Never Better is a British television sitcom which started on BBC Two from 10 January to 14 February 2008. It stars Stephen Mangan as recovering alcoholic Keith Merchant and Kate Ashfield as his suffering wife Anita. The series is written by Fintan Ryan for World Productions.The series has been described as a dark sitcom, being compared to other recent sitcoms such as Lead Balloon and Curb Your Enthusiasm. However, critics have complained that the show is too similar to these sort of programmes, as well as attacking the character of Keith for not being funny. The series was received poorly by viewers, with the first series attracting an average audience of less than one million viewers per episode.