This Country Explained
| Genre: | |
| Runtime: | 21–31 minutes |
| Creator: | |
| Director: | Tom George |
| Editor: | Craig Harbour |
| Producer: | Simon Mayhew-Archer |
| Executive Producer: | Stephen McCrum |
| Starring: | - Daisy May Cooper
- Charlie Cooper
|
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Company: | BBC Studios |
| Network: | BBC Three |
| Num Series: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 19 |
This Country is a British mockumentary sitcom, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Three on 8 February 2017. Created by, written by and starring siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper and directed by Tom George, the series focuses on the day-to-day lives of two cousins living in a small village in the Cotswolds.[1] The programme includes themes of social clumsiness, the trivialities of human behaviour, the eccentricities of living in rural England, and the boredom and social isolation of young people in small communities.[2] [3]
The Coopers play the central characters, cousins Kerry and Lee "Kurtan" Mucklowe.[4] Much of the series revolves around their unlikely friendship with the local vicar, Rev. Francis Seaton, played by Paul Chahidi.[5] The Coopers’ father, Paul Cooper, plays Kerry's father Martin Mucklowe, while their uncle, Trevor Cooper, plays local man and antagonist Len Clifton.[6] [7] Although credited to "Ivy Woodcock", the voice of Sue Mucklowe — Kerry's mother, never seen on screen—is provided by Daisy May.[8]
Across the three series and the special, This Country received over 52 million BBC iPlayer requests.[9]
Cast
Main cast
- Daisy May Cooper as Kerry Mucklowe. Kerry is in her late twenties to early thirties and lives with her mother, Sue, who is never seen (also voiced by Cooper, she communicates with Kerry by yelling at her from her bedroom). Due to the limited opportunities and mundanity in the rural area where she lives, she is nihilistic and lacking in self-purpose, frequently finding herself with very little to do other than spend time with her cousin, Kurtan, with whom she engages in absent-minded mischief and occasionally antisocial behaviour. Kerry often struggles to put other people before herself and this is demonstrated in Episode 1 of series 2 "Random Acts of Kindness" where she donates a PS3 to Slugs as a goodwill gesture, then immediately requests it back after Slugs doesn't show the level of gratitude that she wanted. She tends to see herself as a figure of authority in the village with "enemies" in nearby villages. In reality, no one sees her this way because she often shies away from confrontation, and her attempts to present herself as tough and authoritative are usually met with mockery or her being accused of acting up in front of the cameras. Throughout the series, more details are revealed about Kerry's difficult family situation which have undoubtedly had an influence on her behaviour and character. In particular, she meets somebody in her father's former biker gang who recounts a discomforting story about how he met her mother.
- Charlie Cooper as Lee "Kurtan" Mucklowe, Kerry's cousin. Although equally bored as his cousin Kerry, Kurtan tends to have slightly more ambition in life and has plans to leave the village in order to fulfil it, although these are usually ill-fated. He is also somewhat more sensitive and considerate to other people than Kerry, and has an especially close attachment to the village's vicar, Rev. Francis Seaton. However he is often cynical, paranoid and prone to angry outbursts, and as much as he tries to rise above Kerry's immaturity, he is sometimes not much better and often finds himself in petty arguments with her. He lives with his grandmother, whom Kerry despises.
Supporting cast
- Paul Chahidi as the Rev. Francis Seaton, the parish vicar. Kind-hearted Rev. Seaton is responsible for most of the events that bring the village community together. He is also something of a father figure and mentor to Kerry and Kurtan, filling the role that Kerry's parents have failed to provide by assisting them in times of need and encouraging them to be good people, which is not always met with compliance. While Kerry and Kurtan make a mockery of him for some of his old-fashioned tastes and his Christian do-gooder persona, this is done with good intentions as they are generally very fond of him as he has their interests at heart more than anyone else in the community. His role as vicar requires him be a friend to everyone in the community, and he is always happy to lend an ear to anyone, though when conflicts do arise this puts him in difficult positions which he struggles to manage.
- Michael Sleggs as Michael "Slugs" Slugette (series 1–2). A quiet young man who has terminal cancer. Despite his tragic circumstances, Kerry and Kurtan show no interest in being friends with him because he is "annoying" and do their utmost to avoid becoming too friendly with him.
- Paul Cooper as Martin Mucklowe, Kerry's estranged father. Although Kerry thinks the world of her dad, he is shown to be a selfish and narcissistic man who does not reciprocate her fondness for him at all, and any attention he pays towards her is motivated only by self-interests. Much to the protests of others who all see him as the man he is, Kerry continues time and again to give Martin the benefit of the doubt, even after his attempts to manipulate her into handing herself in for stealing vacuum cleaners, a crime which he himself perpetrated but set Kerry up for. He has fathered two other children, Martin and Marvin, with Sandra.
- Ashley McGuire as Mandy Harris. Known as 'Big Mandy' to some, she is a woman in the village who has a thuggish, rough-looking appearance and a somewhat unsettling presence. As a result of this, she is the only person in the village that Kerry and Kurtan genuinely find intimidating, though it is never certain as to whether she intends to be a bully to people or is in fact just misunderstood as being as such. She has a brash manner of speaking and tells anecdotes in which she has committed acts of violence or other forms of crime, such as the time she stalked Hannah Spearritt from S Club 7 for three or four years. Though Kerry and Kurtan are conflicted as to whether they believe anything she says, this nonetheless gives her the air of a criminal which causes them to label her a 'psychopath'. She often pursues creative endeavours, such as becoming a tattoo artist and joining the village book club to showcase her creative writing skills, but her efforts are often laughably poor as she is shown to possess very little creative talent.
Recurring cast
- Trevor Cooper as Len Clifton
- Daisy May Cooper (credited as Ivy Woodcock) as Sue Mucklowe (voice only)
- Eliza Hunt as June Winwood (series 1, 3)
- Celeste Dring as Kayleigh Hudson
- Badger Skelton as Levi Johnson (series 1)
- David Hargreaves as Arthur Andrews (series 2–3)
- Abra Thompson as Sophie Huxley (series 2-3)
- Nic Kozyrev as Liam "Pork Chop" Dunmore (series 1-3)
Guest cast
- Matthew Rees as Robert Robinson (series 1)
- Preston Nyman as "Weak" Nathan Kay (series 1)
- Laura Checkley as Shaz Gallagher (series 1)
- David Nightingale as Steve "Nugget" Nuggins, Kerry's uncle (series 1)
- Alfie Simmons as Neil "Count Fartula" Pedley (series 1)
- Liam Steward-George as PC Webber (series 1–2)
- Jimmy Walker as Dan Greaves (series 2–3)
- Gerran Howell as Jacob Seaton, the Vicar's son (series 2)
Production
The series was filmed on location in and around the small town of Northleach. Daisy Cooper said, "All the material is based around stuff that happens in Cirencester, but when we went to the channel they thought that Cirencester was a bit too big and Northleach is a smaller village, and sort of isolates the characters a bit more. Makes them more claustrophobic."[3] The location used for exterior shots of Kerry's house is at 16 Fortey Road in Northleach.[10] [11]
Filming for the first series began in September 2016 and finished three weeks later.[3] [6] A second series was quickly confirmed, with filming taking place over the summer of 2017 and its first episode being released on 26 February 2018.[12] A one-off special episode, forming an epilogue to the second series, was filmed over the summer of 2018 and broadcast in October that year.[13]
On 30 May 2019, actor Michael Sleggs announced that he was suffering from heart issues and did not have long to live.[14] He died 40 days later at the age of 33.[15] The third and final series was filmed from August to October 2019, and broadcast from February to March 2020.[13] [16]
Episodes
Series 3 (2020)
Reception
This Country received positive reviews from critics. Stuart Heritage, for The Guardian, described it as a "perfectly observed" comedy, and wrote: "I found myself rewinding entire scenes because I was too busy howling with laughter to hear what was going on."[2] Sean O'Grady, for The Independent, wrote: "It isn't very often that I am able to recommend something because it made me weep tears of laughter, but I am happy and heartened to say that the latest BBC mockumentary, This Country, is sublime enough to have lifted my spirits heavenwards... [It has] an uneasily well-observed quality that raises the comedic genre almost to an art form." Rupert Hawksley, for The Daily Telegraph, wrote: "It is, by some distance, the funniest thing on television at the moment."[17] Mike McCahill, for Reader's Digest, described the programme as an "increasingly cherishable mockumentary" and essential viewing, observing that "[the] Coopers have created an entire universe in a handful of episodes."[18] Arts critic Bruce Dessau concluded: "It might have well-used stylistic elements of both The Office and People Just Do Nothing about it, but it is sharply-written and deftly performed [and] stays just on the right side of cliché. And most importantly both Kerry and Lee are richly comic."[19]
Awards
Home video releases
All three series of This Country and the Aftermath Special have been released in Regions 2 both individually and in box sets.
| DVD Title | Discs | Year | Ep. No. | DVD releases | Notes |
|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 |
|---|
| Complete Series 1–2 | 2 | 2017–2018 | 12 | | 22 October 2018[29] | | |
|---|
| Complete Series 3 | 1 | 2020 | 7 | | 30 March 2020[30] | | Includes the Aftermath Special |
|---|
| Complete Series 1–3 | 3 | 2017–2020 | 19 | | 30 March 2020[31] | | Includes the Aftermath Special | |
|---|
Adaptation
See main article: Welcome to Flatch. An American version of the series was announced by Fox. On 30 January 2020, it was announced that the production had been given a pilot order.[32] On 24 February 2020, Seann William Scott was cast in main role for the pilot.[33] On 4 March 2020, Chelsea Holmes, Sam Straley, Taylor Ortega and Krystal Smith were cast in main roles for the pilot.[34] On 10 July 2020, Aya Cash and Justin Linville were cast in main roles for the pilot.[35] On 30 October 2020, it was announced that the production had been given a series order and is scheduled for premiere in the 2021–22 television season. The series will be a co-production between Lionsgate Television, Fox Entertainment, Feigco Entertainment and BBC Studios with Jenny Bicks as writer and executive producer and Paul Feig as director and executive producer.[36] On 4 December 2020, Desmin Borges joined the cast in recurring role.[37] On 30 December 2020, Jason MacDonald joined the cast in a recurring role.[38] On 17 May 2021, it was announced that the series title had been changed from This Country to Welcome to Flatch.[39]
Books
On 3 October 2019, an official hardback book was released, entitled This Is This Country: The official book of the BAFTA award-winning show, published by Trapeze Books.[40] [41]
External links
Notes and References
- News: 5 February 2017. The Sunday Times. Sophie. Mutevelian. Pick of the day: This Country. 28 February 2017.
- News: This Country: perfect, horrifying TV for anyone who grew up in a village. Stuart. Heritage. 22 February 2017. The Guardian. 28 February 2017.
- News: Cirencester siblings Daisy and Charlie Cooper talk about their new BBC Three show This Country. 17 February 2017. Ryan. Merrifield. Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard. 28 February 2017.
- News: TV preview: This Country. Sean. O'Grady. The Independent. 3 February 2017. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/tv-preview-this-country-bbc3-wednesday-10am-a7561006.html . 7 May 2022 . subscription . live. 28 February 2017.
- News: 17 February 2020. The iPaper. Rupert. Hawksley. This Country's vicar Paul Chahidi: 'I'm going to give Andrew Scott a run for his money as a sexy priest'. 28 February 2017.
- News: Behind the Kurtan. The Cotswolds Gentleman. 2 March 2017. 3 March 2017.
- News: Country cousins. Chortle. Jay. Richardson. 25 January 2017. 3 March 2017.
- News: This Country's Daisy May and Charlie Cooper: 'It's basically our experience of growing up in the Cotswolds'. Alice. Jones. 8 March 2017. i News. 9 March 2017.
- News: Centre . Media . 2 April 2020 . This Country bows out with over 52 million BBC iPlayer requests . . 28 February 2017.
- Web site: 'It's rubbish': What do the residents of Northleach think of This Country? We went to find out . 10 October 2019 . Gloucestershire Live . 27 October 2019.
- Web site: Spotting selfies at the filming locations of BBC's This Country . Cotswold Life . 27 October 2019.
- Web site: This Country: A day on the set of the hit BBC Three series. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/this-country-waiting-for-mucklowe-bbc-daisy-cooper-charlie-cooper-kurtan-kerry-mucklowe-a8012096.html . 7 May 2022 . subscription . live. . 2017-10-23.
- Web site: This Country gets a third series and a one-off special. Radio Times.
- Web site: 'I'm dying,' This Country star reveals : News 2019 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide. Steve. Bennett. www.chortle.co.uk.
- News: One of the stars of BBC comedy This Country, Michael Sleggs, has died aged 33 . 10 July 2019 . BBC . 10 July 2019.
- News: BBC. This Country. 6 February 2020.
- News: Is BBC Three 'mockumentary' This Country the best British comedy since The Office?. Rupert. Hawksley. 13 March 2017. The Daily Telegraph. 14 March 2017.
- News: 5 TV shows you should be watching this month. Mike. McCahill. Reader's Digest. March 2017. 6 March 2017.
- News: Review: This Country, Episode 2, BBC Three (And BBC One). Beyond The Joke. Bruce. Dessau. Bruce Dessau. February 2017. 9 March 2017.
- News: This Country wins big at RTS awards. Neil. Smith. 21 March 2018. BBC News.
- Web site: 2018 Virgin TV BAFTA Television Awards Nominations Announced. 4 April 2018. BAFTA. 4 April 2018.
- News: Nominations Announced for the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2018. Bafta. 22 March 2018. 11 April 2018.
- News: BAFTA Television 2019 . Bafta . 28 March 2019.
- Web site: 2017-10-13 . RTS Programme Awards 2018 in partnership with Audio Network . 2022-02-27 . Royal Television Society . en.
- Web site: CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2020. Royal Television Society. 23 June 2020 . 17 March 2023.
- News: Bafta TV Awards 2021: Winners and nominees in full . BBC News . 28 April 2021 . 9 August 2021.
- Web site: BAFTA TV 2021: The Winners and Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards . . 28 April 2021 . 9 August 2021.
- Web site: 2020-10-23 . RTS Programme Awards 2021 . 2022-02-26 . Royal Television Society . en.
- Web site: This Country Series 1 & 2 [DVD] [2018]]. Amazon.co.uk. 22 October 2018. 31 July 2020.
- Web site: This Country Series 3 [DVD] [2020]]. Amazon.co.uk. 30 March 2020. 31 July 2020.
- Web site: This Country - The Complete Collection [DVD] [2020]]. Amazon.co.uk. 30 March 2020. 31 July 2020.
- Web site: 'This Country' Comedy From Jenny Bicks & Paul Feig Inspired By BBC Series Gets Fox Pilot Order. White. Peter. Deadline Hollywood. 30 January 2020.
- Web site: Seann William Scott To Star In Fox Comedy Pilot 'This Country'. Deadline Hollywood. Nellie. Andreeva. 24 February 2020.
- Web site: 'This Country': Chelsea Holmes & Sam Straley To Star, Taylor Ortega & Krystal Smith Also Cast In Fox Comedy Pilot. Deadline Hollywood. 4 March 2020.
- Web site: 'This Country': Aya Cash & Justin Linville Join Fox Comedy Pilot. Deadline Hollywood. 10 July 2020.
- Web site: 'This Country': Jenny Bicks & Paul Feig's Remake Of BBC Comedy Goes To Series At Fox, Net's First Pickup Of 2021/22 Season. White. Peter. Deadline Hollywood. 30 October 2020.
- Web site: 'This Country': Desmin Borges To Recur In Fox Comedy Series. Deadline Hollywood. 4 December 2020.
- Web site: 'This Country': Jason MacDonald To Recur In Fox Comedy Series . Deadline Hollywood. 30 December 2020.
- Web site: Fox 2021-22 Schedule: 2 New Dramas, Morris Chestnut Tuesday In Fall, '9-1-1: Lone Star' Held For Midseason. Andreeva. Nellie. Deadline Hollywood. 17 May 2021. 17 May 2021.
- Book: 3 October 2019. This Is This Country: The official book of the BAFTA award-winning show . Mucklowe . Kurtan . Mucklowe . Kerry. Trapeze Books. 978-1409191117.
- Book: This Is This Country: The official book of the BAFTA award-winning show. 3 October 2019. .
