The setup for Pushers is the kind of high-concept premise that can either flame out quickly or burn with a purpose. Rosie Jones, who also co-created the series, stars as Emily, a woman with cerebral palsy whose life takes a sharp turn when her disability benefits are cut. Faced with financial ruin, she reconnects with an old school acquaintance, Ewen (Ryan McParland), and stumbles into a new, illicit career: drug dealing.
It’s a plot that leans heavily on the subversion of expectations. The show uses Emily’s cerebral palsy not as a punchline, but as a form of camouflage, making her an unlikely suspect in the eyes of the law. But the story aims for something beyond a simple survival narrative. Emily discovers she enjoys the thrill of her new life, finding a sense of agency and excitement that was previously absent. She and Ewen soon assemble a small crew of fellow misfits, building a small-time criminal enterprise that, as these things often do, begins to get complicated fast.
This is familiar territory for Channel 4, a network with a long history of backing dark comedies that mix bleak social realism with sharp humor. The success of Pushers will depend on its ability to sustain its central idea beyond the initial shock value. With Jones at the helm as both star and creator, the series has a fighting chance to be more than just a one-note gag, perhaps using its provocative hook to make a pointed statement about desperation and disability in modern Britain.
The first two episodes of Pushers, “What’s in the Parcel?” and “Who’s in Our Gang?,” air back-to-back on Channel 4, starting at 10:00 PM on Thursday, June 19. For those who prefer to binge, the entire series will be available on the network’s streaming service at midnight.
