 3 finale, which took the strands of the season-long arc of Rob's alcoholism to a brutal, harrowing endpoint. It's a moment where it really leaves the comedy behind, instead finding a whole lot of pathos in the storyline.

The relationship between Rob and Sharon is one of TV's best, and it's so beautifully brought together in this episode, which does so many other things right too. The scenes at the funeral are hilarious, and there's a great, wonderfully funny and sharp performance from Carrie Fisher in one of her final on-screen appearances.

It's a superb encapsulation of the show's strengths: its ability to gross you out, the portrayal of a very real, adult relationship with all the warmth and fallouts they contain, to choke you up, and make you laugh and cry in equal measure.

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Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.