Camping (American TV series) explained

Genre:Comedy
Composer:Ben Lee
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:1
Num Episodes:8
Cinematography:Quyen Tran
Camera:Single-camera
Runtime:28–31 minutes
Network:HBO

Camping is an American comedy television series, based on the British television series of the same name created by Julia Davis, that premiered on October 14, 2018, on HBO. The series was created by Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner and stars an ensemble cast including Jennifer Garner, David Tennant, Juliette Lewis, Ione Skye, Chris Sullivan, Cheyenne Haynes, Arturo Del Puerto, Janicza Bravo, and Brett Gelman.

Premise

Camping follows "Walt, whose 45th birthday was supposed to be a delightful weekend back to nature, at least according to his obsessively organized and aggressively controlling wife Kathryn. But when the camping trip gathers Kathryn's meek sister, holier than thou ex-best friend and a free-spirited tagalong in one place, it becomes a weekend of tested marriages and woman on woman crime that won't soon be forgotten. Plus, bears."[1]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Production

Development

On February 8, 2018, it was announced that HBO had given the production a series order consisting of eight half-hour episodes. Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner had been developing the series with HBO for some time prior to the announcement and finally received a green light following Jennifer Garner's commitment to star. The series is based on the British series Camping created by Julia Davis. The series was expected to be written by Dunham and Konner who would also executive produce alongside Julia Davis, Christine Langan, and Ilene S. Landress. Production companies involved in the series were slated to include A Casual Romance, Hush Ho, and Baby Cow Productions.[1] [2] [3]

On March 19, 2018, it was reported that Tom Lassally had joined the series as an executive producer for 3 Arts Entertainment.[4] On July 25, 2018, it was announced that the series would premiere on October 14, 2018.[5]

Casting

Alongside the initial series announcement, it was reported that Jennifer Garner had been cast in the series' lead role.[1] On March 16, 2018, it was announced that David Tennant had joined the main cast in the lead male role.[6] A few days later, it was reported that Janicza Bravo, Arturo Del Puerto, Brett Gelman, and Juliette Lewis had been cast as series regulars and that Bridget Everett was joining the series in a recurring capacity.[4] [7] That same month, Ione Skye also joined the main cast.[8] On May 16, 2018, it was reported that Busy Philipps and Nicole Richie had joined the cast of the series in undisclosed capacity.[9]

Filming

Principal photography was expected to begin in the spring of 2018 in Los Angeles.[1]

Release

On July 25, 2018, the series held a panel at the Television Critics Association's annual summer press tour featuring executive producer Jenni Konner and cast member Jennifer Garner.[5] The following day, a teaser trailer for the series was released.[10]

Reception

Critical response

The series has been met with a mixed to negative response from critics upon its premiere. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds a 27% approval rating, with an average rating of 4.84 out of 10 based on 51 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "The first season of Camping makes it difficult to determine who the least happy campers are: those on the screen or those watching it."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 50 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]

In a negative review, Varietys Caroline Farmke criticized the series saying, "the series wastes its potential, showing so little insight or movement that watching Camping becomes nearly as unpleasant as it is for the characters living through it."[13] In another unfavorable critique, Colliders Andrea Reiher was equally dismissive saying, "It truly leaves one wondering: What is the point of this show? If it's not laughs or personal growth, is it just a slice-of-life comedy about unlikable people? That's not enough, especially in this overcrowded TV landscape. Plus, who has the patience to wait half a season or more before finding characters they want to stay with on this journey? Despite high hopes for this combination of Dunham's writing talent and Garner's charisma, there just isn't enough over the first four episodes to really make this a comedy worth tuning into. You can skip this Camping trip."[14] In a more mixed assessment, Indiewire Ben Travers was slightly more positive saying, "Camping is certainly an ensemble-driven comedy, and the supporting cast is easier to get behind, but that's like saying it's easier to build a fire with a piece of glass than two rocks. Both will test your patience, and they don't work well together."[15] In a rare positive evaluation, The Wall Street Journals John Anderson described the series as "A very funny, quasi-cringy series that takes the Sartre-esque point of view into the great outdoors."[16] Gwen Inhat of The A.V. Club summed up her D+ review, "It’s a waste of a fine cast and a bucolic setting. One possible upside for the series is that Camping might inspire people to go camping themselves, just to get away from TV for awhile". Due to the mostly negative reviews, the show was cancelled after one season.[17]

Ratings

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Andreeva . Nellie . Jennifer Garner To Topline HBO Comedy Series 'Camping' From Lena Dunham & Jenni Konner Based On British Format . . February 8, 2018 . February 8, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023622/https://deadline.com/2018/02/jennifer-garner-star-lena-dunham-comedy-camping-hbo-1202281967/ . live .
  2. Web site: Holloway . Daniel . Lena Dunham Lands New HBO Show With Jennifer Garner Set to Star . . February 8, 2018 . February 8, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023615/https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/lena-dunham-hbo-jennifer-garner-camping-1202692257/ . live .
  3. Web site: Goldberg . Lesley . Jennifer Garner to Star in HBO Comedy From 'Girls' Duo Lena Dunham, Jenni Konner . . February 8, 2018 . February 8, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023613/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jennifer-garner-star-hbo-comedy-girls-duo-lena-dunham-jenni-konner-1083111 . live .
  4. Web site: Petski . Denise . 'Camping': Janicza Bravo, Arturo Del Puerto, Brett Gelman Cast As Regulars In HBO Comedy Series . Deadline Hollywood . March 19, 2018 . March 19, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023615/https://deadline.com/2018/03/camping-janicza-bravo-arturo-del-puerto-brett-gelman-cast-hbo-comedy-series-lena-dunham-jennifer-garner-1202345927/ . live .
  5. Web site: Littleton . Cynthia . Jennifer Garner Tackles the Great Outdoors With Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner in HBO's 'Camping' . Variety . July 25, 2018 . August 5, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023616/https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/jennifer-garner-camping-hbo-jenni-konner-lena-dunham-david-tennant-1202884250/ . live .
  6. Web site: Petski . Denise . 'Camping': David Tennant To Star In HBO Comedy Series From Lena Dunham & Jenni Konner . Deadline Hollywood . March 16, 2018 . March 16, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023616/https://deadline.com/2018/03/camping-david-tennant-star-in-hbo-comedy-series-from-lena-dunham-jenni-konner-1202339244/ . live .
  7. Web site: Petski . Denise . 'Camping': Juliette Lewis Joins HBO Comedy Series From Lena Dunham & Jenni Konner . Deadline Hollywood . March 19, 2018 . March 19, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115024008/https://deadline.com/2018/03/camping-juliette-lewis-hbo-comedy-series-lena-dunham-jenni-konner-1202346254/ . live .
  8. Web site: 'Camping': Ione Skye Joins HBO Comedy Series From Lena Dunham & Jenni Konner. Deadline Hollywood. Denise. Petski. March 20, 2018. May 18, 2018. May 18, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180518195840/http://deadline.com/2018/03/camping-ione-skye-hbo-comedy-series-lena-dunham-jenni-konner-1202348968/. live.
  9. Web site: Vlada . Gelman . TVLine Items: Elisabeth Shue Joins Amazon's Boys, Kimmy Trailer and More . . May 16, 2018 . August 20, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023629/https://tvline.com/2018/05/16/elisabeth-shue-cast-the-boys-amazon-drama-series/ . live .
  10. Web site: Petski . Denise . 'Camping' Trailer: First Look At Jennifer Garner In HBO Comedy Series . Deadline Hollywood . July 26, 2018 . July 26, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023629/https://deadline.com/2018/07/camping-trailer-first-look-jennifer-garner-hbo-comedy-series-lena-dunham-jenni-konner-1202434504/ . live .
  11. Web site: Camping: Season 1 . . . September 21, 2020 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023630/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/camping/s01 . live .
  12. Web site: Camping: Season 1 . . . December 27, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023633/https://www.metacritic.com/tv/camping . live .
  13. Web site: Framke . Caroline . TV Review: 'Camping' With Jennifer Garner . Variety . December 27, 2018 . October 4, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023632/https://variety.com/2018/tv/reviews/camping-hbo-jennifer-garner-lena-dunham-jenni-konner-1202968608/ . live .
  14. Web site: Reiher . Andrea . 'Camping' Review: Lena Dunham's New HBO Comedy Is Not a Trip Worth Taking . . October 11, 2018 . December 27, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023801/https://collider.com/camping-review-hbo/ . live .
  15. Web site: Travers . Ben . 'Camping' Review: Lena Dunham's New HBO Comedy Is More Snores Than S'Mores . . October 8, 2018 . December 27, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023941/https://www.indiewire.com/2018/10/camping-review-lena-dunhams-new-hbo-comedy-is-more-snores-than-smores-1202010175/ . live .
  16. Web site: Anderson . John . 'Camping' Review: Roughing It in More Ways Than One . . December 27, 2018 . October 11, 2018 . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023639/https://www.wsj.com/articles/camping-review-roughing-it-in-more-ways-than-one-1539287241 . live .
  17. Web site: No One on Lena Dunham's New Show Is Worth Going Camping With . Inhat . Gwen . . October 12, 2018 . July 9, 2020 . en-US . November 15, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201115023803/https://tv.avclub.com/no-one-on-lena-dunham-s-new-show-is-worth-going-camping-1829645958 . live .

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