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Cunk on Life

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1:49

Cunk on Life

2025

1h 11m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

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11 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

"What’s the point of it all?" is a question humans have been asking themselves since the dawn of time. But as we cling to our dying planet, working round the clock while we’re slowly being replaced by machines, now more than ever, people are desperately looking to make sense of their lives – before someone invents a computer that makes sense of it for them. This one off special will see Philomena tackle some of the most complex concepts to have ever been discovered, including Quantum Physics, Existentialism, Nihilism, Hedonism – and at least four other isms – as well as exploring subjects from the big bang to biology, morals to meditation and art to artificial intelligence. In her search for answers, she’ll also examine some of history’s foremost thinkers and ground-breaking creatives, from Dostoyevsky to Van Gogh, from Nietzsche to whoever came up with those signs in kitchens that say, ‘Live Laugh Love’.

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Dan Einav

Financial Times

Ingeniously, Cunk’s guileless, blasé approach to sacrosanct and controversial subjects often sheds light on injustice, absurdity and hypocrisy.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 16, 2025

Full Review

Craig Mathieson

Sydney Morning Herald

Some of the diversions work better than others (shout-out to the puppetry team), but there are still just enough gags that transcend stupidity for subversive insight.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jan 13, 2025

Full Review

Karl Quinn

The Age (Australia)

Love her or loathe her, Philomena Cunk might be the perfect creation for our age. Blissfully and wilfully ignorant, she careens down the misinformation superhighway, sideswiping science, expertise and pomposity with abandon.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 13, 2025

Full Review

Randy Meeks

Espinof

The hilarious reflections and absurd comparisons are still there... But between laughter and laughter, there is still something that doesn't feel quite fluid.[Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/5

Jan 16, 2025

Full Review

Joel Keller

Decider

Cunk On Life is often laugh-out-loud funny, mainly because Diane Morgan plays Philomena Cunk with just the right tone; Cunk is dumb, ignorant about her own stupidity, and confident in that stupidity without being cocky.

Jan 2, 2025

Full Review

Jonathon Wilson

Ready Steady Cut

This is the Cunk way. It’s an extremely sophisticated form of childishness, really, asking clever people stupid questions about their fields.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 2, 2025

Full Review

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Jim D

Enough funny bits to make it worth the time.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/05/25

Full Review

help p

This is a mockumentary series hosted by the hilariously clueless Philomena Cunk, played by Diane Morgan. The show, which is part of the Cunk series, takes a satirical approach to exploring complex topics like philosophy, culture, and history, with Cunk asking absurd questions and offering absurd insights. Morgan's deadpan delivery and the show's witty, absurd humor shine as it pokes fun at the world of documentaries and the often pretentious tone they can take. While the humor is sharp and the format clever, the show might not be for everyone, especially if you're not into dry, British-style comedy. But for fans of Cunk on Earth or similar deadpan humor, it's a treat.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/01/25

Full Review

Dusty S

This type of deadpan humor is acting that rivals the best that even Meryl Streep could do.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

Full Review

Angus M

I enjoyed Cunk on Earth, but found Cunk on Life too frequently explicitly crass. Further, it lacked the prior series' comic interviewing panache for leaving the interviewees gobsmacked at her incredible stupidity. Instead, it relied heavily on double entendre questions.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/12/25

Full Review

Ben N

Light and entertaining. A bit silly, but laugh out loud awkward and funny at other times. Not a ton to actually learn here, but overall a decent way to pass the time.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/05/25

Full Review

Jens B

"Cunk on Life" is a little unsteady, especially in direct comparison to "Cunk on Earth". This meditation on countless "Terra X" evenings and BBC documentaries is still worth watching. Morgan is at her strongest when she irritates renowned experts and well-known figures in edutainment with a mixture of stupid questions and stupidly asked - but very clever - questions and is satisfied with monosyllabic answers. There is also a lot of casually interspersed wordplay. Nevertheless, it turns out that Philomena Cunk works best in short, thematically limited episodes and 70 minutes can sometimes drag a bit. I could have easily done without the commercials and the suicide sketch. In contrast, the clip about Edwin Hubble was great and has absolute meme potential.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/25

Full Review

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Al Campbell

Director

Diane Morgan

Philomena Cunk

Michelle Greenidge

Jacqui Flink

Charles Aitken

Waylon Jackalope

Charlie Brooker

Creator

Charlie Brooker

Screenwriter

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Synopsis

"What’s the point of it all?" is a question humans have been asking themselves since the dawn of time. But as we cling to our dying planet, working round the clock while we’re slowly being replaced by machines, now more than ever, people are desperately looking to make sense of their lives – before someone invents a computer that makes sense of it for them. This one off special will see Philomena tackle some of the most complex concepts to have ever been discovered, including Quantum Physics, Existentialism, Nihilism, Hedonism – and at least four other isms – as well as exploring subjects from the big bang to biology, morals to meditation and art to artificial intelligence. In her search for answers, she’ll also examine some of history’s foremost thinkers and ground-breaking creatives, from Dostoyevsky to Van Gogh, from Nietzsche to whoever came up with those signs in kitchens that say, ‘Live Laugh Love’.

Director: Al Campbell
Creator: Charlie Brooker
Screenwriter: Charlie Brooker
Distributor: Netflix
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 2, 2025
Runtime: 1h 11m

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