The Inbetweeners star says show wouldn’t be made today due to, you know, all the rampant homophobia
Actor Simon Bird has said he doesn’t believe the teen comedy would air today. (Getty)
The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird has admitted he doesn’t think the show has aged well due to its “casual homophobia.”
The actor, who played Will McKenzie in the late 2000s teen comedy, said he didn’t think it would be made today, predominantly due to its sexism and underlying homophobic rhetoric.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Bird said: “I honestly think it wouldn’t be commissioned today.
“I rationalise it to myself by saying that, at the time, it was an accurate representation of the way teenagers talk to each other. Is that the case now? I assume not.”
The irreverent sitcom became something of a cult classic among young adults and teenagers during its run from 2008 to 2010.
Those growing up in the UK during that time could barely escape the barrage of quotes and one-liners made by schoolmates Will, Simon, Jay and Neil across its three seasons.
But, as Bird explained, he believed that much of the humour had aged poorly even during the height of its popularity.
“Although the programme was set in the 2000s, it was based on a pilot set in 1990,” he said. “So even in the 2000s, it wasn’t really an accurate reflection of how teenagers spoke.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Bird also touched upon the poorly-received 2019 reunion show, which saw host Jimmy Carr speak to a plethora of guests – many of whom had very little to do with the show.
“That was just a terrible idea from the get-go,” he said. “We all knew that. We all had suggestions about how it might be possible to do one that wasn’t totally embarrassing. Those suggestions were not heeded.
“Frankly, we got paid quite a lot to do it, and there was a certain amount of pressure from Channel 4.”
The actor certainly isn’t the first to point out the homophobic, transphobic, and often sexist undertones of the show.
During a December 2020 interview, journalists Freddy McConnell and Shon Faye discussed the prevalence of transphobia in the UK, citing shows like The Inbetweeners as representative of casual transphobic rhetoric within society.
“That is how we’ve been taught, as a British society, to think of trans people. So those are the images that journalists will evoke, and they’ll say: ‘Well, that’s what these people are,'” McConnell said.
“I think what Shon said about people being annoyed at being told that they can’t say rude things about a certain tiny group of people anymore is really true, and it’s really true of comedy in particular.”
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