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Juice (TV series)

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Juice
"Juice" in yellow font on a black background
Genre
Created byMawaan Rizwan
Based onJuice by Mawaan Rizwan (2018 Edinburgh Fringe show)
Written by
Directed by
  • Rosco 5
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes6
Production
Producers
Production companyVarious Artists Limited
Original release
NetworkBBC Three
Release18 September 2023 (2023-09-18)

Juice is a British surreal comedy television series created by and starring Mawaan Rizwan for BBC Three.[1] The series is based on Rizwan's 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show[2] and began airing in September 2023.[1] It follows Rizwan's character, Jamma, as he navigates work life and relationships with his family and boyfriend. Juice is based partially upon Rizwan's real life,[3][4] though Rizwan has stated the show is "definitely fictional",[5] and features his real-life mother and brother as his family in the show.[6] Juice's notable features include its practical effects and "distinctive trippy visuals", as well as how it "explore[s] adult themes in a childlike way".[2]

Cast and characters

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Main

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  • Mawaan Rizwan as Jamal "Jamma" Jamshidi, a young gay man who works at a marketing company and vies for attention amongst his family
  • Russell Tovey as Guy, Jamal's older, therapist boyfriend
  • Nabhaan Rizwan as Isaac, Jamma's younger brother
  • Shahnaz Rizwan as Farida, Jamma's mother and head of the Megacentre
  • Jeff Mirza as Saif, Jamma's father and finance manager for the Megacentre

Recurring

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Premise

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Juice follows Jamma, a young gay man who is navigating commitment issues in his relationship with his boyfriend, Guy, and attention issues in his relationship with his family. Guy contrasts with Jamma's high octane personality; he is a calmer, older man with an established career as a therapist and a desire for his relationship with Jamma to become more concrete. Jamma's mother, Farida, is a former movie star who now manages the Megacentre, a community centre for underprivileged people of all ages. Both Farida and Jamma's younger brother, Isaac, often upstage and outshine him, much to Jamma's dismay.

Production and release

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The title of the show was inspired by Rizwan's mother, who used to say "If life gives you mangoes, make mango juice."[7]

Rizwan has cited Boots Riley, Bong Joon-Ho, and Buster Keaton as sources of influence.[8] Having attended École Philippe Gaulier, Rizwan sought to incorporate elements of clowning into the show.[9][2]

Juice was commissioned in 2022 following a successful pilot created the previous autumn.[10] All of Juice was released for streaming on BBC iPlayer on 18 September 2023, and BBC Three aired two episodes of the show a week on Mondays.[1]

The BBC confirmed in May 2024 that Juice would return for a second series.[11][12]

Episodes

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No. in
season		TitleWritten byOriginal air date
1"Cake"Mawaan Rizwan18 September 2023 (2023-09-18)
Jamma has procrastinated unpacking his boxes in his boyfriend's Guy's apartment. Jamma is surprised when Guy says "I love you" and shifts his attention to his work in his marketing company. He sneakily uses his brother Isaac as a test subject, but is shocked when Isaac gets promoted over him. Meanwhile, Jamma convinces his mother Farida to not divorce Saif. At a party, Jamma takes ecstasy and says "I love you" back to Guy. Guy asks to meet Jamma's parents.
2"Helluva View"Mawaan Rizwan18 September 2023 (2023-09-18)
Jamma believes that everyone is flirting with him now that he is committed to Guy. His friend Winnie invites him to a flatshare, where he is tempted to cheat with a housemate. Farida kicks Saif out of her house when he uses her money to buy a karaoke machine instead of a new suit. Jamma settles the conflict, but Farida tells him that "love is not enough" to reconnect with Saif. Isaac tells Jamma that he is ditching him to work with another employee for the company's new facial cream. Jamma confesses his guilt to Guy, who understands and restates their trust for each other.
3"The Jamma Show"Mawaan Rizwan18 September 2023 (2023-09-18)
Farida declines a dinner invitation from Jamma to meet Guy. Jamma is too afraid to tell Guy that she cancelled, but she shows up anyway. Expecting homophobic comments, Jamma accuses her of ulterior motives when she acts uncharacteristically nice to Guy. However, Farida says that she does not find Jamma's relationship shocking, because she herself was once in love with a woman. Jamma accuses her of lying and making the moment all about herself. Later, Guy rebukes Jamma and says that Jamma made the moment all about him. Saif runs away.
4"A Saif Space"Mawaan Rizwan and Emily Lloyd-Saini18 September 2023 (2023-09-18)
Jamma struggles to balance work, family, friends and Guy. He's bitten off more than he can chew, and he finds himself preoccupied by something lurking beneath the floorboards.
5"Lights, Camera, Escape"Mawaan Rizwan18 September 2023 (2023-09-18)
Jamma and his colleagues embark on an escape room adventure to foster team bonding after a disastrous pitch. Jamma tries to keep Winnie and Guy from talking to each other in hopes of covering up his lie, but instead finds himself entering a gateway into the past.
6"Home"Mawaan Rizwan18 September 2023 (2023-09-18)
Jamma finally unpacks his boxes in Guy's flat. The council comes to evict Farida's business. Despite giving an impassioned speech of how the Megacentre is the only home he's known, Jamma's family is still evicted. Meanwhile, Saif admits to Guy in a therapy session that he feels overshadowed by his wife. Jamma and Guy realise they are too different from each other and they break up. Later, Jamma finds Guy and Saif singing "Freedom" on the karaoke machine and joins in.

Reception

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Critical response

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Juice was well received, garnering 3- and 4-star reviews from The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and Chortle.[13][6][14] It has received praise for its "eye-popping visual style" and exploration of family relationships.[10][6][14] Other sources of acclaim include Juice's childlike playfulness and "slapstick comedy".[6][14] However, Juice has faced criticism for its lack of cohesion between scenes and how it "never quite reach[es] laugh-out-loud funny".[13]

Awards and nominations

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Awards and nominations received by Taskmaster
Year Award Category Recipients Result Ref
2023 I Talk Telly Awards Best New Comedy — Nominated [15]
2024 Broadcast Awards Best Comedy Programme — Highly Commended [16]
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards BPG Emerging Creators Award Mawaan Rizwan Nominated [17]
Broadcast Awards Best Comedy Programme — Highly Commended [18]
RTS Awards Comedy Drama — Won [19]
BAFTA Television Craft Awards Writer: Comedy Mawaan Rizwan Pending [20]
Emerging Talent: Fiction Mawaan Rizwan Pending [20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Guide, British Comedy. "Juice - BBC3 Sitcom". British Comedy Guide. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  2. ^ a b c Levine, Nick (2023-08-24). "How Mawaan Rizwan made the year's best new British sitcom". NME. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  3. ^ "Juice star learnt "everything" about writing from Sex Education creator". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  4. ^ Mawaan Rizwan and Nabhaan Rizwan React To Their Mum Starring In Juice, archived from the original on 2023-12-04, retrieved 2023-10-10
  5. ^ Amin, Meghna (2023-09-18). "Mawaan Rizwan: 'I was forbidden from making eye-contact with Halle Berry'". The Metro. ISSN 1469-6215. Archived from the original on 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
  6. ^ a b c d D'Souza, Shaad (2023-09-18). "Juice review – a raucous, eye-popping millennial queer comedy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  7. ^ "Funny Parts on TikTok". TikTok. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  8. ^ "Juice cast and creator, Mawaan Rizwan, on the "trippy joyride" comedy". www.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  9. ^ "The surreal comedy cosmos of Mawaan Rizwan". GAY TIMES. 2023-08-18. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  10. ^ a b Bennett, Steve. "BBC orders Juice from Mawaan Rizwan : News 2022 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2023-09-26. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  11. ^ "Juice to return for Series 2". British Comedy Guide. 10 May 2024. Archived from the original on 14 May 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  12. ^ Darvill, Josh (13 May 2024). "Mawaan Rizwan's comedy Juice renewed for second series". TellyMix. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b Wilson, Benji (2023-09-18). "Juice, review: Mawaan Rizwan's BBC Three sitcom careers through genres with have-a-go glee". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  14. ^ a b c Bennett, Steve. "Juice : Reviews 2023 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2023-09-25. Retrieved 2023-09-26.
  15. ^ "I Talk Telly Awards 2023 nominations announced". British Comedy Guide. 11 November 2023. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  16. ^ "BBC wins big at Broadcast Awards 2024". Broadcast. 8 February 2024. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Happy Valley leads BPG Award Nominations". Televisual. 29 February 2024. Archived from the original on 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
  18. ^ "BBC wins big at Broadcast Awards 2024". Broadcast. 8 February 2024. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  19. ^ Szalai, Georg (26 February 2024). "Hannah Waddingham, 'Happy Valley,' Bella Ramsey Among Winners of Royal Television Society Awards". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Bafta TV Awards 2024: The list of nominations". BBC. 20 March 2024. Archived from the original on 20 March 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
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