I have met plenty of real-life letting agents – and I have to say most are a lot wittier than Channel 4’s latest comedy offering which screened last night.
Stath Lets Flats, written by and starring Jamie Demetriou, centres on incompetent lettings agent Stath, who works for his dad at family run agency Michael & Eagle.
He struggles not to be outshone by the firm’s top agent, ruthlessly ambitious Carole, while the company is under threat from ‘Smethwicks’ – the slick, high-end estate agents next door which enjoys placing its bins outside the Michael & Eagle branch.
Episode one – Pushy Boy – started with Stath struggling to secure tenants for properties and failing to build a rapport, resulting in him at one point shoving a potential renter who is not interested in one of the lets.
His dad then pressures him to let some flats by revealing he is thinking of retiring and naming a successor.
There are plenty of stabs at the stereotypes of poor agents, from Stath trying to explain away damp in a bathroom and an exposed metal beam, to portrayals of a cut-throat world where agents try to steal eachother’s viewings.
The show even has sweet hints of an office romance blossoming between Stath’s equally hapless sister Sophie and Al, who comes up with perhaps one of the funniest lines when he says: “I’m just having a tea, this stuff is so addictive. I’m on a cup a day now, not everyday, sometime I have to do lets.”
Agents who still have a sales bell will enjoy seeing Carole ring for each let she secures and there are some moments of British wit and slapstick comedy.
At one point Al apologises for having his desk by a whiteboard that breaks his nose after Stath pushes it in anger when Carole rings the bell for yet another let.
Perhaps the most slapstick moment is Stath trying to rescue a pigeon from a tenant’s loft and ending up chasing it round the house and breaking several televisions.
But the episode doesn’t feature that many laugh out loud moments, which is disappointing for a show in a slot that has previously been filled by classics such as The Inbetweeners and Peer Show.
Stath Lets Flats certainly paints an old school picture of lettings but I would think the jury is out on whether this really reflects today’s world of agency or even classic comedy.
Did you see it last night? Let us know what you think.
So disappointed. May be it was just me, but it felt like someone was trying to hard to be as funny as Ali-G and Borat combined with zero success.
I would love to write them an episode though…. get a few lines in there, we all would love to say but dare not.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Didn’t do it for me
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Did you see it last night? NO
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
“Estate agents in: ‘estate agents being the only people on earth unable to laugh at estate agents’ shocker”.
Hold the front page.
It was very, very funny, with a very talented lead.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
I watched up until the break, then went to bed….
I found the bit about the beam and the ‘damp’ in the bathroom wall, as well as the ‘swing’ seat in the bedroom that the daughter obviously loved (but wasn’t included) as mildly amusing but nothing more.. And by mildly amusing, I thought “huh. Almost funny”
Not something I will be putting on series link..
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register
Very disappointed with it – not funny and only watched the 1st 10 minutes before switching over.
You must be logged in to like or dislike this comments.
Click to login
Don't have an account? Click here to register