Night Shift — Season Two

Season one worked because it was cheap and cornered. Three night workers, one diner, a city that never quite arrived. The jokes landed because there was nowhere for them to hide. Given money, Night Shift buys the very gloss it once satirised — guest stars, location shoots, a score that announces every emotion before the actors get there.

Marcus Idle still writes sharp lines. The problem is the room around them. Scenes that once had to end because the set was small now stretch to fill the hour. Characters who were defined by what they couldn't afford now have arcs about what they want. Want is less interesting than need.

There are stretches — episode four, most of six — where the old show flickers back. Then the production design remembers the budget and the moment passes. Season two is not a disaster. It is a dilution. The nerve went down. You can hear it in the laugh track that isn't there and somehow still is.