Mammals, review: James Corden reminds us of his true talents in this superb comedy-drama

I wish I could tell you what happens at the very end of Mammals (Amazon Prime Video), because it is so unexpected – so, “Excuse me, what?!” – that it’s a scene you won’t forget in a hurry. But I don’t want to ruin it, so let me tell you instead what happens at the very beginning. James Corden and Melia Kreiling play Jamie and Amandine, a married couple driving to an idyllic holiday cottage. The sun is shining, the sea is sparkling, and Tom Jones is sitting on a bench outside the house next door. Yes, the real Tom Jones. He has a small cameo role, playing himself. I don’t know why. It’s just that sort of show.

It’s also important to say: don’t be dissuaded from watching Mammals by the fact that James Corden is in it. I am aware that a certain proportion of the population finds his presence annoying, and in the first five minutes of this drama series Corden’s character is very exuberant. He’s also very smug, but you can’t really blame him, because Amandine is gorgeous – she’s French, and wears a fedora in a very alluring manner. She’s also expecting his baby, but hasn’t yet reached the stage of wearing compression socks and needing a wee every five minutes. Instead, she says to her husband as they drink champagne in the hot tub at sunset: “Do you want to unpack or f--k first and then unpack?”

This plays out almost like a dream sequence, but then something happens to destroy their happiness. And then something else happens, which is that Jamie finds out that Amandine is cheating on him. The rest of the series involves Jamie trying to find out with whom she is being unfaithful, and why. Part of the “why” is provided by Jamie’s best friend and brother-in-law, Jeff (Colin Morgan), an academic who gives a lecture in which he explains that only 3-5% of mammals are known to mate for life.

Mammals explores all of this in a very funny way. The show was created by James Richardson and written by Jez Butterworth, and I have no idea how that relationship works but it has produced a quality comedy-drama which never loses an element of surprise. The episodes are half an hour at most, and each is a treat.

Corden’s performance carries the whole thing. It’s easy to forget, what with his US late night show, interview with the Duke of Sussex, heinous voice work on the Peter Rabbit films and years of Carpool Karaoke, that he is a talented actor (just think back to Gavin and Stacey or The History Boys, and remember that he won a Tony Award for One Man, Two Guvnors). He is adept at bringing out the humour in the material, whether it be delivering Butterworth’s lines or giving us physical comedy – there is a beautiful scene in which he tries to wrestle a replica motorcycle helmet attached to a gravestone.

Butterworth recently explained the theme of the series: “A good marriage is the most magical thing. In a world of eight billion, you’ve found the one who gets you, ignites your body and soul, allows you to grow and flourish. You’re also never going to have sex with anyone else, ever, and then you’re going to die, and be dead forever.” Amandine isn’t mad about that idea. I wonder if there’s a reason why they made her French.

There is a dud element to the show, though, and it’s Sally Hawkins as Jamie’s drippy sister, Lue. A subplot involves a historical fantasy in which she imagines being an assistant to Coco Chanel. It adds nothing. Mammals could have done with less of that, and a little more of Sir Tom.

On Prime Video now