Things You Should Have Done star admits she sometimes goes too far with dark comedy about “awful things”

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Lucia Keskin is a remarkable 24-year-old who quickly became a popular figure online. By the age of 23, she’d already gained a large following on YouTube, starred in her own BBC Three series, ‘Things You Should Have Done,’ and even won a BAFTA award for Best Rising Star – all while working from her childhood bedroom.

In season 2, Keskin returns as Lucia (also known as Chi), her famously dry-witted character. Lucia is a young woman still figuring things out, recently coping with the loss of her parents, and working through a to-do list they left behind for her.

The story begins with a heartbreaking event: Chi loses both parents in a car accident, unexpectedly becoming the homeowner at a young age. However, she’s completely unprepared for adult life, and even simple tasks like getting a job or learning to drive turn into comical disasters. Adding to her struggles, a greedy aunt named Karen (played brilliantly by Selin Hizli) constantly tries to take the house from her.

The talented performer, who has been described as having a naturally sad expression, says she often struggles to find the right balance between humor and tragedy. She tends to push dark comedy too far.

I used to test boundaries by making jokes, and people often told me to stop. I definitely got away with things sometimes, but I was always trying to see how far I could go.

The new season starts with a familiar, unsettling scene: two police officers arriving to deliver news of another sudden death. This time, it’s Chi’s aunt, who tragically fell down a long flight of stairs – 86 steps, to be exact – after tripping over a vacuum cleaner cord.

Keskin explained that she found the idea of it happening to the character again to be absurd. She felt the character needed to acknowledge her grief after experiencing a second loss, as it seemed improbable for such a thing to occur repeatedly. Keskin noted that while there’s no single ‘normal’ way to grieve, the character’s lack of visible grief felt particularly unrealistic given the circumstances.

I realized there’s no single ‘right’ way to deal with grief. It was actually a good experience to be able to discuss it more openly than we did in the first season. We didn’t explore grief much then, so this felt like a welcome change.

Okay, so in this six-part series, we see Chi start therapy with Ruth, and let me tell you, Ruth is… something else. Played brilliantly by Bridget Christie, she’s easily the most unconventional therapist I’ve ever seen on screen. She actually profits off Chi’s grief, which is… unsettling, to say the least. And things get really weird when she decides Karen has been reborn as a cordless vacuum cleaner she spots at Bingo! Honestly, the whole thing is a masterclass in awkward comedy, and it really taps into Chi’s underlying fear that she’s going to lose someone else she loves. It’s a bold, strange, and surprisingly poignant thread running throughout the show.

This season features a fantastic lineup of guest stars alongside Christie, including Marc Wootton, Juliet Cowen, and Sarah Kendall.

She enjoys collaborating with new and funny people, and especially loved working with Bridget. She found Bridget hilarious and described their time together as wonderful, amazing, and incredibly fun, both on and off screen. She appreciates the humor of everyone she works with.

Keskin said it was wonderful to return for a second season, and she was very thankful for the opportunity. She was excited to use what she learned from the first season and focus on the aspects that viewers enjoyed most.

She explained that the scripts for this season were shaped by what she learned from the first season – what worked well and what didn’t. They also adjusted some of the visual effects, shifting the focus from large-scale green screen work to smaller, more focused imagery of celebrities and television.

The show features Keskin’s popular sketches – the ones that made her famous on YouTube, like her parodies of shows like Friends and celebrities like Gemma Collins. There’s even a clever moment where Chi, who appears on Gogglebox, watches herself on the show, creating a funny, self-referential scene.

I was really excited to work on the Charli XCX project,” she explains. “That one was definitely the most rewarding – getting to be the hero at the end – but honestly, I enjoyed all of them a lot.

Keskin wanted to incorporate more surreal humor, feeling it fit well with the comedic style her audience enjoyed. She explained, “I’m aiming to build on what I do online—things like TV show parodies—because that approach resonates more than just abrupt, unrelated clips, like… well, random shots of someone’s anatomy.”

Honestly, working on this series has been a total game-changer for me – I’ve learned more doing it than I did in all of school! I used to do everything myself – writing the scripts, filming, lighting, even editing – a total one-person operation. Now, I’m part of a real team on set, and collaborating with everyone has been incredible. It’s a whole different level of filmmaking.

I have to say, working on this project has been a blast! As Keskin put it, you really do learn as you go, and that’s part of the fun. What I especially appreciated was the scale of things – finally, I didn’t have to worry about the little details like lighting and catering all by myself. It allowed us to really focus on the bigger picture, and that made all the difference.

While it can be a little challenging not having complete control, the support is fantastic. I really enjoy collaborating with others, trusting their input, and learning from different perspectives. I truly love it.

Keskin is portraying a heightened, fictionalized version of herself as a child and teenager, though she jokingly admits the character is likely very close to her actual personality.

The songs are deeply personal, reflecting a feeling of not fully maturing, she explains. They’re about her own experiences, but explored in a broad and imaginative way – she’s grateful she’s now gained practical life skills, like being able to cook.

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Creating and acting in two seasons of her show has also influenced how Keskin makes her shorter videos. Previously, she’d improvise, but now she plans and organizes the process much more carefully, making her work faster and better.

Now that I understand the planning process – even for things like simple green screen videos – it’s much easier. Having worked with a full team, including a director, makeup artists, and costume designers, has really streamlined how I approach planning and writing everything.

Could she have imagined that writing comedy bits in her room would one day result in her own TV show? “I’ve always been a dreamer,” Keskin says, “but to see those dreams actually come true is incredible. It really is a dream come true to be able to write my own show.”

Unlike the characters she plays, Keskin is a proactive and independent creator. She built her career by writing and filming her own comedy sketches online, showcasing her wide range as an actress and comedian.

She believes social media allows people to showcase their talents in a way that was previously difficult. Traditionally, aspiring performers had to rely on avenues like stand-up comedy, drama school, or finding an agent. Social media, she says, provides a simple and direct way to present what you’re capable of.

As a big fan, I’m really hoping they don’t repeat the same trick if there’s a third season. The showrunner, Keskin, seems aware that killing off a character in the very first episode again would be overkill – and honestly, I’m not sure how much more emotional turmoil my favorite character, Chi, could handle! It was shocking the first time, but doing it again would just feel… predictable.

She’s definitely open to making another season! She feels there are still stories to tell within the existing world, and she’s excited to explore new ideas. She always aims to keep things surprising, even if the show doesn’t get picked up for another season.

I want to avoid going overboard, but also don’t want to be too simple or uninteresting. It’s possible Chi might be the one who doesn’t make it.

Things You Should Have Done is now streaming on BBC iPlayer.

Authors

Jess Bacon

Jess Bacon is a freelance writer who reviews and interviews people about film, TV, and pop culture. She covers everything from big franchises like Marvel and Star Wars to how women are portrayed in media. Her writing appears in many popular publications, including Rolling Stone, GQ, and The Guardian. She’s interviewed several well-known actors, such as Zendaya and Brie Larson, and is currently working on her first non-fiction book. When she’s not deeply analyzing movies or internet trends, she’s writing!

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2026-01-26 21:16