BACK TO LIFE
Showtime, 10:00 p.m. ET
SERIES PREMIERE: From BBC3 in England comes this new comedy series – a fairly dark one, starring Daisy Haggard as Miri Matteson, a woman who returns to her small coastal beach town community after spending nearly two decades in prison. Haggard co-wrote this series with Laura Solon, and the executive producers include Harry and Jack Williams of Fleabag. The story plays as emotionally as it does comedically: Haggard is kind of like the female version of the character in Rectify, not sure where to turn, what to do, or whom to trust while attempting to be integrated back into society. Geraldine James and Richard Durden are quirkily endearing, and complicated, as her parents, with whom she returns to live after serving her sentence. Haggard is outstanding here – and if you recognize her, it’s probably as Myra, the network TV comedy executive from another Showtime series, Episodes. She’s the one who reacted to jokes or story lines told to her with a wordless, groaning grimace – a bit that always made me laugh. Now, as an actress, she’s center stage, and she’s nothing to sneer at…