Back to Life (TV series)

Back to Life is a British dark comedy-drama co-written by Laura Solon and Daisy Haggard and starring Haggard and Adeel Akhtar.[1] On 10 November 2019, the series premiered in the United States on Showtime.[2] The first series received critical acclaim with many reviews praising the performance and writing of Haggard highly.

Back to Life
GenreComedy-drama
Dark comedy
Written by
Laura Solon
Daisy Haggard
Directed byChristopher Sweeney
Starring
Composer(s)Solomon Grey
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Sarah Hammond
  • Harry Williams
  • Jack Williams
Producer(s)
  • Debbie Pisani
CinematographyBen Wheeler
Editor(s)Gavin Buckley
Running time23–25 minutes
DistributorBBC
Release
Original network
Picture formatHDTV 1080i
Audio formatStereo
Original release15 April 2019 (2019-04-15) –
present
External links
Production website

On 19 November 2019, Back to Life was renewed for a second series.[3]

Plot

Miri Matteson has just returned home to Hythe, Kent, after serving an 18-year prison sentence. As Miri attempts to rebuild her life, she forms a friendship with Billy, who cares for the elderly woman next door.

Cast
  • Daisy Haggard as Miri Matteson
  • Geraldine James as Caroline Matteson, Miri's mother
  • Richard Durden as Oscar Matteson, Miri's father
  • Adeel Akhtar as Billy, Miri's budding love interest
  • Jo Martin as Janice, Miri's parole officer
  • Jamie Michie as Dom, Miri's now married pre-prison boyfriend and Caroline's secret affair
  • Christine Bottomley as Mandy, Miri's now married pre-prison best friend
  • Liam Williams as Nathan, Miri's boss at the fish and chip shop
  • Souad Adel Faress as Anna, Billy's wife

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Episode 1"Christopher Sweeney[4]Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon15 April 2019 (2019-04-15)
2"Episode 2"Christopher SweeneyDaisy Haggard and Laura Solon15 April 2019 (2019-04-15)
3"Episode 3"Christopher SweeneyDaisy Haggard and Laura Solon15 April 2019 (2019-04-15)
4"Episode 4"Christopher SweeneyDaisy Haggard and Laura Solon15 April 2019 (2019-04-15)
5"Episode 5"Christopher SweeneyDaisy Haggard and Laura Solon15 April 2019 (2019-04-15)
6"Episode 6"Christopher SweeneyDaisy Haggard and Laura Solon15 April 2019 (2019-04-15)

Production

Harry and Jack Williams are the executive producers of Back to Life with Sarah Hammond. They previously produced the BBC show Fleabag.[5] It was filmed in Kent, including Hythe and Dungeness and at The Britannia Inn pub in Dungeness.[6] Filming also took place at Lade car park in Lydd-on-Sea, where various scenes were filmed around the fish and chip van. Production for Back to Life also visited Abbot's Cliff sound mirror in Dover, on the top of the White Cliffs.[7]

Release

Back to Life was launched as a boxset on BBC iPlayer on 15 April 2019, and was shown weekly on BBC One from 15 April 2019.

Reception

The show has received critical acclaim. The first series holds a 100% approval rating on critic website Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews with Haggard’s performance especially receiving positive comments. The first series was also compared positively to critically acclaimed tragicomedy Fleabag whom it shares producers with. On Metacritic the series has a score of 87 out of 100 based on 13 reviews indicating "universal acclaim."

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gollark: Travel purposes, blame my parents.
gollark: As you may know, Scotland is the not-country above England on maps.
gollark: From SCOTLAND, on a VERY BAD NETWORK LINK.
gollark: Greetings, apioids. I am BACK on ESODISCORD.

References
  1. "Back To Life: Episodes' Daisy Haggard on playing a 'relentless optimist'". 12 April 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. "Showtime(R) Programming Advisory". The Futon Critic. 19 September 2019.
  3. "Showtime(R) Orders Second Season of "Back to Life"". The Futon Critic. 19 November 2019.
  4. "Back to Life (TV Series 2019–) Full Cast & Crew". imdb.com. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. "When is Back to Life on BBC1 and BBC3? Who's in the cast and what's it about?". Radio Times. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  6. "Back to Life – Series 1 (2019)". Kent Film Office. Kent Film Office. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  7. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Back to Life Article".
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