We Might Regret This is a British sitcom, about the realities of dating as a disabled person. It was first shown on BBC Two on 19 August 2024 (with all episodes available to stream on BBC iPlayer at that time). At time of writing it doesn’t appear to be available in other territories but I imagine this is likely to change given the overwhelmingly positive reception from critics and audiences.
The show follows a few weeks in the life of a tetraplegic Canadian artist, Freya (played by Kyla Harris), in her early thirties who has recently made a permanent move to London to live with her (not yet divorced) partner. She is soon joined by her long-time, but somewhat flaky, best friend Jo who soon becomes her personal assistant (PA).
Consistent with most TV comedy of recent years it is stylistically closer to dramedy than traditional half-hour sitcoms (laughter tracks and live studio audiences are long gone). As with other successful comedies from the last few years (Fleabag, Alma’s Not Normal, Starstruck) We Might Regret This aims to mix laughs with drama and engagement with some challenging aspects of contemporary life.
The show stands out, however, for its depiction and centralisation of disability and, in the process, highlights the importance and dramatic value of representation. The emotional truth of the show is both the result of skilled writing, acting, and production and the strong authorial voice of a disabled person at the centre. Written by its lead actor, Harris, and her friend and former PA Lee Getty (not featured as an actor), the show reflects rather than directly represents their relationship.
We Might Regret This portrays scenarios, tensions, and dilemmas that I haven’t seen represented on TV before and certainly not in a format as engaging as this. While most of the audience will not have experienced situations such as urinating on their PA’s face while having a catheter installed, everyone can connect with the embarrassment this would elicit.
Similarly, the nuances of social relationships, particularly the tensions between public and private, personal and professional, are very well drawn. Even if a PA is not already a friend (as in Freya/Kyla’s case) there is, I would imagine, the degree of intimacy reached due to the type of activities the person and their PA after engage in. Some of the comedy and drama in the show comes from negotiations between Freya and Jo or Freya and her partner, over what she should be doing with her body. Should she be going to meet someone she is attracted to in a bar? Should she be drinking wine on the train (in case she needs to use the toilet)? What should she be wearing, and when should she get dressed?
These scenarios encourage us as viewers to reflect on the relative privileges of our independence and autonomy and question how we might respond in these situations. Freya, understandably, at times results to anger or officiousness to assert the control that should be afforded in these situations. Tensions and humour also come from a PA who she fires early in the series, who is more personally invested in their relationship than Freya. These aspects of the narrative cleverly depict some of the ways some disabled people need to manage, negotiate, and enforce personal boundaries and professional relationships.
Representation is also addressed but in a subtle, and humorous, way. Freya develops a side hustle in modelling, initially accepting jobs on the proviso that she will not be engaging with stereotyped representations of disabled women, such as dressing as Frida Khalo. This is later conceded when she is required to do just that. Stereotypical responses to disability are also engaged with playfully later when Freya and her partner castigate the group of people for staring at her on the assumption that this is due to her use of a wheelchair. However, what is revealed to the audience, but not the characters, is that the group were drawn to look at her due to her celebrity status (having seen a poster of her in the Frida Kahlo costume).
Replicating the success of We Might Regret This might not be easy but it does demonstrate the value of putting disabled people at the centre of their own stories and affording them the explore the drama, humour and nuances of their situations. Such stories can appeal to a broad audience of people who don’t share experiences with the protagonists because of, not in spite of, the specificities of their situation.
