Made first for young men 1
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?'s audience scores lean most toward young men at 76 of 100, with comparable appeal to young women 1. Its overall reach is rated targeted — targeted reach aimed at a specific demographic segment 2. On content balance it reads entertainment-first at 0 of 100, weighting storytelling over explicit messaging 3.
- 1Audience scoreyoung men 76 of 100 is the top quadrant, with young women 68 close behind.WhatSphere audience model, score_version 1
- 2ReachAudience breadth rated targeted.WhatSphere audience model, score_version 1
- 3Content balanceContent balance entertainment-first at 0 of 100.WhatSphere content-balance model, score_version 1
WhatSphere presents the sourced record; it does not cast the judgement. Every statement above is drawn from a stored, sourced row — shown beside it — and nothing is asserted beyond what those receipts support.
Synopsis
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? is a British sitcom which was broadcast between 9 January 1973 and 9 April 1974 on BBC1. It was the colour sequel to the mid-1960s hit The Likely Lads. It was created and written, as was its predecessor, by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. There were 26 television episodes over two series; and a subsequent 45-minute Christmas special was aired on 24 December 1974. The cast were reunited in 1975 for a BBC radio adaptation of series 1, transmitted on Radio 4 from July to October that year. In 1976, a feature film spin-off was made. Around the time of its release, however, Rodney Bewes and James Bolam fell out over a misunderstanding involving the press and have not spoken since. This long-suspected situation was finally confirmed by Bewes while promoting his autobiography in 2005. Unlike Bewes, Bolam is consistently reluctant to talk about the show, and has vetoed any attempt to revive his character.
Age: 28 — strongly youth-oriented
Quadrant Scores
Audience Representation
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Advocacy Over Time in Comedy
The average advocacy score of Comedy titles by release year, with this title marked. Higher is more advocacy-driven.
| Year | Average advocacy | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| 1914 | 0 | 2 |
| 1925 | 0 | 3 |
| 1931 | 2 | 2 |
| 1933 | 0 | 2 |
| 1935 | 0 | 4 |
| 1937 | 0 | 2 |
| 1940 | 0 | 4 |
| 1941 | 0 | 2 |
| 1943 | 0 | 2 |
| 1944 | 1 | 6 |
| 1945 | 0 | 4 |
| 1947 | 0 | 2 |
| 1948 | 2 | 2 |
| 1950 | 1 | 4 |
| 1951 | 0 | 2 |
| 1952 | 0 | 4 |
| 1953 | 0 | 10 |
| 1955 | 4 | 2 |
| 1956 | 2 | 3 |
| 1957 | 3 | 4 |
| 1958 | 0 | 6 |
| 1959 | 2 | 3 |
| 1960 | 0 | 5 |
| 1961 | 2 | 10 |
| 1962 | 1 | 6 |
| 1963 | 0 | 6 |
| 1964 | 0 | 8 |
| 1965 | 0 | 9 |
| 1966 | 0 | 6 |
| 1968 | 0 | 7 |
| 1969 | 2 | 5 |
| 1970 | 1 | 7 |
| 1971 | 0 | 5 |
| 1972 | 0 | 6 |
| 1973 | 0 | 9 |
| 1974 | 1 | 8 |
| 1975 | 0 | 9 |
| 1976 | 0 | 12 |
| 1977 | 2 | 7 |
| 1978 | 1 | 4 |
| 1979 | 1 | 8 |
| 1980 | 0 | 7 |
| 1981 | 0 | 9 |
| 1982 | 4 | 10 |
| 1983 | 1 | 12 |
| 1984 | 0 | 10 |
| 1985 | 1 | 14 |
| 1986 | 0 | 20 |
| 1987 | 0 | 17 |
| 1988 | 0 | 13 |
| 1989 | 1 | 24 |
| 1990 | 0 | 21 |
| 1991 | 1 | 14 |
| 1992 | 0 | 17 |
| 1993 | 0 | 20 |
| 1994 | 3 | 25 |
| 1995 | 1 | 19 |
| 1996 | 2 | 15 |
| 1997 | 1 | 22 |
| 1998 | 1 | 24 |
| 1999 | 2 | 36 |
| 2000 | 1 | 33 |
| 2001 | 1 | 31 |
| 2002 | 1 | 32 |
| 2003 | 0 | 29 |
| 2004 | 1 | 40 |
| 2005 | 2 | 41 |
| 2006 | 1 | 44 |
| 2007 | 1 | 53 |
| 2008 | 0 | 20 |
| 2009 | 2 | 18 |
| 2010 | 1 | 10 |
| 2011 | 1 | 21 |
| 2012 | 0 | 10 |
| 2013 | 4 | 13 |
| 2014 | 3 | 11 |
| 2015 | 2 | 7 |
| 2016 | 7 | 10 |
| 2017 | 3 | 7 |
| 2018 | 6 | 12 |
| 2019 | 4 | 16 |
| 2020 | 4 | 19 |
| 2021 | 5 | 19 |
| 2022 | 8 | 22 |
| 2023 | 15 | 11 |
| 2024 | 7 | 16 |
| 2025 | 1 | 12 |
| 2026 | 0 | 7 |
| This title (1973) | 0 | 1 |
● This title (1973): advocacy 0 · explore Comedy →