Caitlin Moran’s really rather excellent Raised By Wolves is back on Channel 4 and yep, it is something you should be getting really rather excited about.
As you well know, the show, just about to start it’s second season, is written by Caitlin and her sister Caroline and is loosely based on their teenage years growing up in Wolverhampton. Except it’s set now, not back in the day.
In the first series alone the groundbreaking show managed to cover periods, randy grandpas, teenage crushes, prostitution and, judging by the trailer for the second series, this one doesn't look like it’s going to be any tamer.
Here, speaking to Channel 4 exclusively for The Debrief, Caitlin fills us in on how she deals with the Twitter hate and her responsibility to the younger generation of girls.
‘Oh my God yeah, it was amazing.’ Caitlin says, speaking about the reception Series One got. ‘I’m always waiting for someone to come up and kick me up the bum and say “Get back to Wolvo”. And it was just across the board amazing reviews!’
Caitlin is obviously notorious on Twitter for her outspoken opinions. Also notorious on Twitter are people saying mean things. Were her followers as kind on Twitter as the critics? ‘I just couldn’t go on Twitter while the show was on – that’s just a short way to madness.’ She says. ‘But my husband was filtering it every night, and I literally had four bitchy comments, which, as a woman on Twitter is extraordinary.’ She laughs. ‘I was astonished, given that you can be a woman on Twitter and come on and say “I love you all, here’s a pound, everyone,” and someone will go “Shut up you fat bitch #mensrights”.
With an overwhelming amount of comedy shows on UK TV featuring straight white men (and indeed being made by straight white men), women are often written for TV in a certain way; something Caitlin knows only too well. ‘Often on telly, even something that’s really edgy has got women on it who are really toned, and they’re in a a little vest singlet and tiny pants and glasses on to look intellectual but still looking hot.’ She says. ‘And to see someone who’s just dressed in rags and talking about wanking is just so different. ‘We love those girls. We want it to reach working class matriarchs, weird teenage girls, fat teenager girls, angry ginger lesbian girls, weird freaky goth girls… They never get served anywhere!’
Because of this, Caitlin is very keen to set the ball rolling in the other direction. She says she is ‘constantly’ aware of the responsibility that she has to young viewers. ‘When I wrote How To Be A Woman, I thought it would maybe sell to women of my age, but it was all teenagers who bought that book.’ She says. ‘It was an astonishing array of girls – really fucked up girls, girls who’d self-harm, girls with eating disorders, girls with anxiety, girls with depression, and then really brilliant beautiful girls who didn’t know what to do with their energy, girls who were ashamed of their sexuality, just this massive parade of girls who didn’t see themselves anywhere.’
‘I think so much of what women see on television or in magazine makes them feel awful or hectored or lecture to or that their life is a massive fucking to-do list.’ She continues. ‘I’m so conscious of the need to make jokes about it. And, when we’ve finished laughing about it, we need to plan the revolution. Because I’m not going to have another generation of girls growing up feeling as fucked up and unhappy about themselves as I did.’
Read the full interview soon on the Channel 4 website. Raised by Wolves returns to Channel 4 on Wednesday March 2nd at 10PM
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.