Two Short Episodes, Two Very Different Nights

Watchlist · Light spoilers for the first episodes of Derry Girls and The Bear.

If you have about half an hour and want something that feels like a whole evening’s watch, start with one of these pilots. Both drop you into a group with years of history. One lets you enjoy how little they respect each other’s boundaries. The other makes you feel what happens when someone tries to change the way they work.

For a laugh, start with Derry Girls

Watch — Season 1, Episode 1 (22 minutes on Netflix). Pick it if you want quick jokes and a group you can understand before you remember everybody’s name.

Erin wakes to find her cousin Orla reading her diary. It’s a small indignity and a useful introduction. Erin is trying to decide what kind of person she’ll be this school year, and Orla is already reading her account of herself. By the time the group is headed to school with Clare, Michelle, and Michelle’s English cousin James, you know how easily a private concern can become everybody’s business. The show gets much of its comedy from how seriously each teenager takes a different thing at the same time.

For a jolt, start with The Bear

Watch — Season 1, Episode 1, “System” (28 minutes in the season guide). Pick it if you want a short episode with the momentum of a longer drama.

Carmy comes back to run his late brother’s Chicago sandwich shop and starts changing how the staff works. Richie insists the place already has a system. You can hear the problem before you have all the backstory. Carmy talks as someone who expects instructions to move a service along. Richie talks as someone who knows who has been keeping this particular shop going. Every task puts their competing claims to a quick test.

Choose Derry Girls when you want to laugh at the argument. Choose The Bear when you want to feel as though you’ve walked into the middle of one.

Runtime note: Apple TV’s individual episode page lists “System” at 26 minutes.

Sources & Further Reading

• Derry Girls, Episode 1 — British Comedy Guide’s episode listing and Netflix’s episode and runtime listing.
• The Bear, “System” — Sky’s Season 1 guide and TV Guide’s episode listing, plus Apple TV’s season listing and episode page.