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Television offers a limitless selection of superb content if you know where to find it and are willing to pay for multiple streaming services. However, with this abundance of quality comes the risk of unique and clever shows, like Extraordinary, getting overlooked. Fortunately, the show is returning for a second season and hopefully, will finally receive the recognition it deserves. Featuring confidence, creativity, crudeness, and most importantly, pure entertainment, this show is not to be missed.

Jen, portrayed by the talented Máiréad Tyers, resides in a world where possessing superpowers is a commonplace occurrence. However, this is not your typical Marvel-inspired adventure. The range of abilities extends from being able to split oneself into multiple individuals for practical work purposes, to shrinking others down to miniature size with a simple “boop,” to having a derrière that functions as a 3D printer. While most individuals discover their powers as they enter adulthood, Jen, in her early twenties, has yet to uncover her unique abilities and what sets her apart from others. While superpowers have often been used as a metaphor, what sets Extraordinary apart is its frank approach to the mundane reality of self-discovery. Jen struggles with finding her identity and feeling left behind, which serves as the crux of the story. Interestingly, the more nonsensical the powers and the absurd the chain of events caused by everyone possessing some form of magic, the more poignant the underlying emotional message becomes.

I use the word profound, though there are some exceptions. In the initial season, Jen struggled aimlessly before finally finding love with a man-cat named Jizzlord (played by Luke Rollason, who I hope takes pride in this addition to his CV for eternity). This gives you an idea of what this series has to offer. In the current season, Jen has saved up enough money to enroll in the Power Discovery Programme, where a therapist (portrayed by Julian Barrett) enters her mind to identify any psychological barriers hindering her from reaching her full potential. Jen’s mind is comparable to a chaotic secondhand bookstore, filled with volumes upon volumes of books about her life, including Worst Things You’ve Thought About While Masturbating. Again, I deem it “profound,” but one of its greatest features is that it catches you off guard with its depth. Jen’s relationship with her family, including her deceased father and living mother (Siobhán McSweeney from Derry Girls), is complicated, to say the least, but her dynamic with her mother is particularly strained. Watching McSweeney dressed in silver performing an impromptu exorcism in a costume shop is a far cry from The Great Pottery Throw Down, but the interactions between her and Tyers are delightful.

As Jen searches for her purpose and attempts to make her new relationship with Jizzlord succeed, her companions and roommates struggle in this current phase. Despite already possessing their unique abilities, they are still unsure of how to properly use them. Kash (Bilal Hasna) and Carrie (Sofia Oxenham) are no longer together, after Kash utilized his power to turn back time in an attempt to prevent their breakup. However, they continue to live together and strive to remain friends. As Kash’s time-manipulating ability begins to malfunction, he starts questioning his own sense of self. Meanwhile, Carrie’s gift of communicating with the deceased leads to a particularly lively Halloween episode, as an old movie star, who resembles Mae West, becomes fond of the young body she possesses.

There are many clever ideas in this show. For example, the usual suspicion towards a partner’s ex becomes heightened when the ex is able to communicate telepathically with everyone. When the group tries to hide their secrets, they are thrown into the Void, a swirling hole that costs £5 to enter (no bodies allowed). Even the pressure of Jen and Jizzlord’s first date is unique, as they consider sharing a plate of spaghetti the size of a weightlifter’s thigh (they have been shrunken by a “boop”). This show is energetic and hilarious, with each 30-minute episode zipping by without overstaying its welcome. While not everyone may enjoy it, it is filled with cleverness and can easily be devoured in one surreal sitting.

Source: theguardian.com