All You Need to Know About ‘Toast of London’ is Clem Fandango

The British comedy smash Toast of London has finally arrived in the United States, thanks to IFC’s after midnight line-up “Slightly Off.” The celebrated alt comedy hit stars Matt Berry (The I.T. Crowd, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace) as struggling actor Steven Toast. By “struggling,” I mean, he struggles in all possible ways. He’s a struggling womanizer, a struggling performer, and a man who seems stymied by ordinary everyday interactions. However the show isn’t really celebrated for Toast’s episodic sitcom antics as much as it is for Shazad Latif’s stand out performance as a hipster named “Clem Fandango.” His back-and-forths with Toast are the stuff of YouTube supercut legend.

In fact, the only thing you really need to know about Toast of London might be “Yes, I can hear you, Clem Fandango,” and everything it stands for.

Since Toast of London follows Steven Toast as he attempts to book acting roles and work towards stage stardom, we also see him at work. Namely, doing thankless voiceover roles to pay the bills. In the pilot, he has a mortifying session where all he has to do is say the word, “Yes.” His performance is scrutinized by his producer, and a very confident young man there for “work experience,” which is basically British for “an internship.” This “work experience boy,” as Toast calls him, is the famous Clem Fandango.

So what happens is that these recording sessions with Steven Toast and Clem Fandango turn into a sort of interstitial sketch that pops up in the midst of the episodes. The thing is, these scenes are a million times funnier than the rest of the show. (Sorry, Toast of London.) The interplay between Berry’s frustrated buffoon and Latif’s aloof hipster is hilarious, as are the inane bits of copy Toast is given, and the increasingly outlandish job themes.

In fact, the “Clem Fandango” scenes are almost best watched outside of Toast of London, and can be enjoyed in supercut form. Mainly because you then see how the joke of each scene is heightened from episode to episode, along with Toast’s increasing loathing for Clem Fandango.

Toast of London premiered on IFC this morning at midnight. Future episodes will run in IFC’s “Slightly Off” after midnight line-up. 

Where to stream Toast of London