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Alan Partridge is in crisis! However, many are in similar straits today? In his last TV appearance, Alan suffered a public collapse while presenting the magazine program This Time, concluding the season by being shut out of the BBC. In the opening of his independent production, the light documentary How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge), Alan discloses he’s encountered further difficulties by passing out in front of a guest at a business function for a Norfolk feed company. Hard moments, but such characters rebound: tie your troubles to a national trend and try to develop a program from it.

Delving into Stress and Loneliness

How Are You? showcases the beloved persona in documentary style, probing widespread emotional struggles that he feels is worsening: “In old-fashioned language, it’s gone crazy!” The journey will see him experiment with religion, revive old school ties, and enjoy therapeutic hikes, alongside facing his history. Initial episodes culminate in a fraught but healing gathering with “Sidekick” Simon Denton (Tim Key), his old partner from past shows, and as this new series goes on, we’re shown unseen clips from Alan’s stints.

For Coogan and his long-term writing/directing collaborators, How Are You? marks a change of pace. While the previous show explored new ground, How Are You? frequently revisits old themes: along with bringing back former styles, the series echoes past satirical documentaries from the 2010s. With his personal issues seeping into the content, it recalls his audio ventures.

The Two Sides of Alan Partridge

It creates a slight challenge. There are two Alans: Winning Alan (currently has a big paid presenting gig) and Outcast Alan (on the sidelines), and although Wilderness Alan was the star of the faultless TV sitcom I’m Alan Partridge back in 1997, a reflective version has emerged lately in books and audio projects. How Are You? situates us in his world and casts Katherine Kelly as Katrina, a mismatched romantic partner from the podcast. However, this sad story – he ignores her infidelity with an acquaintance and entrepreneur – feels like one that would have benefited from the slower pace of audio-only Alan, where the listener’s imagination can co-write the comedy. Off-screen, the character feels more expansive: modern TV excels at pressuring the successful Alan and observing his collapse, as seen before.

Humor in Mistakes

Still, these are minor points compared to a major truth: in any format, he is the top humorous character in Britain, and brief appearances yield constant humor than other TV programs. How Are You? is produced and directed by Alan, as well as starring him, which opens up his genius for sloppy errors and poor editorial decisions. Should he believe exploding fruit represents mental health, that’s what we’re getting, and there’s nobody to tell him that he’s accidentally used the word “tastistics” or other mistakes in commentary. The slight grimace we regularly catch as he strides out of shot aware that the segment was a failure never stops being funny, and the same goes for his transitional clips, the best of which sees him attempt to fix us with a sympathetic smile while gulping down a brew.

Visual and Emotional Highlights

Can anything top his skip-side groans? Surely not. Visually he’s a feast too, with his new dye job several shades too light to be plausible, and his clothing showcasing loud pants, black-and-white pundit pumps, multiple gilets and an enthusiastic overreaction to the news that rugby shirts are back in fashion.

Additionally, the theme offers peeks into his inner world that appeared under new creative guidance. More than once the series pulls off flashes of pathos, where his blindness exposes pain that nearly brings viewers to tears, before the persona snaps back in and we’re crying from laughter again instead. It succeeds because of enduring fandom: any version of Alan Partridge is always welcome back.