🔗 Share this article

Alan Partridge finds himself in a predicament! However, many are in similar straits today? During his previous television outing, Alan had an on-air breakdown while hosting the light magazine show This Time, concluding the season by being shut out of the BBC. As his latest self-made endeavor begins, the informative film How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge), Alan discloses he’s encountered further difficulties by passing out in front of a guest at an industry gathering for an agricultural firm. Challenging periods, yet figures like Partridge recover: link personal issues to broader trends and see if you can get a series out of it.

Delving into Stress and Loneliness

How Are You? then, sees Steve Coogan’s immortal alter ego in roving factual mode, looking into an epidemic of anxiety, stress and loneliness that he feels is worsening: “In old-fashioned language, it’s gone crazy!” His path includes dabbling in faith, reconnect with friends from school, and enjoy therapeutic hikes, as well as confronting his recent past. The first installment leads to a tense yet relieving meeting with “Sidekick” Simon Denton (Tim Key), his old partner from past shows, and as the episodes progress, previously unreleased footage is displayed.

With Coogan and his creative partners, How Are You? represents a shift in direction. In contrast to earlier innovations, How Are You? sometimes rehashes past ideas: in addition to resurrecting classic structures, the series echoes past satirical documentaries from the 2010s. With his personal issues seeping into the content, viewers will think of his podcast work.

The Two Sides of Alan Partridge

That presents a small problem. The character has two facets: Successful Alan (with high-profile jobs) and Outcast Alan (on the sidelines), and despite Wilderness Alan leading the beloved show I’m Alan Partridge back in 1997, a nostalgic take has developed in books and audio projects. How Are You? situates us in his world and casts Katherine Kelly as Katrina, his highly inappropriate love interest from the podcast. But that tragic tale – Alan is in denial about Katrina cheating on him with an acquaintance and entrepreneur – feels like one that would have benefited from the slower pace of audio-only Alan, enabling mental imagery to amplify laughs. Off-screen, the character feels more expansive: current formats thrive on challenging the triumphant version and observing his collapse, as seen before.

Comedy Through Flaws

Still, these are minor points compared to a major truth: whatever medium he inhabits, Partridge remains the funniest comic creation in Britain, and even placeholder Partridge has more laughs-out-loud per half-hour than competing shows. How Are You? features Alan as star, producer, and director, which highlights his talent for mistakes and bad choices. If explosive fruit edits symbolize struggles, viewers will see it, and there’s nobody to tell him that he’s accidentally used the word “tastistics” or the phrase “mental bealth henefits” in his voiceover. The slight grimace we regularly catch as he strides out of shot knowing on some level that that piece to camera was another balls-up consistently amuses, and likewise for his interlude creations, highlighted by his awkward, caring expressions while drinking tea clumsily.

Visual and Emotional Highlights

Can anything top his skip-side groans? Surely not. His appearance is equally entertaining, with a poorly chosen hair shade, and his 2025 wardrobe featuring mustard chinos, contrasting shoes, assorted vests and an enthusiastic overreaction to the news that rugby shirts are back in fashion.

Additionally, the theme offers peeks into his inner world that emerged with the current writers. Several times, it delivers poignant moments, where his ignorance uncovers sorrow that briefly evokes strong feelings, before the persona snaps back in and we’re crying from laughter again instead. It succeeds because of enduring fandom: every appearance is appreciated.