Sarah Pascoe breaks the rules and the fourth wall in “Out of Her Mind”

I’m not going to lie, I binged all of Out of Her Mind in a single sitting. 

British sitcoms are usually hit or miss for me, but comedian Sara Pascoe’s witty new series Out of Her Mind is action-packed considering how short the six episode season is. Pascoe brings us into a world loosely based on her real life which will have you researching every episode to see what’s real what’s not.

The episodes, available on Telus Presents, are about a half an hour long, and save for a bathroom break, I didn’t leave my chair. There was even a moment where I choked on my popcorn and ugly-laughed from Pascoe’s sheer bluntness in what may be one of my favourite sitcom moments ever.

Sarah Pascoe takes us on the journey of a slightly bitter woman with an amazingly colourful wardrobe who is caught between two worlds. Pascoe is the supportive best friend/sister/daughter, but adamantly despises the choices the people around her are making — those choices being ones that ‘any good sensible woman would want,’ like getting married or having children. Afraid of losing the women around her to housewife domestication, Pascoe is the constant devil’s advocate arguing for the belief that love is just a chemical designed to help us mate.

Even with six short episodes each member of the main cast brings you along on a roller coaster ride where they think critically and confront their inner feelings. There’s at least one character that everyone will relate to in some way, shape, or form. You might be able to to relate to Pascoe as she is giving one of her cynical asides, or to Lucy balancing her sister’s cynicism and her excitement for her own wedding, or to Luna, Pascoe’s unwilling emotional support barista who is constantly calling Pascoe out for her over-the-top antics. 

Through the witty humour and outrageous situations, Out of Her Mind does talk about some pretty real topics. The show doesn’t have a trigger warning, but audience members may find that some topics hit pretty hard. I don’t want to spoil the show, but some characters represent polarizing societal issues, albeit it in tasteful way that doesn’t take away from the sitcominess of the show.

Pascoe also breaks the fourth wall throughout Out of Her Mind to let the audience into her train of thought. You think Deadpool does cute little asides? Enjoy the last episode where the fourth wall just gets obliterated. The ending is so unique and ridiculous that I’m still reeling from it.

Rating: 9/10 would recommend.