Double dinners for BBC Three: This Country to return for two more portions

After the recent cliff-hanger at the end of This Country’s second series, BBC Three has doubled-down and commissioned both a one-off special and a third series of the award-winning mockumentary. 

The second series of This Country launched in February 2018 on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer with a slot on BBC One on Tuesday nights. The show has had over 11 million iPlayer requests to date and on BBC One has seen audiences of well over a million, winning its slot every week with an average 13% audience share.

This Country recently won three RTS Programme Awards for Scripted Comedy, Writer - Comedy and Comedy Performance (Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper). The show has also been nominated four times at the upcoming BAFTAs; Scripted Comedy, Female Performance in a Comedy Programme at the Television Awards and the pair are nominated for Breakthrough Talent and Writer - Comedy at the Television Craft Awards.

This Country documents the lives of young cousins, Kerry and Lee ‘Kurtan’ Mucklowe as they interact with the other residents of their claustrophobic Cotswold village. These include the local vicar - and one-time 80s popstar* - Reverend Francis Seaton, aspiring tattoo artist, bodyguard and S Club 7 fan, Mandy Harris and self-confessed peeper and bookies’ favourite for Worst Father in Britain, Martin Mucklowe.

The series is written by and stars siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper.

Daisy May Cooper says: “This is great because the truth is I bought a corner sofa from DFS on tick and I currently only own an arm of it. With this news I can now own the entire sofa and the special can pay for the throw cushions.”

Charlie Cooper says: “Yeah it’s great but I feel empty inside.”

Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning, says: “Once in a while a show lands fully formed and audiences take it to their hearts immediately. Daisy and Charlie’s characters and world have struck a chord with viewers of all ages as their sharp writing delivers a winning mix of heartfelt moments and punchy belly laughs, all performed to comic perfection.”

Chris Sussman, Head of Comedy at BBC Studios, says: “We’re just happy to get as much out of Kerry and Kurtan as we can before they become too famous, and we’re left pitching an Uncle Nugget spin-off series.”

Damian Kavanagh, Controller BBC Three, says: “Daisy and Charlie have established themselves as two of the freshest writing and performing comedy talents of this generation and I’m delighted that they are bringing their magic back to BBC Three.”

Filming will begin on the 40-minute special this summer, with a six-part series to go into production next year.

The series is commissioned by Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning and Damian Kavanagh, Controller of BBC Three. This Country is a BBC Studios production, produced by Simon Mayhew-Archer and directed by Tom George.

The whole second series is available on BBC iPlayer as a boxset until the end of September.

* The video for The Reverend Francis Seaton’s 80s hit Good Guy by The Nice Guys can be viewed on the BBC Three YouTube channel.

Critical acclaim for This Country

  • Lucy Mangan, The Guardian
    “It’s perfection.”
  • Sean O’Grady, i
    “This BBC Three mockumentary is one of the most inventive and finely crafted pieces of television to appear on our screens for a very long time.”
  • Boyd Hilton, Heat
    “The funniest show on TV.”
  • Simon Horsford, The Daily Telegraph
    “The final moments provide a small masterclass in making an audience simultaneously laugh and cry. Superb.”
  • James Delingpole, The Spectator
    “Courageous and brilliant.”
  • Hugo Rifkind, The Times
    “Fresh, funny and unusual.”
  • Sarah Deen, Metro
    “Refreshing and hilarious.”
  • Helen Bownass, Stylist
    “This Country is the funniest show on TV. A bold claim, but one I’m owning.”
  • Thom Airs, Angling Times
    “Exquisitely observed.”
  • Xan Brooks, The Guardian
    “This Country is a BBC sitcom that makes molehills into mountains and spins base metal into gold.”
  • Sarah Carson, Radio Times
    “On the strength of this second series, it’s a thrill to consider what they might write in future.”
  • Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke
    “Tedium has never been so hilarious.”
  • Anna Leszkiewicz, New Statesman
    “Revolutionary BBC comedy.”

April 22, 2018 4:00am ET by BBC Three  

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