The characters of new sitcom ‘Raised by Wolves’
Raised by Wolves is the new sitcom written by Caitlin Miran and her sister Caz. It’s based on their childhood in Wolverhampton where they grew up on a council housing estate. Despite my opinion on Caitlin Miran the sitcom does seem to portray a positive representation of working class single parent families. It also portrays a vast amount of regional pride and for once the Midlands gets some air time, and this time its not another documentary about how rough the area is.
‘Della’, the rough and ready single mother is the epitome of a proud Wolverhampton resident, in which she educates her daughters; “we’re not northern t****, we’re not southern t****, we’re midlands t****.” Miran can’t help but remind Britain she is still a feminist by naming the daughters after famous female icons, Aretha Franklin, Germaine Greer and Yoko Ono. However this is a testament to mum Della and how she would like her daughters to grow up.
The show seems to do something that ‘Shameless’ couldn’t quite manage, intellectuals who are working class. Growing up around council estates myself I can concur that the portrayal is not that out there. The wacky antics that the family get up to are a realistic representation of what can happen in big families with children who have to look after themselves. That’s not to say Mum and Gramps won’t hesitate to protect their young. The sitcom sheds a new light on single parent families growing up in working class areas and creates something that could change the publics view of council estates and finally rid the stigma that surrounds them.
