Coupling (UK TV Series) - Reception

Reception

Critical reception was generally positive. The Guardian's Mark Lawson applauded Moffat's writing, specifically assessing the episode "The Girl with Two Breasts" as "comic writing of astonishing originality and invention." The Daily Record called the show "frank and funny." Writing in The Independent, Mark Thompson, then Director of Television at the BBC, mentioned Moffat's earlier sitcoms Joking Apart and Chalk to suggest "ambition in television is also about sharing the long road to originality and creative achievement." The Guardian also comments, "Moffat ... has long seemed to me one of the most original TV writers and it's good that ratings-crazed television has persevered with him. His particular talent is for intricately plotted sexual farce." Commenting on the second series, the Mail on Sunday reported "Coupling is still the funniest thing around... Writer Steven Moffat's inventive grasp of comic structure is immense, and these characters make a great ensemble." The Times commented, "Steven Moffat is turning out to be one of the boldest, most inventive, sitcom writers around." Scholar James Monaco comments that Coupling is "witty and elegantly structured ... the Seinfeld/Friends model to new heights with intricately wrought plots built on the interactions of six young friends. Replete with rich dialogue and bright timing it renewed the British comedy franchise."

Various journalists compared the show to the American sitcoms Friends and Seinfeld. Melbourne's The Age commented that the show was "as a 'highly original' and 'unrestricted' cross of Friends and Seinfeld", while The Guardian's Mark Lawson similarly said, "British commissioners have long dreamed that some local comedy lab would clone Friends or Seinfield. Moffat's managed to cross them while creating a series which feels highly original." Further comparisons were made to Friends when NBC commissioned an American version of the show in 2003, although some newspapers still pointed out that Coupling "owes much to Seinfeld, with laugh-out-loud riffs on 'unflushable' exes, escalating 'giggle loops' during solemn moments of silence and 'porn buddies,' who in the event of your sudden demise will remove all of the naughty pictures and videos from your flat before your parents arrive." New York's Daily News, which quotes Moffat "boozier, smokier, more shag-infested series" than Friends, also thought that "some characters ... have ties closer to Seinfeld ... Jane, who, despite her beauty, is so abrasive she's like a female Newman. And Richard Coyle's Jeff is very much like Kramer: He's uncomfortable in a topless club, he explains, because he equates the women to 'porn that can see you'."

The show was named "Best TV Comedy" at the 2003 British Comedy Awards.

The programme was thought to have ended when the American network NBC began work on an American adaptation, which NBC was reportedly hoping to position as a replacement for Friends. Unlike most American adaptations, this show was intended to be a word-for-word duplicate of the British version, except that it was shortened to allow for the shorter running time of North American 'half hour' shows. The programme was attacked in the press long before the first episode aired, because it was more sexually explicit than typical American television. The US version was cancelled after airing just four episodes. It starred Rena Sofer and Sonya Walger, among others. Gina Bellman, who plays Jane in the British series, made a cameo appearance in the first episode.

All four series were released in the UK, US, Israel, Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden, Portugal, the Benelux countries, Kenya, Turkey and Latin America. In India, some episodes were telecast on the BBC and Series 1 is available on VCD. A Greek adaptation was broadcast on ANT1 in 2007 and 2008.