Jekyll and Hyde (TV series)

Jekyll and Hyde is a British fantasy TV drama consisting of 10 episodes. It aired on ITV in the United Kingdom from 25 October to 27 December 2015. On 5 January 2016 the creator Charlie Higson announced via his Twitter feed that ITV had declined a second series.[1]

Jekyll and Hyde
GenreFantasy
Action
Drama
Thriller
Horror
Created byCharlie Higson
Based onStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Starring
Composer(s)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original language(s)English
No. of series1
No. of episodes10
Production
CinematographyMark Waters
Running time45–46 minutes
Production company(s)ITV Studios
Release
Original networkITV, STV, UTV
Picture formatHDTV 1080i
Audio formatStereo
Original release25 October (2015-10-25) –
27 December 2015 (2015-12-27)
External links
Website

Based loosely on Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, it creates the character of Dr. Robert Jekyll, a grandson of the Victorian Dr. Henry Jekyll, who has inherited his grandfather's split personality and violent alter-ego. The series takes place in 1930s London and Ceylon.

Cast

  • Tom Bateman – Dr. Robert Jekyll/Hyde, the grandson of the Victorian Dr. Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde, the son of Louis Jekyll/Hyde and the twin brother of Olalla Jekyll/Hyde. As with most "modern" Jekyll-and-Hydes, in his Hyde state he possesses superhuman strength, speed and an accelerated healing factor.
  • Richard E. Grant – Sir Roger Bulstrode, a British Intelligence officer studying supernatural phenomena
  • Tom Rhys Harries – Mr Sackler, a sniper working for Sir Roger Bulstrode
  • Enzo Cilenti – Captain Dance, senior officer for monster organisation, the Tenebrae. His exact nature is unclear, but he is notably stronger than the average human, with most of his internal organs visible through his chest; he can survive being shot twice in the heart with a fatal toxin, although he required external aid to stay alive.
  • Michael Karim – Ravi Najaran, Vishal and Gurinder's son and Robert's foster-brother
  • Ace Bhatti – Dr. Vishal Najaran, Gurinder's husband, Ravi's father and Robert Jekyll's foster-father in Ceylon. He is killed by the forces of Tenebrae while they try to learn more about Robert.
  • Lolita Chakrabarti – Gurinder Najaran, Vishal's wife, Ravi's mother and Robert Jekyll's foster-mother in Ceylon. She is killed by the forces of Tenebrae while they try to learn more about Robert.
  • Natalie Gumede – Isabella "Bella" Charming, the owner of an East End nightclub the Empire, who becomes the love interest of Robert's Hyde persona. She knows more than she originally seems to and provides Robert with information regarding Tenebrae.
  • Stephanie Hyam – Lily Clarke Carew, a former biochemistry student of Cambridge taking care of her invalid mother who helps Robert study the medical side of his transformation and becomes his love interest. She is later revealed to be a spy working for Sir Roger Bulstrode, her real name is Lily Carew and she is the granddaughter of the murdered Sir Danvers Carew.
  • Christian McKay – Maxwell Utterson, Robert's estate lawyer whose father, Gabriel Utterson, worked for Dr. Henry Jekyll. While assisting Robert in investigating another branch of the Jekyll family tree, he dies when he is wounded during a fight in episode 5.
  • Ruby Bentall  – Hilary "Hils" Barnstaple, Maxwell's no-nonsense jovial assistant who aces at both her paper work and fighting.
  • Donald Sumpter – Garson, once Henry Jekyll's assistant/footman, now the bartender of the Empire nightclub, who knows the true nature of the connection between Jekyll and Hyde. Despite his age and knowledge of Hyde, he retains a certain affection for his former master that has been passed on to Robert, with Robert appreciating Garson's insight and knowledge into his grandfather's work.
  • Sinéad Cusack  – Maggie Hope. Lover of Victorian Dr. Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde, mother of Louis Jekyll/Hyde and grandmother of Dr. Robert Jekyll/Hyde and Olalla Jekyll/Hyde.
  • Wallis Day – Olalla Jekyll/Hyde, granddaughter of the Victorian Dr. Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde, daughter of Louis Jekyll/Hyde and twin sister of Dr. Robert Jekyll/Hyde.
  • Amelia Bullmore – Renata Jezequiel, a distant relative of Dr. Robert Jekyll/Hyde and the rest of the Jekyll family.
  • Natasha O'Keeffe – Fedora, member of Tenebrae and love interest of Dance. After Dance was shot, Fedora tried every way to revive him using Moroii to help Dance regenerate and in Episode 10, she successfully used the power of the Incubus to revive Dance.
  • Tony Way – Cyclops Silas Parnell, member of Tenebrae, minion of Dance and leader of a gang of one-eyed thugs. He becomes a host for the Seeing Toad.
  • Dee Tails – The Harbinger,[2] a creature which appeared in the episodes The Harbinger, The Cutter, The Heart of Lord Trash and Mr Hyde.
  • Phil McKee – Mr Hannigan, an MIO agent working for Sir Roger Bulstrode.
  • Mark Bonnar – Lord Protheroe, a power hungry corrupted head of Daily Truth, he harbours Fedora and the "killed" Dance.
  • David Bark-Jones and Thomas Coombes – Dr. Henry Jekyll/Edward Hyde, Robert Jekyll/Hyde and Olalla Jekyll's grandfather and the father of Louis Jekyll/Hyde. Henry Jekyll and his assistant/footman, Garson made the potion that allows Jekyll turn into Edward Hyde. Dr. Jekyll falls in love with the Empire music hall singer Maggie Kendall. As himself Henry can only ruin his reputation. But as Edward Hyde, he can do as he pleases. He set Maggie a flat in Soho and he got what he wanted. Shortly afterwards, with no way to cure himself or reproduce the potion Dr. Jekyll made, he poisoned himself in order to kill Edward Hyde.

Production

The series was based at 3 Mills Studios and also filmed in Kent – Rochester High Street doubles as the exterior of the Empire music hall and The Guildhall Museum features as the hotel where Dr. Jekyll (Tom Bateman) first lodges when arriving in England. The Historic Dockyard Chatham was used as location for the scenes used for Gravesend Docks, Tenebrae offices and factory and various areas of the site feature as London Streets and markets. Elmley Nature Reserve features in episode three as the setting for Maggie's (Niamh Walsh) country house and the Fort Amherst tunnels are used in episodes 9 and 10 where Jekyll finds out about the powers of The Incubus.

Episodes
No.Title [3]Directed byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"The Harbinger"Colin TeagueCharlie Higson25 October 2015 (2015-10-25)2-2650-0001
After his name appears in a local paper, Robert Jekyll is contacted by his biological grandfather's lawyer in London about the family estate.
2"Mr. Hyde"Colin TeagueCharlie Higson1 November 2015 (2015-11-01)2-2650-0002
Confused at events since arriving in London, Robert attempts to carry out further research in his grandfather's laboratory.
3"The Cutter"Colin TeagueCharlie Higson8 November 2015 (2015-11-08)2-2650-0003
The arrival of the mysterious Captain Dance in London incites further activity from MIO's captives, while Robert attempts to control his transformation using his grandfather's serum.
4"The Calyx"Joss AgnewCharlie Higson22 November 2015 (2015-11-22)[4]2-2650-0004
While trying to harness his abilities as Hyde to save his long-lost grandmother, Robert finds himself caught between Tenebrae and MIO as he is tempted to open an ancient container.
5"Black Dog"Robert QuinnGuy Burt29 November 2015 (2015-11-29)[5]2-2650-0005
When Robert and Utterson investigate another branch of the Jekyll family tree, they find themselves facing an unexpected new threat.
6"Spring-Heeled Jack"Steward SvaasandJason Sutton6 December 2015 (2015-12-06)2-2650-0006
The return of an old serial killer prompts MIO to 'ask' Robert for help.
7"The Reaper"Steward SvaasandSimon J. Ashford13 December 2015 (2015-12-13)2-2650-0007
When his brother is taken as the new 'host' for the Reaper, Robert must resort to unconventional methods to save his life.
8"Moroii"Robert QuinnSophie Petzal23 December 2015 (2015-12-23)[6]2-2650-0008
When he is asked to investigate an apparent vampire attack, Robert is shocked to learn that the true culprit is his previously-unknown sister.
9"The Incubus"Joss AgnewGareth Roberts27 December 2015 (2015-12-27)2-2650-0009
Hiding out in the country, Robert and his family face an unanticipated new threat in the form of an incubus.
10"The Heart of Lord Trash"Steward SvaasandCharlie Higson27 December 2015 (2015-12-27)2-2650-0010
Various secrets come to light, culminating in a final confrontation between Robert and Dance over the Calyx.

Broadcast

In Canada, it started airing on 11 January 2016 on CBC.[7][8]

Controversies

The opening episode attracted 459 complaints to the UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom in regard to the level of violence contained within a programme shown at 6.30pm. Ofcom subsequently announced that it had launched an investigation.,[9] which ultimately ruled that the show had breached the Ofcom Broadcasting Code, as children were not "protected from unsuitable material by appropriate scheduling."[10]

After the November 2015 Paris attacks, episode 4 was delayed for a week as it was felt that the subject matter would be upsetting with the fresh memories of the experience.

Cancellation

On 5 January 2016, ITV confirmed that it would not be renewing Jekyll and Hyde for a second series. Reasons included poor and decreasing viewing figures,[11] unfavourable comparisons to Doctor Who[12] and public backlash following "hundreds of complaints" regarding the appropriateness of the content for a teatime family show.[13]

Unmade second series

On 8 July 2016, Higson explained in a tweets thread what would have happened in Series 2: "We had lots of great stories already written for series 2 of Jekyll & Hyde. Robert was going to find out a lot more about his mother and find his father. He was going to reluctantly work for MIO. Robert & Ravi were going to return to Sri Lanka & uncover some buried secrets. Bella’s family history was going to come into play. There were going to be some shocking deaths and reversals. And we were going to find out a lot more about Lord Trash... Instead, since ITV didn't want to make any more, they’re all dead!"[14]

gollark: You need to do async HTTP for Discorduous botization.
gollark: Maybe its response is the empty string and æ don't.
gollark: It only runs some monitoring stuff and Tailscale coordination.
gollark: It's only accessible by SSH key, so I don't see the problem, and yes.
gollark: That is, again, my VPS. My laptop does not allow SSH.

References
  1. Higson, Charlie. "Sad day today as ITV announce they don't want any more #JekyllandHyde Ah well, I tried. It was a grand adventure while it lasted".
  2. Robinson, Dom. "Jekyll and Hyde Episode 1 – The DVDfever Review". DVDfever. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  3. "Jekyll and Hyde Season 1". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  4. Postponed from 15 November 2015 (2015-11-15) due to the November 2015 Paris attacks.
  5. Rescheduled from 22 November 2015 (2015-11-22) due to the November 2015 Paris attacks.
  6. Rescheduled from 20 December 2015 (2015-12-20).
  7. "CBC-TV stacks fall and winter lineups with British, Aussie fare". CFTR (AM). 28 May 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  8. "Jekyll and Hyde". CBC. CBC. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  9. "Jekyll and Hyde 'scary' probe launched". BBC.co.uk. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  10. "Jekyll and Hyde WAS broadcast too early according to Ofcom", Radio Times, Monday 25 January 2016. Accessed 5 April 2017.
  11. "ITV axes Jekyll and Hyde following poor ratings figures", The Guardian, 6 January 2016. Accessed 5 April 2017.
  12. "Jekyll and Hyde and the elusive Doctor Who effect", Radio Times, 25 October 2015. Accessed 5 April 2017.
  13. "Jekyll and Hyde axed by ITV after one series following hundreds of complaints", Daily Express, Wednesday 6 January 2016. Accessed 5 April 2017.
  14. "Charlie Higson Twitter". Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
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