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Alan Partridge finds himself in a predicament! Yet, who isn’t struggling nowadays? When we last saw him on screen, Alan suffered a public collapse while hosting the light magazine show This Time, ending the series quite literally locked out of the BBC. In the opening of his independent production, the informative film How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge), the presenter shares he’s since hit another low by collapsing onto a woman during an interview at a business function for a Norfolk feed company. Hard moments, but such characters rebound: tie your troubles to a national trend and see if you can get a series out of it.

Exploring the Epidemic of Anxiety

How Are You? showcases the beloved persona in investigative guise, probing widespread emotional struggles that he perceives as escalating: “In old-fashioned language, it’s gone crazy!” The journey will see him experiment with religion, meet up with former classmates, and embark on calming rural strolls, as well as confronting his recent past. The first installment leads to a tense yet relieving meeting with “Sidekick” Simon Denton (Tim Key), an ex-co-worker from broadcasting days, and as the episodes progress, hidden moments from his career emerge.

For Coogan and his long-term writing/directing collaborators, How Are You? represents a shift in direction. While the previous show explored new ground, How Are You? frequently revisits old themes: as well as directly reviving old formats, the whole piece resembles the mockumentaries from the 2010s. As his life intertwines with the subject matter, viewers will think of his podcast work.

The Two Sides of Alan Partridge

This leads to a minor issue. There are two Alans: Successful Alan (with high-profile jobs) and Struggling Alan (without work), and although Wilderness Alan was the star of the faultless TV sitcom I’m Alan Partridge back in 1997, a nostalgic take has developed in books and audio projects. How Are You? places us inside the oasthouse and includes Kelly in the role of Katrina, a mismatched romantic partner from the podcast. Yet this heartbreaking narrative – he ignores her infidelity with an acquaintance and entrepreneur – feels like one that would have benefited from the slower pace of audio-only Alan, enabling mental imagery to amplify laughs. When we can’t see him, Wilderness Alan has room to breathe: modern TV excels at pressuring the successful Alan and observing his collapse, as seen before.

Humor in Mistakes

Yet, these issues pale beside a key reality: whatever medium he inhabits, Partridge remains the funniest comic creation in Britain, and temporary versions still offer huge comedy than competing shows. How Are You? has Alan in multiple creative roles, which showcases his knack for blunders and misjudgments. If explosive fruit edits symbolize struggles, viewers will see it, and no one corrects his verbal errors or the phrase “mental bealth henefits” in his voiceover. 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, highlighted by his awkward, caring expressions while drinking tea clumsily.

Memorable Scenes and Sentiments

Is there anything more joyous than Alan grunting as he squats down next to a skip? Absolutely not. His appearance is equally entertaining, with his new dye job several shades too light to be plausible, and his attire including bright trousers, contrasting shoes, assorted vests and over-the-top joy about style revivals.

Moreover, the content reveals his deeper side that emerged with the current writers. More than once the series pulls off flashes of pathos, where Alan’s lack of self-awareness reveals a sadness that almost has us crying tears of emotion, before the persona snaps back in and we’re crying from laughter again instead. That can happen because we’ve loved him for so long: every appearance is appreciated.