The main reason that I can pin down as to why people watch The Inbetweeners is catharsis. Viewers can find comfort in this show as they can bask in the glory of not being this stupid. In life, you may feel worthless and insignificant, but hell, at least you're not this stupid. It sounds mean to say, but it really is true. These four characters, ranging from socially awkward to single-digit IQ recipients, indulge in the most stupid, narrow-minded, stereotypical acts, surpassing humour and reaching the point of catharsis. People may call it cheap comedy or stupid comedy, but it's stupid comedy made by smart people. It's made by people who understand the 'inbetweeners' of that age, and put those characters in situations they can't handle.
The 'inbetweeners' the title is referring to is the group of students that are too dumb to be 'nerds', and too pathetic to be 'cool kids'. They have no direction in life and aren't even enjoying the time in school that they should be. Even the smart one of the group, Will, fails his exams and becomes like them. With students of this age range, there is a lot of raunchy comedy on display. With Jay constantly lying about his sexual encounters (or lack thereof), Simon constantly chasing after the same girl (whom he throws up on her little brothers head), Neil who is constantly ridiculed about his father being 'gay' (whose sexuality remains undisclosed and ambiguous), and Will being too socially awkward to attract anyone of the opposite sex (but he does so anyway, ending disastrously). This inclusion of raunchy comedy strangely appeals to a younger demographic who enjoy sex jokes without understanding the real context of the joke. These 4 teenagers are completely pathetic, but someone immature might mistake them as being 'cool' because they talk about sex a lot.
I've watched every episode of The Inbetweeners (including the movie), and it mainly follows the same formula: one suggests doing something out of their comfort zone, they attempt it, they fail at it but try and act like they know what they're doing in effort to be 'cool', and they get themselves into trouble. To me, that's perfectly fine, as the four characters respond differently to different situations, and during the 20 minutes they have entertaining dialogue and opinions, distorted and uninformed as they may be. It might be offensive and often cruel, but it offers a realistic and relatable interpretation of the modern day, A-level burnout.
