The Casual Vacancy (miniseries)
{{Short description|TV miniseries}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Infobox television
| image = DVD_cover_for_The_Casual_Vacancy.jpg
| caption = DVD cover
| alt_name =
| genre = Drama
| writer = Sarah Phelps{{cite web |url=http://www.pagetopremiere.com/2014/04/bbc-and-hbo-adapting-jk-rowlings-the-casual-vacancy-for-tv-casting-calls-begin/ |title=BBC And HBO Adapting JK Rowling's 'The Casual Vacancy' For TV; Casting Calls Begin |publisher=Page to Premiere |date=8 April 2014 |access-date=23 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412052412/http://www.pagetopremiere.com/2014/04/bbc-and-hbo-adapting-jk-rowlings-the-casual-vacancy-for-tv-casting-calls-begin/ |archive-date=12 April 2014 }}
| based_on = The Casual Vacancy
by J. K. Rowling
| director = Jonny Campbell
| creative_director =
| starring = Monica Dolan
Michael Gambon
Keeley Hawes
Rufus Jones
Rory Kinnear
Simon McBurney
Julia McKenzie
Abigail Lawrie
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| composer = Solomon Grey
| num_episodes = 3{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jk-rowling-hbo-bbc-team-698313 |title=J.K. Rowling, HBO, BBC Team for 'Casual Vacancy' Miniseries |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date= 23 April 2014|access-date=23 April 2014}}{{cite news |url= http://www.thewrap.com/hbo-co-producing-j-k-rowlings-casual-vacancy-miniseries-bbc/|title= J.K. Rowling's 'The Casual Vacancy' Miniseries Coming to HBO|date= 23 April 2014|access-date=23 April 2014|publisher= The Wrap}}
| executive_producer = Paul Trijbits
Rick Senat
Neil Blair
J. K. Rowling
| producer = Ruth Kenley-Letts
| editor = Tom Hemmings
| location =
| cinematography = Tony Slater Ling
| runtime = 182 minutes
| company = Brontë Film and Television
| channel = BBC One
| first_aired = {{Start date|2015|02|15|df=y}}
| last_aired = {{End date|2015|03|01|df=y}}
}}
The Casual Vacancy is a 2015 British miniseries based on the 2012 novel of the same title by J. K. Rowling.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-20581286|title= Rowling's Casual Vacancy to become BBC TV drama series|date= 3 December 2012|publisher= BBC}} Directed by Jonny Campbell and written by Sarah Phelps, the series premiered on 15 February 2015 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on 29 April 2015 on HBO in the United States.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvwise.co.uk/2015/01/bbc-one-sets-premiere-date-casual-vacancy/|title=BBC One Sets Premiere Date For 'The Casual Vacancy'|last=Munn|first=Patrick|date=28 January 2015|work=TV Wise|access-date=28 January 2015}}
Cast
- Rory Kinnear as Barry Fairbrother
- Emily Bevan as Mary Fairbrother{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2554946/ |title=The Casual Vacancy (TV Mini-Series 2015) |publisher=IMDb}}
- Michael Gambon as Howard Mollison
- Julia McKenzie as Shirley Mollison
- Rufus Jones as Miles Mollison{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/casual-vacancy-casting |title=Cast confirmed for BBC One adaptation of JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy |publisher=BBC |date= 6 June 2014|access-date=6 June 2014}}
- Keeley Hawes as Samantha Mollison
- Hetty Baynes as Maureen Lowe
- Abigail Lawrie as Krystal Weedon
- Keeley Forsyth as Terri Weedon
- Simon McBurney as Colin 'Cubby' Wall
- Monica Dolan as Tess Wall
- Brian Vernel as Stuart 'Fats' Wall
- Richard Glover as Simon Price
- Marie Critchley as Ruth Price
- Joe Hurst as Andrew 'Arf' Price
- Michele Austin as Kay Bawden
- Lolita Chakrabarti as Parminder Jawanda
- Silas Carson as Vikram Jawanda
- Ria Choony as Sukhvinder Jawanda
- Simona Brown as Gaia Bawden
- Julian Wadham as Aubrey Sweetlove
- Emilia Fox as Julia Sweetlove
Production
The miniseries was announced on 3 December 2012. It was commissioned from The Blair Partnership who represent J. K. Rowling. The series was produced through an independent production company operated by Neil Blair and Rick Senat (who were executive producers of the series), on behalf of The Blair Partnership. The deal was struck following discussions between Blair and BBC One Controller Danny Cohen. J. K. Rowling was to collaborate closely with the project, with the number and length of the episodes then still to be decided.
On 12 September 2013, Warner Bros. announced that it will serve as the worldwide TV distributor of the series, except in the United Kingdom.{{cite news|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130912005870/en/Warner-Bros.-Announces-Expanded-Creative-Partnership-J.K. |title=Warner Bros. Announces Expanded Creative Partnership with J.K. Rowling |publisher=Business Wire |access-date=12 September 2013}}
After a year and a half without news on the production itself, casting was announced in June 2014. Filming began in August 2014 in the Gloucestershire towns of Painswick, Bisley, Northleach and Minchinhampton, Dauntsey, and in the city of Bristol and at Archway School.{{Cite web|url=http://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/11328250.Archway_School_sets_the_stage_for_JK_Rowling_TV_drama/|title=Archway School sets the stage for JK Rowling TV drama|website=Stroud News and Journal|date=9 July 2014 |language=en|access-date=2017-10-04}}
British band Solomon Grey composed the music for the series, which heavily features tracks from their 2015 album Selected Works, along with original songs.{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2lX4L6pnzM7Ym4tPs1BNxCH/carving-out-the-music-for-the-casual-vacancy| title= Carving out the music for The Casual Vacancy| access-date=25 February 2015| publisher= BBC}}
Episodes
{{Episode table |background=#F0863A |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |viewers= |country=UK |viewersR={{cite web|url=http://www.barb.co.uk/whats-new/weekly-top-10|title=Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)|publisher=BARB}} |episodes=
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 1
|Title = Episode 1
|WrittenBy = Sarah Phelps
|DirectedBy = Jonny Campbell
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|df=yes|2015|2|15}}
|Viewers = 8.80
|ShortSummary = The village of Pagford is left in shock when a local resident dies. Pagford is seemingly an English idyll, but what lies behind the pretty facade is a community at war.
|LineColor = F0863A
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 2
|Title = Episode 2
|WrittenBy = Sarah Phelps
|DirectedBy = Jonny Campbell
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|df=yes|2015|2|22}}
|Viewers = 6.39
|ShortSummary = The parish council election approaches and Pagford is on tenterhooks awaiting the next post from 'the Ghost of Barry Fairbrother'.
|LineColor = F0863A
}}
{{Episode list
|EpisodeNumber = 3
|Title = Episode 3
|WrittenBy = Sarah Phelps
|DirectedBy = Jonny Campbell
|OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|df=yes|2015|3|1}}
|Viewers = 5.95
|ShortSummary = With the parish council election imminent, tensions rise in Pagford.
|LineColor = F0863A
}}
}}
Critical reception
The critical response to the opening episode was mostly positive. In a particularly praise-filled review for Digital Spy, Cameron McKewan described the series as having a "perfect cast with a biting script". He summarised: "It's a cracking first instalment for the three-part series with bountiful characters to take in, and the relationships not clearly defined from the outset (rewardingly so)"{{cite web|last1=K McEwan|first1=Cameron|title=The Casual Vacancy episode 1 recap: 'Perfect cast with a biting script'|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/recaps/a629067/the-casual-vacancy-episode-1-recap-perfect-cast-with-a-biting-script.html#~p4uGw8tLdhaY4m|website=Digital Spy|date=15 February 2015 |access-date=16 February 2015}} In a review for The Guardian, Stuart Jeffries also gave a positive response, whilst describing the series as "The Archers meets Benefit Street"{{cite news|last1=Jeffires|first1=Stuart|title=The Casual Vacancy review: 'The Archers meets Benefits Street'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/16/casual-vacancy-review-jk-rowling-pagford|website=The Guardian|date=16 February 2015 |access-date=16 February 2015}} Comparing the TV adaptation more positively than the novel itself, Gerard O'Donovan, in a review for The Telegraph, awarded the series opener 4 out of 5 stars. He optimistically summarised: "...the performances are uniformly good, the direction is inventive, and there's an undeniable topicality and panache to this adaptation that convinces you that just around the corner something will pull it all together and make it succeed."{{cite web|last1=O'Donovan|first1=Gerard|title=The Casual Vacancy, episode 1, review: 'undeniable panache'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/11411438/the-casual-vacancy-review.html|website=The Daily Telegraph|date=15 February 2015 |access-date=16 February 2015}} Ellen E Jones, writing for The Independent, took a similar approach with review title: "JK Rowling's story is a far better drama than it is a book"{{cite web|last1=E Jones|first1=Ellen|title=JK Rowling's story is a far better drama than it is a book|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/the-casual-vacancy-bbc-tv-review-jk-rowlings-story-is-a-far-better-drama-than-it-is-a-book-10047499.html|website=The Independent|date=16 February 2015 |publisher=Independent Print Limited|access-date=16 February 2015}}
Elsewhere, however, reception to the series opening episode was less favourable. Grace Dent of The Independent said that "it was odd to read reports that the show was attacking the middle classes and glorifying 'the noble savage'. It was glaringly clear, to me at least, from Phelps' script that while Michael Gambon's character Howard Mollison was indeed a terrible snob, we could hardly disagree that the 'feral' kids wiping bogeys down his deli window were spoiling village ambience. These were difficult notions of 'village life' – the junkies, the domestic abusers, the shark-like property developers, the upwardly mobiles, [and] the downwardly spiralling – and I applaud Rowling and Phelps for picking at them."{{cite news|last1=Dent|first1=Grace|title=Ignore the BBC-bashing pillocks: The Casual Vacancy is as entertaining as it is realistic|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/ignore-the-bbcbashing-pillocks-the-casual-vacancy-is-as-entertaining-as-it-is-realistic-10050064.html|website=The Independent|access-date=16 February 2015}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|www.solomongrey.net|Solomon Grey}} – official website
- {{BBC programme}}
- {{IMDb title|id=2554946|title=The Casual Vacancy}}
{{HBONetwork Shows}}
{{J. K. Rowling}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casual Vacancy, The}}
Category:2015 British television series debuts
Category:2015 British television series endings
Category:2010s British drama television series
Category:2010s British television miniseries
Category:BBC television dramas
Category:Television shows based on British novels
Category:British English-language television shows
Category:Television shows set in Gloucestershire
Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios