The Inbetweeners Are Back. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

There are some reunions that feel warm, nostalgic and comforting. And then there is The Inbetweeners.

Sixteen years after the TV series ended, Will, Jay, Simon and Neil are officially back, with Simon Bird, James Buckley, Joe Thomas and Blake Harrison all returning for The Inbetweeners 3, a new Netflix film now in production in the UK. Original creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris are writing and directing, which immediately gives us hope that this won’t turn into four middle-aged men trying desperately to recreate jokes they made when flip phones were still a thing.

Although, to be fair, that does sound exactly like something Jay would do.

The original series ran from 2008 to 2010 and somehow managed to turn teenage humiliation into an art form. Will was painfully awkward, Simon permanently lovesick, Neil magnificently dim, and Jay spent most of his life telling stories so obviously untrue that even he occasionally looked surprised by them. The brilliance of the show was that, underneath all the filth, lies and catastrophic social decisions, it felt horribly recognisable. Most British teenage boys were never cool. They were just desperately pretending to be.

Then came two films, in 2011 and 2014, which took the embarrassment abroad, first to Malia and then Australia. The first film became the biggest opening weekend for a UK comedy at the time, proving that millions of people were perfectly happy to pay money to watch four idiots ruin their own holidays.

So what happens now? That is the genuinely interesting bit. Because these characters are no longer teenagers. They are men in their forties. Presumably they have jobs. Mortgages. Maybe children. Possibly dodgy knees.

Has Jay spent the last 16 years becoming more mature, thoughtful and emotionally intelligent? Almost certainly not. Has Simon finally stopped making disastrous romantic decisions? Again, probably not. And has Neil somehow become the most successful of all of them without entirely understanding how?

That feels worryingly plausible.

Netflix has revealed almost nothing about the plot so far, which is probably wise. What they have revealed is the old yellow Fiat Cinquecento, complete with its missing door and deeply inappropriate sticker, appearing in the announcement video. That alone tells you the filmmakers understand exactly what sort of nostalgia they are dealing with.

The danger, of course, is obvious. The Inbetweeners belonged very specifically to its time. Comedy has changed, culture has changed, and simply repeating the same jokes with older actors could become uncomfortable very quickly. The smart version of this film doesn’t pretend nothing has changed. It makes the fact that everything has changed the joke.

Four men trying to understand middle age while remaining emotionally stuck at Rudge Park Comprehensive could be extremely funny.

Imagine Will attempting to organise a sensible weekend away. Jay claiming he once dated Dua Lipa. Simon having a full emotional breakdown over a WhatsApp message. Neil somehow owning three properties.

There is plenty of material.

And with Beesley and Morris back in charge, this at least feels like a proper reunion rather than a streaming service simply buying a famous title and hoping we all remember the theme tune.

The boys are back.

Older? Definitely.

Wiser? Let’s not get carried away.