This sounds like it might vvork as satire, but they aren't playing it for laughs. (At least it doesn't seem funny to me, but maybe I'm missing something.)

It was understated satire, with the aim being amusement rather than outright laughs. It's a common characteristic in English TV comedy to inject some serious interpersonal stuff into the mix.

I think you'd have to watch it with the kind of suspension of disbelief you would entertain in science fiction.

I didn't like it too much - but anything with Jane Horrocks in it bears watching.