Move over Dame Edna, here comes Mrs. Brown
Move over Dame Edna, Mrs. Brown invades Great Britain might be a better way to describe the newest situation comedy, Mrs. Brown’s Boys, when it premieres on BBC One beginning this Monday, 21 February. The writer, creator and ‘face behind’ Mrs. Brown is Irish actor, Brendan O’Carroll. Even with the 1,000’s of stand-up appearances, the five novels, two screenplays, seven plays and a first 
video, Live at the Tivoli, that bumped U2 out of the top slot followed by five more #1 videos, O’Carroll is probably not a name that you are familiar with. With the premiere of Mrs. Brown’s Boys on BBC One, you will not only become instantly a fan of his, but also of Agnes Brown, the meddlesome matriarch of, as “she” puts it, five children and a daughter.
The underlying cool thing is that these are, possibly, the beginning of what seems to be a return of old-school comedy to the BBC, meaning situation comedy shot in front of a live studio audience. This has not been the norm for some time given the popularity of the more recent on-location, no audience with a laugh track sitcoms. The audience laughter with Mrs. Brown’s Boys and the brilliance of Miranda, is genuine laughter recorded from the live studio audience and, thankfully, not over-the-top canned laughter piped in during post.
Unfortunately, it was a bit challenging to find an “all-age appropriate” clip, but the fun thing about this one is that it really shows the beauty of filming before a live studio audience when that elusive fourth wall is broken.
If you get a chance to see on Monday, let us know what you think.
