Words: Ali Shutler
Big Boys, according to creator Jack Rooke, is a “silly, sweet little sitcom about a lad’s lad and a dweebie gay becoming best mates”.
We first met that “dweebie gay” (Dylan Llewellyn’s Jack) back in 2022, as the closeted, socially awkward first year struck up a friendship with older, more outgoing Danny (Jon Pointing) at university. They’ve both battled demons over the past two seasons, and have grown closer as a result. Loosely based on Rooke’s own life, this heart-warming, hilarious show has proved an absolute joy – but, sadly, all things come to and end and Big Boys’ third season will be its last.
Ahead of the first episode hitting screens this Sunday (Channel 4, 10pm), we sat down with Rooke, Llewellyn and Pointing for an extended chat about saying goodbye to their “celebratory” coming-of-age comedy. Read an abbreviated version below and watch the full conversation in the video above.
NME: Hey guys, why do you think Jack and Danny’s friendship has struck a chord with people?
Jack Rooke: “Because it’s reflective of real life but [their kind of friendship] has been neglected on television. TV’s depiction of young people is usually very 2D. [It’s based on] tribes and tropes, so any project that goes outside the confines of those, people will respond to. There are so many moments about people’s acceptance of difference and not making a big deal about it. It’s very normalised.”
Jon Pointing: “It’s the thing people come up and talk to me about the most. The thing they connect with most in the show is that relationship, which is really nice. People often approach you with the same spirit as the show, which is warm and open.”
Dylan Llewellyn: “There’s a lot of love in the show and I think that just touches a lot of people.”
But in the first episode of season three, it feels like they might be drifting apart?
JP: “I think that’s definitely something that happens in the third year of uni. There’s this sense of impending [uncertainty] about what you’re doing to do when you leave. It feels like the bubble is bursting a little bit and you start to push away from people a bit. I definitely distanced myself from people in my third year.”
JR: “Reality has hit that adult life is coming and the characters are all contending with that.”
DL: “But their roots are still there. Their love for each other, [that sense of] chosen family, we always spring back to that.”
Season two was more of an ensemble piece than the first season. Does that continue in season three?
DL: “Yeah, there’s a lot of collaboration.”
JR: “I always knew [how I wanted to end Big Boys] and I knew I wanted to do three seasons, [so] I needed to expand the world in order to earn what I know is coming. But also, we all had such a great time when we did season one. It feels like the more people we bring in, the better the world feels and the more it supports the key story of Jack, Danny and where that bromance is going.”
Were you ever tempted to drag it out a bit, maybe do another season after this one?
JR: “It was the opposite actually. I thought maybe season two [would be the end]. I was so proud of it and we’d left those characters in such an optimistic place that I didn’t want to write a third one. I then wanted to write an hour special [to wrap things up] but Channel 4 said no. At one point, it was going to be a play…”
“Season three was definitely the hardest to write because honestly, I was exhausted. We’d gone straight from season two into three because [if we didn’t], we wouldn’t get the whole cast together again. The story of season three is also so important to me. I’m a bit of a one-trick pony and I’ve been speaking about the same topic for more than a decade now. This feels like the pinnacle. It’s the end of telling that story. When I watched those final cuts and saw those unbelievably brilliant performances from Jon, Dylan and the whole cast, I was really glad we did it.”
JP: “Though the play would have been great.”
JR: “Maybe I’ll still write it.”
Without giving too much away, the first episode of season three also has that amazing cameo from Rylan. How did that come about and was he totally up for everything?
JR: “He was so lovely about the show on Celebrity Gogglebox and I remember thinking he would be a real dream person to have. I think he encapsulates everything about Big Boys – those elements of class, sexuality and being unashamed.”
“When I wrote that scene, I was giggling. Can we [really] get Rylan to say ‘anal’ six times? But Rylan is a comedy actor, through and through. I gave him [the script] and asked, ‘what do you think’? And he just went, ‘yes’. Working with him, his performance, his choices, he put in loads of effort. He’s an immensely thoughtful person. I would genuinely love to write for him again.”
There’s also a lovely tribute to George Michael, how did that come about?
JR: “We contacted the George Michael estate and we’re just like, ‘Hey, this is a show about a gay guy going to Greece for the first time. It couldn’t be more George Michael!’ And they let us. I’m such a huge fan and I’m so gutted that he isn’t with us. He represented something that we didn’t have back then and that maybe we do now. But his legacy is really important.”
What is that legacy?
JR: “George Michael [brings together] so many different people. Straight blokes will cry to ‘Careless Whisper’. He’s a bridge and I want Big Boys to be that as well. I love nothing more than when someone tells me their husband is a builder and he loves Big Boys. There are so many different things you can celebrate about the show. It’s very explicit and very gay but it’s also talking about things that so many straight people go through. The divide is just much less obvious now.
“It’s a slight spoiler but it was really funny to dedicate an episode [to him]. In season one, I dedicated an episode to my dad and another episode to a friend that I’d lost. I thought with season three, ‘I’ve got to dedicate an episode to my favourite tweet of all time’ – which is George Michael writing “I HAVE NEVER AND WILL NEVER APOLOGISE FOR MY SEX LIFE ! GAY SEX IS NATURAL, GAY SEX IS GOOD! NOT EVERYBODY DOES IT, BUT…..HA HA!”. I just felt like that had to be enshrined somewhere. God bless George, I hope him and Princess Diana are watching from above.”
‘Big Boys’ final season launches on February 9 on Channel 4 at 10pm with all episodes available online