Nine months ago, we were all wetting ourselves laughing over the burgeoning romance between cynical teacher Sharon and American ad exec Rob (co-stars and co-writers Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney), after she got pregnant during a one-week stand. Now, having reached full gestation, it’s time to return to see how they’re coping with impending parenthood.
But instead of watching their chemistry on the telly, we’re on-board a trailer in a car park with the pair, having just had a cameo role walking down a path behind them coming out of the hospital (fingers crossed you’ll spot Grazia’s Emily Phillips in episode five). It’s safe to say Sharon and Rob are still in a chaotic place, and still just as believable as an on-screen couple – even by the way they react to each other’s answers as they dig into their couscous lunches.
‘There’s a whole new set of emotional issues and disabilities,’ says Sharon. ‘Things are less romantic and rosy. Now, it’s a meat-and-two-veg situation.’
So was the shouty crowning scene we witnessed inspired by any hilarious events in their real-life children’s deliveries (Sharon has two kids, Rob has three)? ‘It still upsets me when I think about it: really hideous memories,’ Sharon says gravely, suddenly not joking. ‘The first birth was like watching The Exorcist.’
Do their spouses get upset with them mining their marriages for material? ‘There were so many things in series one that had actually happened to Sharon or myself,’ says Rob. ‘My wife’s biggest problem was people saying, “It must be so great being married to him.” She’s like, “That’s not him!”’
Sharon says, ‘People think he’s a really nice guy, a kind of fantasy.’ Rob suggests, ‘I usually arrive at “nice guy” in real life, by the end of the day – but I might veer through asshole town, and take a detour to get there.’ ‘Many times...’ answers Sharon with a laugh.
They met and began writing together after hitting it off on Twitter. Sharon broke out in her thirties with cult comedy shows like Pulling, while stand-up Rob was making a name as ‘the funniest man onTwitter’.
Now Catastrophe is not only making waves here but also in America. The show even helped to get Sharon’s next project, Divorce, picked up by HBO, starring none other than Sarah Jessica Parker. ‘I was working on Divorce before I started this and I kind of parked it to do Catastrophe,’ she says.
For series two, Rob’s bringing home the bacon, while Sharon weighs up what to do. Rob says, ‘I’ve had soul-sucking corporate jobs in marketing and advertising like him, that I really didn’t enjoy, but made me money. One day I just said, “I’m a comedian,” and left.’
What else can we expect from the show? ‘We’ve made it a bit more ensemble. When you’re fully in a marriage, your relatives impact everything. It’s nice to make everyone else a bit more batsh*t,’ says Sharon. ‘Plus, more of Rob’s butt. Actually, you also get an extra butt – not gonna tell you whose! But it’s not mine!’
Tuesdays, 10pm, Channel 4