Truth Seekers (2020)

Since it stars Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, a dumb but very accurate way of describing Truth Seekers would be to say: “Spaced meets X-Files“. And that has as much to do with the tone and the atmosphere as with the cast.

This 8-episode show follows broadband internet technicians Gus and Elton (Nick Frost and Samson Kayo), who get send out on missions by their boss (Simon Pegg). Pegg takes a bit of a back-seat for most of the show.

Gus spends every minute of his spare time researching paranormal phenomena; and his new partner Elton is not exactly thrilled about that strange hobby. With many of the problems they encounter on the job (faulty connections, Wi-Fi troubles, etc.) Gus frequently sees paranormal roots, while Elton is more than sceptical at first.

It is difficult to describe the show’s atmosphere with words, but it has to be said that it is perfectly built up. Everything about the atmosphere tells you that the writing was carefully crafted and that much thought and work went into it.
The main element certainly is that it is played “straight” and that the comedy derives indirectly from that. You need excellent performers for this, and this show has the perfect cast. Frost and Pegg are great, of course, but Samson Kayo and Emma D’Arcy are equally strong.
The odd one out is Malcolm McDowell, who is playing Gus’s father-in-law. He is an angry old man and the character is used to break up the atmosphere at appropriate moments.
There is also a guest appearance by Kelly Macdonald.

Initially envisioned for more than one season, the show as it is ends on a cliffhanger. But it is not the annoying kind of cliffhanger where they carry endless subplots through the season which are never tied up; it is the less annoying kind of cliffhanger where they merely “seed” a few new hickups within the final episode so that there are things the next season can grab onto.
I always find it easy to ignore this second type of cliffhanger, as it does not affect the season-long narrative or the plot of the final episode.

The show has made its rounds on streaming, especially Amazon Prime.