Streaming service giant Netflix has today announced that the cultural landmark in British comedy, The Inbetweeners, is set to return for a third film, which is now in production.
What is ‘The Inbetweeners’?
Originally airing on Channel 4 in 2008, The Inbetweeners began life as a television show and ran for three seasons, following the misadventures of four teenagers, Will, Simon, Jay, and Neil, as they navigated their coming of age.
The series is held in high regard amongst UK audiences, with the series praised for its outlandish take on the common “struggles” of adolescent life within British teens, ranging from exam stress to girl trouble.
The boys returned for The Inbetweeners Movie in 2011 with their post-A-levels lads’ holiday to Malia. Of course, this one also gets ugly.
A 2014 sequel also arrived, this time with Neil, Simon and Will all heading down under to visit Jay in Australia.
This one isn’t quite the same relatable, “that’s just like us!” vibe as the last, but it’s still a decent bit of fun.
Since then, each of the four members has seen different career paths.
James Buckley (Jay) has seen himself become an online influencer, having taken on streaming, podcasting, and vlogging.
Blake Harrison (Neil) has taken mainly to theatre, also appearing in Soccer Aid 2018, where he scored the winning penalty.
Joe Thomas and Simon Bird played Simon and Will respectively, and both of them have stuck to more conventional comedy roles, with Thomas appearing in Fresh Meat, while Bird appeared in Channel 4 comedy Friday Night Dinner; he’s also set to appear in Star Wars: Starfighter in 2027.
‘The Inbetweeners 3’ is bringing back the core creators
What do we know about the third film? A Netflix press release on Monday gave limited information as to what we can expect:
- Bird, Buckley, Harrison and Thomas will reprise their roles as Will McKenzie, Jay Cartwright, Neil Sutherland and Simon Cooper
- Creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris will return to write and direct the film
It’s great to see that the original creators are on board, something that will comfort many sceptics who might fear the film might lose its faith to the originals.
Alongside the press release, Netflix posted a short teaser video showing the four boys, now grown men, getting into Simon’s classically horrible yellow Fiat – complete with red passenger door.
That’s the main concern for many as it goes, that these are now men.
Gone are the charmingly relatable coming-of-age themes that were the main selling point of the originals, so how is this one going to work?
The most likely theory touted by fans is a stag do type of film, akin to The Hangover series.
The problem here is that audiences have seen this type of story before, and by the third film in The Hangover series, it’s sort of got a little bit old.
One thing’s for certain, though, and it’s that the boys are back in what will surely be one of the most anticipated British comedies in a while, and while I’m certainly excited, let’s just hope the magic isn’t lost.
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