New series: The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret

A long time ago, in a world far removed from our own, there was once a comedy series called Arrested Development. This series was a magnificent example of everything that television wit may accomplish and, despite never achieving huge success, was and remains adored by many. Another long time ago, in a world not so removed from our own, there was another comedy series called The Office. This series was, in my view, a bit rubbish. Yet many people seemed to love it and still do, despite bequeathing us that tedious one-trick-pony, Ricky Gervais. Now imagine these two comedy series met, fell in love, and had a mind-numbingly stupid child. Now imagine that you don’t have to imagine, because they actually have done just that.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret is that child. Starring Arrested Development veteran David Cross in the title role, the series begins with Todd in a British courtroom, under charges of heinous something-or-other. We then rewind two weeks prior to the courtroom scene, to Portland, Oregon, where Todd is a woefully hapless temp in the offices of a multinational company. His delightfully sweary boss, played by fellow Arrested Development comrade Will Arnett, mistakes him for a hardboiled dynamo, and Todd is duly sent to the UK as launch-manager of “Thunder Muscle”, the finest energy drink to be exported from North Korea. (Todd claims to be from Leeds, or that his recently-deceased father was from Leeds, never deciding which lie suits him better.) On arriving in Britain, after his suitcase is blown up by the bomb squad, Todd finds his new offices derelict but for Dave, his new assistant, who looks suspiciously like Neil from The Inbetweeners. Cue lots of pub and café centred awkward humour, as Todd attempts to prove his worth by selling just one can of Thunder Muscle, and meets with little success. Finally, after a long day’s travels, he finds his luxury apartment to be a filthy hovel, and duly wets himself as he passes out on the floor.

All this may sound funny enough, and on paper it looks great. The problem, however, is that it induces a weird mixture of déjà vu and boredom. Cross may no longer sport a moustache and glasses, but Todd Margaret shares the social obliviousness and completely unfounded optimism of his Arrested Development character, Tobias. Likewise, Arnett’s appearances as Todd’s outrageously offensive boss are funny enough (his predilection for casually addressing workers as “douche bag” and “shithead” earned a chuckle) but they’re not exactly novel or challenging compared to his previous antics. And when the characters make the move to Britain, it’s as if they’ve stepped into some David Brent dystopia, deciding to wrench up the socially inept humour by a factor of ten. This is a Britain populated exclusively by misanthropic old codgers, bereaved mothers weeping over glasses of white wine, angry hooligans and their pregnant and even angrier girlfriends; to all of which Todd tries to sell his cans of “Thunder Muscle”. Blake Harrison’s Dave plays to the quintessentially laddish impulse, but that feels equally strained. This isn’t culture-clash humour: it plays more like nihilistic, derivative goofiness and reheated caricature.

Ultimately, then, it’s doubtful that Todd Margaret will make the same lasting impact as its unquestionable forebears did, despite news of a second season pickup. Which is slightly disappointing, because a briefer and lower-key series could have been an opportunity for Cross and Arnett to experiment with their undoubtedly funny instincts. Let this stand, therefore, as a warning to all those who risk becoming seduced by the curse of Gervais: it’s better to have people laughing with you than at you, because in that case they soon won’t be laughing at all.

The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret continues on More4 at 10.40pm on Sundays

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