The British series Delicious might be called dramedy. It might be called slapstick soap opera, except it also has a dark side.
Whatever you call it, Delicious returns to America, Monday, on the streaming service Acorn, and we probably shouldn’t waste too much time trying to label it, because before we come to a decision it might be over.
The second season of Delicious, like the first, runs four episodes. You could binge it after lunch and be free before teatime.
If you do, it will be time well spent, because while the show’s DNA may be confusing, it has the smarts to give us a half dozen nicely developed characters whose stories are fun to follow.
The main storyline revolves around Gina (Dawn French, top) and Sam (Emilia Fox, top), who run a high-end restaurant called Penrose that is luring discerning foodies from all over the U.K. to Cornwall.
And yes, Cornwall is also where Doc Martin is filmed, which explains the visual kinship.
The story here is partly narrated, bluntly at times, by Leo Vincent (Iain Glen), who was married first to Gina and then to Sam.
While he was married to Gina, he cheated on her and turned himself into a celebrity chef by stealing her recipes.
While he was married to Sam, he died. So he does his narrating from the next life while walking around invisible in this one. Well, invisible to almost everyone. His stepdaughter from the marriage to Gina, Teresa (Tanya Reynolds), apparently can see him and chat with him.
Leo genuinely likes Teresa, and there weren’t many genuine things in Leo’s life. Or death. It’s nice for Teresa, too, because her life is pretty screwed up and the shrink to whom Gina has sent her isn’t helping.
Gina’s busy herself, since both her other ex-husband, James Harley (Risteard Cooper), and her useless father Joe Bonelli (Franco Nero) have wandered back into her life. Gina knows she should have nothing to do with either of them and Gina can be very bad at following through on instincts like that.
Meanwhile, Sam has gotten to feeling a little lonely with Leo being dead and all. When she moves to alleviate that situation, it inadvertently has a potential ripple effect on the business, where she and Gina already have ongoing disagreements about various policy matters.
That includes the hiring of a new chef, Adam (Aaron Anthony), whom Gina suspects Sam hired because he’s such an irresistible hunk of man candy.
He’s also good with food, which helps. Less helpful is the lurking sense that he’s concealing a secret or two.
All this might make the Delicious cast sound like a bunch of side dishes. They’re not. Their sometimes amusing plights and often witty dialogue quickly add up to characters with concerns and flaws that engage us.
We want the restaurant to work. We want Sam’s and Gina’s and Teresa’s and Adam’s lives to smooth out, even though they probably won’t.
With only four new episodes, Delicious doesn’t waste any time serving up its stories. Think of it as an efficient wait staff, not as fast food.