The best of the rest: Sunshine sleepers

Football, football everywhere, and not much else to watch. Very little new is arriving on the small screen frontier at the moment, mostly because the world and their significant other are tuning in to watch the FIFA World Cup, having a barbecue, or going out to catch the start of the Summer blockbuster cinema releases. There’s a reason loads of gems come out to play come Christmas time and suddenly our flatscreens are overloaded with Agatha Christie adaptations, period dramas, and shiny thrillers, comedies and variety smorgasbords. It’s cold outside then, and they’ve got a captive audience. Now it’s hot, and only a few arrive on the peripheries of the schedules.

A couple such newbies are comedies Stath Lets Flats and Lookalikes.

Our flatscreens are overloaded with Agatha Christie adaptaions, period dramas, and shiny thrillers

Stath Lets Flats is a new sitcom co-written by and starring Jamie Demetriou as the hapless Stath, working for the family lettings agency business. This quieter screen time of year allows for the bigger television channels to take a punt on a new idea with somebody fresh, and that’s just what this is. It’s also got a classy calibre of people already established in comedy involved, from Katy Wix (The Windsors, Agatha Raisin, Not Going Out) as supporting character top agent ruthlessly ambitious Carole, to co-writer Robert Popper – whose past CV includes Peep Show, Look Around You and Friday Night Dinner. And Natasia Demetriou – Jamie Demitriou’s real life sister playing his fictional sister in the series. Just see if any age-old gripes between the two seem a little too raw in their responses.

Lookalikes is back for a second series and describes itself as ‘a structured, fly-on-the-wall reality comedy’. So a bit like Stella Street but with more blurring of the lines between celebrity and impersonator.

Two new ideas to tickle your fancy after the sun has gone down and the final whistle has blown on the footie.

Stath Lets Flats; Wednesday, Channel 4, 10pm
Lookalikes; Wednesday, Channel 4, 10.30pm