Us (British TV series) explained

Genre:Comedy drama
Director:Geoffrey Sax
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Num Series:1
Num Episodes:4

Us is a 2020 British television comedy-drama series based on the book Us by English author David Nicholls and adapted by him for the screen. The series stars Tom Hollander[1] and Saskia Reeves[2] as a married couple, the Petersens.

The series is directed by Geoffrey Sax and has original music composed by Oli Julian.[3]

Synopsis

As their son, Albie, is about to leave home for university, married couple, Douglas and Connie Petersen (Tom Hollander and Saskia Reeves), have made plans to go on a "holiday of a lifetime", touring Europe. Connie, frustrated after 24 years together, tells her inhibited, orderly and risk-averse biochemist husband, Douglas, that now that Albie is leaving home, she no longer wants to stay married to him. The story follows Douglas and the family over the course of the holiday as he tries to win back the love of Connie. As their holiday progresses, the series alternates between the present day and flashbacks that show how the young Douglas (Iain De Caestecker) and Connie (Gina Bramhill) met.

Cast

Production

The series was filmed between July and October 2019.[6]

Compared with the novel there was a reduction in the overall number of destinations due to budgetary and logistical reasons. Even so four crews were employed with over 162 sets with filming undertaken in London, Buckinghamshire, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, and Barcelona.[6] [7] For economic reasons many train scenes were filmed in real time on real trains.

The series first aired on the BBC in September 2020.[6] The show would not return for a second series in 2021.

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 93% based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 7.01/10.[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 76 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tom Hollander to star in Us, David Nicholls' adaptation of his bestselling novel for BBC One, 17 July 2019 . BBC . 19 September 2020.
  2. Web site: Meet the cast of David Nicholls drama Us, 15 September 2020 . Radio Times . 19 September 2020.
  3. Web site: Soundtrack Album for BBC Series 'Us' Released . Film Music Reporter . 11 October 2020.
  4. Web site: Tom Hollander on new BBC1 comedy drama Us: 'Douglas is quite annoying' . what'sontv.
  5. Web site: Saskia Reeves: 'My character in Us could do with some help', 14 September 2020 . The Guardian . 14 September 2020 . 19 September 2020.
  6. Web site: Sulcas . Roslyn . 'Us' Offers Marital Angst and a Trip to Europe . New York Times . June 18, 2021 . June 20, 2021.
  7. Web site: Where was BBC One comedy drama Us filmed? . Radio Times . September 15, 2020 . September 19, 2020.
  8. Web site: Us: Series 1 (2020) . Rotten Tomatoes. June 22, 2021.
  9. Web site: Us Reviews . Metacritic. June 22, 2021.