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Alan Partridge is in crisis! Yet, who isn’t struggling nowadays? When we last saw him on screen, Alan suffered a public collapse while hosting the light magazine show This Time, concluding the season by being shut out of the BBC. At the start of his new, self-produced project, the non-fiction piece How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge), the presenter shares he’s experienced another setback by passing out in front of a guest at a corporate event for Norfolk agribusiness stalwarts. Challenging periods, yet figures like Partridge recover: connect struggles with societal themes and attempt to turn it into a show.

Investigating Mental Health Trends

How Are You? features Coogan’s timeless character in investigative guise, examining a wave of mental health issues that he believes is intensifying: “To put it simply, it’s become insane!” The journey will see him experiment with religion, revive old school ties, and embark on calming rural strolls, alongside facing his history. Episode one builds towards a hostile but cathartic reunion with “Sidekick” Simon Denton (Tim Key), Alan’s former colleague on This Time and North Norfolk Digital radio, and as this new series goes on, previously unreleased footage is displayed.

Alongside his co-writers and directors, How Are You? is a sideways move. In contrast to earlier innovations, How Are You? frequently revisits old themes: along with bringing back former styles, the whole piece resembles the mockumentaries from the 2010s. And, as Alan’s private life bleeds into his investigations, viewers will think of his podcast work.

Dual Personas of the Character

It creates a slight challenge. There are two Alans: Successful Alan (with high-profile jobs) and Wilderness Alan (doesn’t), and despite Wilderness Alan leading the beloved show I’m Alan Partridge back in 1997, a nostalgic take has developed in books and audio projects. How Are You? brings us into his space and includes Kelly in the role of Katrina, a mismatched romantic partner from the podcast. But that tragic tale – he refuses to accept her betrayal with his friend and local tanning-centre mogul – might have worked best in audio form, where the listener’s imagination can co-write the comedy. Off-screen, the character feels more expansive: current formats thrive on challenging the triumphant version and seeing his downfall, as in past series.

The Genius of Sloppy Errors

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 anything else on telly. How Are You? features Alan as star, producer, and director, which showcases his knack for blunders and misjudgments. If explosive fruit edits symbolize struggles, viewers will see it, and no one corrects his verbal errors or other mistakes in commentary. The subtle wince he shows off-camera sensing the scene went poorly always delights, and likewise for his interlude creations, topped by his earnest, flawed grins while gulping down a brew.

Memorable Scenes and Sentiments

Can anything top his skip-side groans? Surely not. Visually he’s a feast too, with a poorly chosen hair shade, and his attire including bright trousers, contrasting shoes, multiple gilets and an enthusiastic overreaction to the news that rugby shirts are back in fashion.

Plus, the subject matter here allows for the glimpses into Alan’s soul that have been there ever since the Gibbons brothers took over co-writing duties. Several times, it delivers poignant moments, where his blindness exposes pain that nearly brings viewers to tears, then the comedy returns and laughter resumes. That can happen because we’ve loved him for so long: any version of Alan Partridge is always welcome back.