It may have only been a few weeks ago since Ja'mie: Private School Girl finished on BBC Three, but Chris Lilley is back with yet another series, this time a second spin-off from his hit series Summer Heights High.
Jonah From Tonga takes us on an adventurous journey into the life of 14-year-old rebellious schoolboy Jonah Takalua.
I've always been a fan of Chirs Lilley and his comedy, obviously Summer Heights High was great as was We Can Be Heroes which came before, I loved Angry Boys and Ja'mie: Private School Girl was a great spin-off, so I really hoped that Jonah From Tonga didn't disappoint. Luckily it didn't.
Last time we saw Jonah he was expelled from Summer Heights High and saw his father Rocky, banish him back to his native Tonga which is where Jonah From Tonga begins, but luckily the series doesn't stay there. Then the credits roll and Jonah is back in Australia, starting a brand new life at Holy Cross, a Catholic high school in Sydney's western suburbs.
Whether it's Summer Heights Heigh or Holy Cross, Jonah in a school is hilarious. He's badly behaved, he's cheeky, you wouldn't want to cross but you can't stop watching him or laughing at him. As with all of Lilley's characters, Jonah is larger than life yet brilliantly observed.
Regardless of where you're from, everyone knows/knew a schoolboy just like Jonah. So he might be in a brand-new school but he’s quick to mark his familiar territory and establishes a gang of like-minded kids who are friendly with all except ‘The Rangas’. Under the watchful eye of his teachers and the school’s youth worker, Jonah finds it harder to rebel, but he is never one to shy away from a challenge.
If you think living in Tonga changed Jonah, you'd be wrong, it didn't. And I'm so pleased that it didn't. Who'd want to watch a well behaved Jonah? I know I wouldn't. So it’s not long until he’s up to his old tricks and the Tongan troublemaker finds himself in plenty of hot water. With stacks of fights, frenemies, break-dancing and law-breaking, this latest series sees Jonah back bigger and better than before. And it won't be long before you remember why you fell in love with him in the first place. In a first for BBC Three, the entire series will be available for 48 hours from 8pm, Friday 2nd May to watch on BBC iPlayer.
A sign of things to come as it was recently announced that BBC Three will become an online-only channel from Autumn 2015, living solely on BBC iPlayer. But fear not, if you still prefer your television linear, and on an actual TV (like me), the series begins Thursday 8th May at 10pm and then every Thursday night thereafter. So... will this be it for the Summer Heights High spin-offs? I hope not. I'd love to see what Mr G is up to now or how about an Angry Boys spin-off following S.mouse? Now that's something I'd LOVE to see.
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