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Alan Partridge is in crisis! However, many are in similar straits today? When we last saw him on screen, Alan had an on-air breakdown while fronting the entertainment series This Time, ending the series quite literally locked out of the BBC. In the opening of his independent production, the light documentary How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge), Alan discloses he’s experienced another setback by fainting into the lap of a female interviewee at an industry gathering for an agricultural firm. Challenging periods, yet figures like Partridge recover: link personal issues to broader trends and try to develop a program from it.

Exploring the Epidemic of Anxiety

How Are You? then, sees Steve Coogan’s immortal alter ego in roving factual mode, examining a wave of mental health issues that he perceives as escalating: “In old-fashioned language, it’s gone crazy!” The journey will see him experiment with religion, revive old school ties, 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), his old partner from past shows, and throughout the series, we’re shown unseen clips from Alan’s stints.

For Coogan and his long-term writing/directing collaborators, How Are You? is a sideways move. Whereas This Time pushed Partridge into new territory, How Are You? often retreads it: along with bringing back former styles, it mirrors earlier faux-documentaries in recent years. And, as Alan’s private life bleeds into his investigations, viewers will think of his podcast work.

The Two Sides of Alan Partridge

This leads to a minor issue. We see two versions of Alan: Triumphant Alan (in prime roles) and Wilderness Alan (doesn’t), and even though the underdog Alan shone in the classic series I’m Alan Partridge back in 1997, a reflective version has emerged lately in books and audio projects. How Are You? brings us into his space and includes Kelly in the role of Katrina, Alan’s wildly unsuitable paramour from the podcast. Yet this heartbreaking narrative – he refuses to accept her betrayal with a pal and business owner – 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: television nowadays feels more suited to putting Winning Alan under pressure and seeing his downfall, as in past series.

Comedy Through Flaws

These, however, are quibbles in the face of one large, undeniable fact: across all platforms, he delivers the most laughs 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. Should he believe exploding fruit represents mental health, it will be included, and no one corrects his verbal errors or other mistakes in commentary. The brief pained expression he makes exiting knowing on some level that that piece to camera was another balls-up always delights, and likewise for his interlude creations, topped by his earnest, flawed grins while drinking tea clumsily.

Striking Moments and Feelings

Is there anything more joyous than Alan grunting as he squats down next to a skip? Absolutely not. His appearance is equally entertaining, with an implausibly light hair color, and his attire including bright trousers, statement footwear, multiple gilets and an enthusiastic overreaction to the news that rugby shirts are back in fashion.

Moreover, the content reveals his deeper side that appeared under new creative guidance. 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: all iterations are gladly received.