Piglets Season 1 Review – A disappointingly slight comedy from the writers of Green Wing

Episode Guide

Episode 1 -| Rating – 2.5/5
Episode 2 -| Rating – 2.5/5
Episode 3 -| Rating – 2.5/5
Episode 4 -| Rating –  2/5
Episode 5 -| Rating – 2/5
Episode 6 -| Rating – 2/5

Piglets arrives on ITVX amidst a wave of controversy following the Police Federation’s condemnation of the programme’s title. They dubbed it “highly offensive” as ‘piglets’ seems to be a play on the derogatory term “pigs” which is sometimes used in reference to the UK police. 

ITV retaliated, stating the title of the series is “a comedic and endearing play on words to emphasise the innocence and youth of our young trainees.” 

But whatever the case might be, the Police Federation have more to worry about than the series name as the way their officers are depicted in the show might be considered far more offensive.

During the 6 episodes of this first season, they are shown to be racist, sexist, and at times, downright incompetent. Of course, all this is done in the name of comedy, so the show doesn’t necessarily reflect real life, though I know some will make comparisons to those media stories that have featured disgraced members of the nation’s police force.

Piglets comes from some of the writers of Green Wing and retains that show’s silly sense of humour, with a wacky bunch of characters, nonsensical scenes of buffoonery, and the occasional use of split-screen framing to highlight several moments of comical mayhem at once.

Mark Heap (Friday Night Dinner), who played the uptight radiologist Dr. Statham in the aforementioned show, is another common denominator as he stars as Superintendant Bob Weekes, one of the two training officers for the new police recruits who are at the heart of the series. Weekes is not unlike characters Heap has played before, but if you like the actor’s comedy style, you’ll probably enjoy his farcical performance. 

Joining him is Sarah Parish (W1A) as Superintendant Julie Spry, though you might not recognise her initially because of her ruddy red complexion and awful white wig. Spry is a formidable woman – the yin to Weekes’ clownish yang – but the two somehow manage to get along, despite their many differences. 

Of the trainees, there are a few faces you might recognise. Jamie Bisping, who recently starred in Things You Should Have Done, stars as Paul, a dim-witted young man whose criminal brothers have made him attend police training so he can steal vital intel from the station’s offices. 

Then there’s Callie Cooke, the despicable Lindy Pepper-Bean from the Dot and Bubble episode of Doctor Who, who stars as Stephanie, a lovestruck young woman who signs up for police training so she can be close to her ex-boyfriend who is one of the tutors on her course. 

We’ve seen their character types before and the same can be said of class clown Leggo (Sam Pote), studious swat Afia (Halema Hussain), and mature student Geeta (Sukh Ojla), who all conform to stereotypes. We can’t fault their performances but despite their comic talents, laughs are scarce because the material they have been given is surprisingly weak. The writing is reasonably funny in the first few episodes but after the series’ midway point, it goes downhill rapidly in terms of humour. 

The show’s biggest problem is its adherence to Green Wing’s formula. It tries to replicate that show’s brand of comedy but often fails miserably due to gags that haven’t been set up properly and forced attempts at silliness that fall flat. The show relies on its actors to bring the comedy to life but they can only do so much with the badly-written dialogue that sometimes appears as if it has come from a first draft. 

Piglets delivers a few funny moments, such as a brief scene in which Weekes pretends to be Spider-Man after his class lecture on justice devolves into a discussion on the Spidey multiverse. There’s also some fun to be had watching office administrator Melanie (Rebecca Humphries), who comically berates the students for adding to her paperwork one moment and swoons over Weekes the next, even going so far as to licking his hair, which he is oblivious to.

But by the series’ end, you will likely be disappointed by what you have seen. There was potential for something funnier, thanks to the talented cast and the Green Wing writing team. But as it stands, the first season of Piglets is a bit of a mess, with thinly written characters, rushed direction, and too many jokes that fail to land a decent punchline. 

Consider this series a disappointment then. It’s not a complete waste of time but in the way it which it wastes the talents of its capable bunch of actors, it can certainly be considered ‘criminal.’

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