Two work colleagues end up in bed.  There’s enough rapport between them to have sex, but not for them to maintain anything other than an awkward conversation afterwards.   He  makes a clumsy comment about the drawer full of condoms on her side of the bed.  She says that they date from the time her boyfriend was alive.  A little later the man breaks down in tears, and she calls him a cab home.

It takes real insight to use words to X-rays peoples’ thoughts, feelings and actions and expose the gap between the way we are and the way we’d like to be.  Making audiences laugh in the process takes something extra.  Free Agents does just that, and it’s Channel 4’s highly promising new sitcom in the Friday 10pm slot, previously occupied by such strong contenders as Peep Show and Father Ted.

Scripted by Chris Niel, the first episode was a dark and insightful look at contemporary relationships.  Alex and Helen, convincingly portrayed by Stephen Mangan and Sharon Horgan, work in the same media business for their sex-obsessed boss Anthony Head.  It’s impossible for them to avoid each other after their ill-advised coupling, and neither is in a suitable emotional state for a relationship.  Alex is getting used to being a weekend dad, Helen coming to terms with the death of her fiance: they could be good friends if either was emotionally mature, but where would the fun for audiences be in that?  This is awkward comedy after all, more in the tradition of Hancock and Steptoe & Son than the cosy world of Will & Grace or Friends.

The plotting was designed to accentuate emotionally uncomfortable situations.  Alex tells the photo of his kids on his phone that he loves them, and is overheard by Helen who is horrified by the thought he might be declaring his feelings for her.  Helen gets drunk on her own and mourns the loss of her partner, exposing the vulnerability which leads to her ending up in bed with Alex for a second time.

Free Agents is painful, skilfully written, and altogether credible, humour being just one of the responses it provokes.  The last comedy to resemble it in tone was The Book Group, written and directed by Annie Griffin.  It also has something of the darkness of Nighty Night about it, without that show’s active malevolence.  Personally, I’m a lot more interested in scripts that explore this darker territory than feelgood shows like Gavin & Stacey, the appeal of which eludes me.

A large part of the show’s success comes from the excellent pairing of its two leads.   There’s a natural feel to their performances, the acting belonging more to mainstream dramatic tradition than the often queasy mugging required to bring conventional sitcoms such as My Family to something that really doesn’t bear much relation to life.

Presumably Alex and Helen will continue to interact awkwardly for the remainder of the series, and by the looks of the preview for next week’s episode it looks like Alex at least is set to date other people along the way.  Which is a perfectly intelligent way for the show to develop, and I’m confident that on the basis of the first episode Free Agents will shape up into a series well worth watching.