Flowers (TV series)

Flowers is a British black comedy-drama sitcom written by Will Sharpe and starring Olivia Colman and Julian Barratt. It was commissioned by the British broadcaster Channel 4, in association with the American TV streaming service Seeso.[4] The first series premiered in the U.K. with two episodes on 25 April 2016 and was broadcast daily during the week, ending on 29 April.[5][1] In the United States, all 6 episodes were released online on 5 May 2016.[6] The series concluded with a second series following the same pattern, premiering with two episodes on 11 June 2018, in the UK, followed by an episode daily during that week.

Flowers
Genre
Created byWill Sharpe
Directed byWill Sharpe
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series2
No. of episodes12
Production
Executive producerDiederick Santer
ProducerNaomi De Pear
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release25 April 2016 (2016-04-25) –
15 June 2018 (2018-06-15)

Synopsis

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The series follows the Flowers family, consisting of depressed father and children's author Maurice (Barratt); music teacher wife Deborah (Colman), their 25-year-old twin children: inventor son Donald (Daniel Rigby) and musician daughter Amy (Sophia Di Martino); Maurice's senile mother Hattie (Leila Hoffman); and Maurice's Japanese illustrator Shun (Sharpe).

Cast

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Episodes

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Series overview

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SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
16April 25, 2016 (2016-04-25)April 29, 2016 (2016-04-29)
26June 11, 2018 (2018-06-11)June 15, 2018 (2018-06-15)

Series 1 (2016)

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No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUS air dateU.K. viewers
(millions)
11"Episode 1"Will SharpeWill Sharpe25 April 2016 (2016-04-25)5 May 20161.26[7]
22"Episode 2"Will SharpeWill Sharpe25 April 2016 (2016-04-25)5 May 20161.26[7]
33"Episode 3"Will SharpeWill Sharpe26 April 2016 (2016-04-26)5 May 20160.94[7]
44"Episode 4"Will SharpeWill Sharpe27 April 2016 (2016-04-27)5 May 2016N/A
55"Episode 5"Will SharpeWill Sharpe28 April 2016 (2016-04-28)5 May 2016N/A
66"Episode 6"Will SharpeWill Sharpe29 April 2016 (2016-04-29)5 May 20160.86[7]

Series 2 (2018)

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In May 2018, Channel 4 released a trailer for the second series of the show.[8] It began broadcasting with two episodes on 11 June 2018.

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [9]U.K. viewers
(millions)
71"Episode 1"Will SharpeWill SharpeJune 11, 2018 (2018-06-11)N/A
82"Episode 2"Will SharpeWill SharpeJune 11, 2018 (2018-06-11)N/A
93"Episode 3"Will SharpeWill SharpeJune 12, 2018 (2018-06-12)N/A
104"Episode 4"Will SharpeWill SharpeJune 13, 2018 (2018-06-13)N/A
115"Episode 5"Will SharpeWill SharpeJune 14, 2018 (2018-06-14)N/A
126"Episode 6"Will SharpeWill SharpeJune 15, 2018 (2018-06-15)N/A

The complete series 1 was released on DVD in June 2016 by Dazzler Media, while the complete second series was released on DVD in September 2018.

Reception

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Reviews for the series were positive. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes rated it 100% "fresh" based on 10 reviews.[10] The Guardian praised the series and called it "a gloriously dark sitcom about depression and rage".[3] The New York Times also reviewed it positively saying, "Flowers isn't really about any particular story. It's a portrait – a weird, Edward Gorey-like portrait of a family with loves, suspicions and insecurities, perhaps not all that different from yours, after all."[11]

Reception of the second series was similarly positive, once again garnering a 100% "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 9 reviews.[12] Writing for The Guardian, Sam Wollaston awarded four stars out of five, stating: "The second series of Will Sharpe’s deeply imaginative comedy drama has been serious and sensitive in its handling of difficult issues, and hilarious to boot."[13]

Accolades

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YearAwardCategoryNomineeResultRef.
2016
Royal Television Society Craft & Design AwardsEditing - Entertainment and ComedySelina MacArthurWon[14]
Music - Original ScoreArthur SharpeWon
Production Design - DramaLuana HansonNominated
2017
British Academy Television AwardsBest Scripted ComedyWill Sharpe, Naomi de Pear, Diederick Santer, Jane FeatherstoneNominated[15]
Diversity in Media AwardsProgramme of the YearFlowersNominated
2018
Royal Television Society Craft & Design AwardsPicture EnhancementDan ColesNominated[16]
Make Up Design - DramaSjaan GillingsNominated
2019
Ivor Novello AwardsBest Television SoundtrackArthur SharpeNominated[17]

References

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