By now you’ve probably clocked the excellently named Scrotal Recall; Channel 4’s new comedy show about a guy diagnosed with chlamydia who uses his new-found STI as an excuse to revisit each and every one of his exes, episode by epsiode. Obviously the show is about as far as you can get from the 1990 ‘classic’ Arnold Schwarzenegger film *Total *Recall but still, we’re suckers for a pun, especially penis-related ones.
‘Rumour has it that the show's writer was asked to jot down a load of ideas for names and at the bottom he wrote "Scrotal Recall" then in brackets "obviously not",' explains one of the show’s stars Antonia Thomas when we asked her about the name. ‘It’s an interesting one isn’t it?! The worst is with my parents’ friends who are like “What’s this show called that you’re doing?” And I’m like, “Scrotal Recall. Yep, that’s right, Scrotal. Recall.” I’m committing to it.’
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Antonia, probably best known to date for her role in E4’s cult hit Misfits, stars in Scrotal Recall (yes, we're going to keep saying it) as Evie, a 20-something who is best friends with the chlamydia-riddled Dylan (played by Johnny Flynn; a musician who proved he’s worth his acting salt in Jez Butterworth’s critically acclaimed play Jerusalem a few years back). Making up the other corner of the show’s friendship triangle is Luke (Daniel Ings); a skirt-chasing Clapham-esque monster (think Spencer from Made In Chelsea without the necessary buffer of the equally sexist Jamie Laing around to laugh at his jokes). A hopeless romantic, Dylan takes his duty of informing previous partners of his chlamydia very seriously; eschewing those anonymous cards the NHS now provide you with, and instead choosing to revisit each and every previous partner to let them know of this latest STI-related development in his life. All the while the loveable chap's unwittingly engaging in a will they/won't they game of romantic cat and mouse with Evie.
The show is primarily a comedy – and hilarious it is. The first episode alone features cringe-tastic scenes from a wedding that play out with much familiarity to any one that’s ever had the pleasure of attending one (think sozzled grooms, bridezillas and desparate attempts at copulation with the opposite sex). But its genius is that it also taps into the great unknown that is the life of a modern day 20-something. ‘I don’t think we’ve had a show that represents this area of young people yet,’ says Antonia. ‘We left left university and because of the recession and it being harder to get a job we’re floundering a bit longer than past generations.’ So we’re taking longer to grow up? ‘Totally! When people have babies I’m like “What are you doing? Don’t tell me I’m a grown-up, I still feel 17!” When I was 15 I thought that when I was 25 I was going to be really sorted but actually none of us are and I haven’t got a house and I think it’s important to represent that we are a different generation and none of us know what we’re doing at all.’
This relatability of Scrotal Recall is something Antonia recognises from her previous work on Misfits, ‘I think the reason that did so well was because it was so honest about young people. It took five templates of people that you could actually meet and then put them through the awkwardness and the difficult things that teenagers go through in all its painful glory.’ In a similar manner, the cast of Scrotal Recall are flying the flag of relatability for those just a few years older; from living off odd jobs to desparately wanting to couple up, the show captures just how tough it is to play grown-up in a world that resolutely tells you every day that you're not.
So, should we be watching? 'I read the script and just totally fell in love with it,' Says Antonia. 'It's really, really funny, really silly but it's got a huge amount of heart too.' So there you go – even if the name alone isn't enough to convince you, hopefully Antonia's words will.
Scrotal Recall starts Thursday, 2 October on Channel 4 at 10pm
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.