Jamie Demetriou burst into the world of comedy specials with A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou. The special was released on Netflix Tuesday.
The British comedian is known for creating and starring in the sitcom Stath Lets Flats, which ran for three seasons starting in 2018 and built a strong association between Demetriou and his hilarious character in the show, Stath.
The show’s last season was released in 2021 and might not return for another. Therefore, Demetriou’s comedy special is his entrance into the world post-Stath, and it is interesting to see how he introduced his comedic voice out of character.
The special is formatted in a series of skits sectioned into three acts: youth, adulthood and the golden years. This seemingly random collection of skits was engulfed by a narrator telling a baby-in-the-womb Demetriou how great life is and showing him the many wonders of the world.
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Despite its name, the special does not fully attempt to answer the classic Monty Python question about the meaning of life. Instead, it features some of the trivial, silly things about life, in very British humor. There is a skit making fun of Love Island and a skit playing fun with the royal family. There’s a skit where he plays a teenager too bored to have sex.
There are also some skits that are funny but present meaningful and more serious messages. In one skit, Demetriou plays a scary actor in a commercial advertising a service to help old people learn how to use technology but ends up teaching a lesson about how maybe being bored is better than being sucked into the world of technology.
What surprised me most about the special was the incorporation of music. Demetriou had an almost British Bo Burnham vibe as he often broke out in song to better explain a joke while in character; however, the songs were not the showcase of the special as they are in Burnham’s comedy. Instead, they were used to emphasize points in the character’s perspective and as transitions between sketches.
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While Demetriou has been working on this comedy special, he has also been in many other recent and upcoming movies and TV shows. He starred in the Apple TV+ comedy series The Afterparty and is featured in the upcoming Barbie movie as well.
Before watching him elsewhere, I definitely recommend seeing his special to get a feel for his sense of humor, as he seems to be a comedian who puts a lot of thought and attention into his jokes and skits. There was a lot of subtly hidden humor in his skits that took me a while to realize.
What’s certain is that after watching his special, I will definitely be keeping my eye out for future releases with Demetriou’s name, and I’ll be watching Stath Lets Flats to see where it all originated from. However, if you aren’t like me and don’t really like or understand British humor, I’d pass on this special.
