Last time we encountered Alma Nuttall—the protagonist of Alma’s Not Normal—she was on the brink of leaving her bleak escort job for a six-month tour with an inclusive theatre company. She had earned the opportunity due to her background in the care system. However, she nearly gave it all up: torn between the guilt laid on her by her heroin-addicted mother and the tempting but toxic pull of her ex-boyfriend. Alma almost resigned herself to staying in her Bolton flat, surrounded by her Julie Walters shrine and her hand-drawn Hollywood dreams. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Alma, with her traumatic past and whimsical personality, remains a character who is easy to root for.
As the sitcom returns for its second season, fans are hopeful. Alma is largely seen as a reflection of her creator, Sophie Willan. Much like Alma, Willan spent time in care due to her mother’s addiction and has worked as an escort. However, unlike Alma, Willan no longer needs to dream of making it—since Alma’s Not Normal first aired in 2021, she has won Baftas and appeared in shows like Time and Ludwig. Willan has even charmed audiences as part of the Taskmaster lineup. Given how vividly Willan has crafted Alma’s world, and the charm of the 36-year-old comedian herself, viewers are left hoping that Alma might follow a similarly successful trajectory.
Unfortunately for Alma—but fortunately for the sitcom’s storylines—her fortunes don’t mirror Willan’s. Alma’s theatre tour ends with her playing the part of a tree, failing to catch the eye of a hot-shot agent. She returns to Bolton, where her imperious grandmother Joan (played by Lorraine Ashbourne) is semi-harboring her mother’s schizophrenic boyfriend, and her best friend Leanne (Jayde Adams) has risen to become the queen of a trendy bar. Alma, blacklisted from escort work and unable to find proper representation, convinces Leanne to give her a job at the bar.
In another sense, Alma’s life does echo Willan’s. Willan dedicated her Bafta to her grandmother Denise, who passed away during the filming of the show’s first season and was a steadfast supporter of Willan’s career. Similarly, in the new season, Alma’s grandmother Joan is revealed to have lung cancer. She quits smoking and uses party blowers as a playful substitute, but otherwise dismisses the seriousness of her diagnosis. Joan insists she feels “fine,” demonstrating this by energetically high-kicking in front of her doctor.
The first season of Alma’s Not Normal was a triumph, transforming the story of a neglected child and a perennially disappointed woman into a riotously funny and joyful experience. Much of this success can be credited to its sharp, witty dialogue and a cast of characters who find warmth in everyday British life. Willan’s knack for drawing humor from small, mundane moments—such as Joan offering Alma a spam sandwich she’s already refused—imbued the show with a unique charm.
As the second season unfolds, the show largely retains its life-affirming tone, despite the darker turns in the plot. This time around, the comedy is laced with more rage and heartbreak. Alma’s mother, Lin (played by Siobhan Finneran), finds herself back in a poorly managed psychiatric ward after violating her hospital order. Lin, twitchy and erratic, delivers long-winded tirades against the authorities, her childlike demeanor perfectly captured by Finneran’s performance. But to Alma, the real antagonist is the welfare system, which has been ravaged by Tory government policies. The show’s devastation, however, is reserved for Alma’s grandmother Joan, played brilliantly by Ashbourne. Joan, who brought levity to season one, now grapples with her mortality, adding emotional weight to her comedic persona.
Guest stars Julie Hesmondhalgh and Steve Pemberton make appearances as Joan’s siblings, adding layers of humor and heartbreak as the family reunites in poignant yet amusing scenes.
With this being the final season of Alma’s Not Normal—though Willan has teased a Christmas special—it’s unclear what else the show could accomplish, given how the current run ends on such a bittersweet, emotionally satisfying note. As a tribute to her real grandmother, Alma’s Not Normal is eloquent, beautiful, and—using Alma’s own words—“totally fabulous.” As a sitcom, it remains fiercely authentic, hilariously relatable, and practically perfect.
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