Jun 19, 2015 3 min read

SAN FRANCISCO – No matter how rapidly humankind is advancing in the 21st century, some mysteries of the universe are likely to remain unsolved: Is there life after death? What lies beyond the universe? What makes one sitcom work and another flop?

Amazon’s new comedy, “Catastrophe,” isn’t all that different from a lot of other shows on paper, but in reality, as you’ll see when its six episodes become available on Amazon Prime on Friday, it’s pretty unforgettable.

Two people from different backgrounds meet in what passes for “cute” in contemporary times, spend a weekend having sex several times a day in any convenient or simply available spot, and go their separate ways. In his case, it’s back to the United States. In hers, it’s back to teaching school in London, till she finds out she’s pregnant.

“Catastrophe” was created by writer-comedian Rob Delaney and actress Sharon Horgan, who also play Rob Norris, an American advertising executive who has been in London on a business trip, and Sharon Morris, a single Irish woman who wouldn’t mind settling down and having a family, but had hoped it might actually be planned.

After Sharon tells him he’s going to be a dad, Rob gets himself reassigned to London not just because he feels obligated to do the right thing, but because he feels something more than carnal lust for Sharon.

That’s it: Nothing wildly outside the box, no futile attempt to reinvent any wheels. Just a couple of seemingly mismatched people who fall into each other’s lives.

His mother, Mia (Carrie Fisher) harangues him from time to time in long-distance phone calls, her so-called friend Fran (Ashley Jensen) is jealous of Sharon’s relationship and can’t really say anything nice to anyone without an implied or obvious negative comment. Fran’s husband Chris (Mark Bonnar) finds his wife’s company almost as unbearable as everyone else does. Rob’s friend Dave (Daniel Lapaine) is a loudmouth lout who never gets the hint that he’s not wanted.

The show benefits from a generous supply of credibility. Not only does the script manage to make one-liners feel like actual conversation, but real life intrudes quite regularly, and effectively, in the plot. At 41, Sharon is told her pregnancy will need to be monitored. She visits a doctor with less than zero empathy genes (a brilliantly deadpan Tobias Menzies), who tells her there’s a one-in-50 chance her child will be born with Down syndrome.

The emphasis on realism extends to the growing romance between Sharon and Rob with lots of references to odors, bodily functions, physical awkwardness and deficiencies, even, heaven forfend, the need to steal an hour away from each other just to regain their respective bearings.

So what is the secret to a great sitcom? There may not be one, but in the case of “Catastrophe,” it’s great writing with a savvy juxtaposition of comedy and sometimes ugly everyday real life. It doesn’t hurt that the writers and stars are the same people as well.

“Catastrophe” is wonderfully misnamed.

Four stars out of five: Catastrophe: Comedy. Available for streaming on Amazon Prime on Friday, June 19.