Often regarded as the last bastion of British scripted studio comedy, the series marked its 100th episode with its 2023 Christmas special, having started life as the story of a slobbish man-child's crush on his landlady.
Over the years, cast members came and went – Tim Vine, Miranda Hart and Katy Wix were among those to play major roles in the early years, only to eventually be forgotten to history within the series, which doesn't do a whole lot of looking back.
The biggest change thus far came in 2014, when Lee and Lucy finally got together and, indeed, got married, paving the way for an eighth season where, years in the future, the duo were parents to three children.
In the new episodes, Lee and Lucy have aged remarkably well, as we jump forward into a future where the kids have gone off to university, leaving them to move house to a new empty nest, a "forever home".
There's also been a format change for the new season. Where previous episodes dabbled in real-time storytelling as a one-off, this time around, every episode takes place in real-time, giving us a snapshot into Lee and Lucy's lives and simplifying the stories.
The question is – does it actually all work? Or should the series have stopped at 100, bowed out with a milestone (and a really rather strong episode, Wilfred)?
Lee and Lucy's parenting years worked surprisingly well, given that they were in such stark contrast to the entire premise of what had come before, but they were always somewhat time-dated.
It's also true to say that while the series was definitely interested in parenting over those years, it was never actually that interested in the children themselves. Even in the surprisingly few episodes in which they did appear, they usually played a very minor role in proceedings, with more focus on Lee and Lucy talking about them.
Stripping everything back may seem like a drastic move to act upon a minor problem, but, in many ways, it's a welcome one.
This is particularly noticeable in three episodes – House Move, Campervan and Oasis – the first of which is probably the new season's strongest link.
The quick-fire jokes themselves remain the show's raison d'etre and Mack's USP, but arguably the best thing about studio comedy is often the physical gags and the way you can ramp these up for a live audience.
The other change to the format for this year, the episode's structure, is slightly less successful. That's not to say these aren't, on the whole, strong episodes, and it doesn't diminish the season in any way. In fact, it does add a certain level of immersion which some previous instalments have lacked.
In a sitcom like this, variety is key. Now that Not Going Out has proven its ability to continue long into the future, and to reinvent itself whenever is needed, the team should be free to experiment, and switch between different types of episodes to ensure that variety.
Now, one would hope that the writers feel free to add some of the supporting cast back in where it works and where it makes sense, even if just for solo episodes.
They don't have to pop in every week, but the occasional visit from Geoffrey and Wendy, or even characters from the show's past such as Tim or Daisy, would help to utilise the comic talents of the stars and their already established characters, without tying any of the actors down for a full season of TV.
The question is whether some of the changes can be sustained for as long as the parenting era lasted, AKA six years. In answer to that, I would say this season proves it doesn't have to.
That way, almost 20 years in, the show can continue to prove there is still plenty of life in this delightfully old-school studio sitcom.
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