Juice (TV series)

Juice is a British surreal comedy series for BBC Three, created by and starring Mawaan Rizwan. It draws from Rizwan’s 2018 Edinburgh Fringe show and first aired on 18 September 2023. The show centers on Jamma, a young gay man juggling his job, his family, and his relationship with his boyfriend.

The story follows Jamma as he deals with commitment issues in his romance with Guy, a calm, older therapist who wants a more serious relationship. At home, Jamma’s mother Farida—a former movie star now running a community centre called the Megacentre—and his younger brother Isaac often steal the spotlight, leaving Jamma feeling overlooked. The main cast includes Mawaan Rizwan as Jamma, Russell Tovey as Guy, Nabhaan Rizwan as Isaac, Shahnaz Rizwan as Farida, and Jeff Mirza as Saif, Jamma’s father and the Megacentre’s finance manager. Recurring characters include Winnie, Pat, The Boss, and Raheem the Everything.

The first season aired in 2023, with a second season confirmed and expected to air in September 2025. The show is loosely inspired by Rizwan’s own life, though he stresses it is “definitely fictional.” His real mother and brother play their on-screen counterparts. Juice is known for its practical effects and “distinctive trippy visuals,” blending adult themes with a childlike tone. The title comes from Rizwan’s mother’s saying: “If life gives you mangoes, make mango juice.” Rizwan cites Boots Riley, Bong Joon-Ho, and Buster Keaton as influences, and his training at École Philippe Gaulier led him to include clowning elements. The series was commissioned in 2022 after a successful pilot the previous autumn. A second series was confirmed in May 2024 and began filming in April 2025, with a planned release later that September.

The first series streamed on BBC iPlayer from 18 September 2023, with BBC Three airing two episodes weekly on Mondays. Critics gave it three- and four-star reviews from outlets like The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, and Chortle. Praise focused on its “eye-popping visual style,” family dynamics, childlike playfulness, and slapstick comedy. Criticism noted a lack of cohesion between scenes and that it “never quite reach[es] laugh-out-loud funny.”