Beautiful People is a UK series that I've been describing to my friends as Everybody Hates Chris but British and gay. Which, among my friends, seems to be a selling point. Loosely based on the memoirs of Barney's window-dresser extraordinaire Simon Doonan, this series is about a young kid in the late '90s, living with a quirky family and dreaming of leaving his small working class town and heading to the glamorous life in London. Doonan's biography is set in the late '60s, so this is updated, but supposedly it is faithful to the spirit of the book (which is now on my summer reading list).

Young Simon is thirteen, lives at home with his boozy barmaid mother, his hot plumber father, his blind hippie aunt (and her seeing-eye dog with a flatulence problem) and his trashy teenage sister. Simon and his best friend/neighbor/kindred spirit Kyle (who only answers to the name of Kylie, and is constantly doing pirouettes), spend their time critiquing the wardrobes of passersby, choreographing dance routines to Steps songs and just generally being fabulous. Despite the fact that Simon likes to occasionally dress in women's clothing and would rather watch Knot's Landing than play soccer, he's the most normal one in this family. Plus, he's got parents who really support their gay son, though sometimes their good intentions go totally awry. Each episode is bookended by twenty-something Simon, who is busy living his dream in New York dressing Barney's windows with his friend, when an object (from a curling iron to a pricey vase) prompt him to tell these tales of his bizarre youth.

And it's not all just singing and obsessions with the Spice Girls, the family is just nuts, which makes for a lot of over-the-top comedic moments, and the grandmother meets such a disturbing fate that I can't even type about it without giggling. I'm mostly sad that there are only six episodes (though a second season is supposedly forthcoming eventually), but I've got a feeling that I'll be watching them over and over, because they are just that charming.

You can watch the entire series here, but if you just want a sample, before diving in, give this one a whirl. It's got a Carrie parody, a choreographed musical montage and Simon with a broken nose. All I can say is that Simon and Kylie are auditioning for their school production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Simon's mom is the best stagemom ever.

Seriously, I just adore this show. In case you couldn't tell.