Kevin Can F**k Himself, the dark comedy series starring Emmy Award-winning actress Annie Murphy, is now available to stream on ITVX. The show first aired in 2021 and drew significant attention from US viewers upon its release.
Fans draw comparisons to WandaVision
American audiences have compared the series to the Marvel superhero show WandaVision. One fan summed up the comparison on X, formerly known as Twitter, writing: "This is Wandavision but with humans", while another posted: "This reminds me of @wandavision". A third viewer simply wrote: "Reminds me of WandaVision".
Another viewer who had watched the show said: "Kevin can F**k himself. It is one of the greatest shows ever made."
A darker take on the sitcom format
For those unfamiliar with WandaVision, the Marvel series starred Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as Wanda Maximoff and Vision and was released on Disney+ in 2021. The show began by deliberately recreating different eras of American sitcoms, with each episode adopting a different visual style and format. However, as the story progressed, it became clear that the seemingly perfect sitcom world was hiding a much darker reality.
Kevin Can F**k Himself similarly plays with the idea of what happens when the audience looks beyond the traditional sitcom set-up. Annie Murphy plays Allison McRoberts, a woman who initially appears to have all the ingredients of a classic sitcom wife. She is attractive, good-natured and seemingly willing to laugh along with her husband Kevin's jokes, despite often being the butt of them.
Cast and availability
Kevin, played by Eric Petersen, is portrayed as an immature but supposedly lovable husband who appears to have landed on his feet. But Allison's life looks very different once the sitcom spotlight disappears. The series switches between a traditional multi-camera comedy style and a darker, single-camera approach, allowing viewers to see the contrast between the version of Allison's life presented to the audience and the reality she is experiencing.
As Allison begins to recognise the unhappiness and unfairness surrounding her marriage, she decides to stop playing the role she has been given and take control of her own life. The show also stars Mary Hollis Inboden as Allison's neighbour Patty O'Connor, Alex Bonifer as Kevin's best friend Neil, Brian Howe as Kevin's father Pete and Raymond Lee as Sam Park, who has a history with Allison. Kevin Can F**k Himself is available to stream for free on ITVX from Sunday, September 13.
