Irish Comedy Moone Boy: Series 1 Now, 2 Coming

Moone Boy, the Irish sitcom recently added to the Hulu Exclusive Series library, is quirky, witty, and a hoot to watch.

It’s 1989 in Boyle, County Roscommon. Martin Moon (David Rawle) is a twelve-year-old kid with three devilish older sisters, two heavy-handed bullies, and one imaginary friend named Sean (Chris O’Dowd, The IT Crowd, Family Tree), who helps Martin navigate through life in a small Irish town and the vagaries of adolescence.

Martin isn’t the brightest kid, but he is more imaginative than many. There’s his mate, Sean, of course. Plus his drawings that spring to life through the magic of animation. And his ways of handling mishaps, inconveniences, and even his legacy.

To wit: He buries his bed linens in the backyard after having, shall we say, titillating dreams. He dismantles, brick by brick, part of the wall that separates his home from his school, because it means a shorter walk to and on-time arrival at school. And he decides that anarchy is the way he’ll leave his mark on the school that he will soon be leaving, except Martin’s more milquetoast than firebrand.

Other storylines, such as the ones about the dads group and his mum soliciting campaign funds from Francie “Touchy” Feeley (played to the hilt by Steve Coogan), are also hilarious. Speaking of Coogan (Alan Partridge, The Trip), another awesome aspect of the show is its guest stars, which have included Ruth McCabe (Single-Handed, My Left Foot), Jessica Hynes (Twenty Twelve, Spaced), Johnny Vegas (Benidorm, Bleak House), and Hugh O’Conor (Chocolat, Northanger Abbey).

Moone Boy is brilliant. It’s also semi-autobiographical, created and co-written by O’Dowd, who acknowledges having had all of the experiences that Martin has while growing up in Ireland.

Hulu is currently streaming the first series of Moone Boy, which is easily binge-watchable with only six episodes that total slightly more than two hours. The second series, set in 1990, will premiere in the UK on Sky One and in the U.S. on Hulu later this year. And Series 3, which is currently filming in Boyle with an expected air date sometime in 2014, moves ahead to 1991. Hopefully, Hulu will also move ahead and pick up rights for it as well.

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