Ten Percent | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Based on | Call My Agent! by Fanny Herrero |
Developed by | John Morton |
Written by |
|
Directed by |
|
Creative director | Candida Otton |
Starring | |
Composer | Rael Jones |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Production | |
Producer | Sarah Curtis |
Cinematography | Simon Tindall |
Editor | Robin Hill |
Production companies | |
Original release | |
Network | Amazon Prime Video |
Release | 28 April 2022 |
Ten Percent is a British comedy television series based on the French series Call My Agent! (titled Dix pour cent in French, which translates as 'ten per cent'); both are set in talent agencies that see turbulence when their founder unexpectedly dies. The London talent agency, Nightingale Hart, has agents Jonathan Nightingale (Jack Davenport), Rebecca Fox (Lydia Leonard), Stella Hart (Maggie Steed), and Dan Bala (Prasanna Puwanarajah), interact with celebrity clients, featuring many real actors portraying versions of themselves. It was originally released in select markets on Amazon Prime Video on 28 April 2022, also being shown in the United States on BBC America.
It was cancelled after one series. [1]
Misha has decided to follow her absent father, Jonathan, and grandfather, Richard, in their talent agent career, arriving at London agency Nightingale Hart just in time to be spontaneously hired as an assistant when one is fired. Shortly after Misha joins, Richard dies, and Jonathan and another agent, Stella, discover the agency is struggling financially. Jonathan also struggles to keep his family from realising who Misha really is. Meanwhile, agent Rebecca is launching a production branch of the agency and falling for Margaux, the author of the book she's set to adapt, and agent Dan tries to launch the career of their receptionist-turned-actress, Zoe – also while falling for her. Stella sorts through a different personal dilemma and supports old friend and self-sabotaging actor Simon. Misha starts to help Jonathan's son Luke become a screenwriter. They all try to handle their temperamental celebrity clients while holding off the imposition of the American company who bought the agency.
Jim Broadbent played Richard Nightingale, the agency's founder (based on Samuel), who in the series is also the father of Jonathan. Smurf the dog portrays Stella's loyal dog, named Mathias (based on Arlette's dog, Jean Gabin). The characters Simon Gould, played by McInnerny, Kirsten Furst, played by Crisp, and Kevin, played by Holden, are original creations for the British series. [2] [3]
John Morton adapted the French series Call My Agent! (Dix pour cent) for British television, after the success of his original British workplace satires Twenty Twelve and W1A , the latter of which centred on the running of the BBC and had celebrity cameos. [4] [5] Morton felt there were two directions the adaptation could have gone, portraying the agent-client relationships either cynically or affectionately; he decided he wanted to take the latter route, which also aligned best with the tone of the original series. [2]
No. overall | No. in series | Title | Original release date | Guest(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | 28 April 2022 | Kelly Macdonald |
2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | 28 April 2022 | Helena Bonham Carter and Olivia Williams |
3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | 28 April 2022 | Dominic West |
4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | 28 April 2022 | Emma Corrin and Himesh Patel |
5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | 28 April 2022 | Phoebe Dynevor |
6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | 28 April 2022 | David Oyelowo and Jessica Oyelowo |
7 | 7 | "Episode 7" | 28 April 2022 | Clémence Poésy |
8 | 8 | "Episode 8" | 28 April 2022 | David Harewood |
The series was released in select regions on Amazon Prime Video on 28 April 2022, [4] on SundanceNow and AMC+ in the United States on 29 April 2022, [6] [7] and began airing with weekly episodes on BBC America from 1 May 2022. [2]
The series was received mildly, with critics saying that, based on the first two episodes, [8] it is generally pleasant but is almost a direct copy of the original French series. [2] [4] [9]
Rachel Cooke of the New Statesman thought the celebrity cameos were unimpressive, using "cut-price" actors compared to the original, which lessened the impact of the setting, but said she would personally continue watching. [10] Camilla Long for The Times was instead pleased with the cameos, but found its release on subscription streaming platform Amazon off-putting and the series lacking in entertainment value. [11]
Variety 's Scott Bryan, and Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian found it enjoyable but too faithful to the original French series to be necessary: Bryan did think the dialogue was particularly good, [9] and Nicholson said that "it also shares some of the original's jaunty spirit and bounce", though felt it was not as funny as it should have been. She suggested that viewers who have not seen the original would enjoy it more, as the direct similarities made it more of a re-watch. [4] Conversely, Sophie Gilbert for The Atlantic found it charming and, though much alike the original, to have a distinctly British sensibility that gave it enough difference to enjoy as a product of its own, adding that its most resonant elements are those Morton created for the series, like Simon and the Americans, with no basis in the French show. [2] NME's Andrew Trendell agreed, saying it kept the tone of Call My Agent! and added "a little more heart and piercing British humour". [12]
Roslyn Sulcas of The New York Times noted that the first episode followed the French series beat-for-beat but, after the set-up, "the show's plotlines gradually begin to differ, and to cater more closely to the specific preoccupations of the British cultural industry". [13]
Hart to Hart is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset lifestyle and regularly find themselves working as unpaid detectives in order to solve crimes in which they become embroiled. The series was created by novelist and television writer Sidney Sheldon. The series ended after five seasons on May 22, 1984, but was followed by eight made-for-television movies, from 1993 to 1996.
Sheila Heti is a Canadian writer.
Lisa Hunter is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Gemma Atkinson. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 23 April 2001. The character is noted for her storylines including bullying and self-harming. After her exit from Hollyoaks, Atkinson reprised the role twice in two spin-off series. In November 2021, it was announced that Atkinson would be returning to Hollyoaks for a guest appearance, with her return airing in March 2022.
Pacific Drive is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow in association with New World International for the Nine Network which screened for 390 episodes from 29 January 1996 to December 1997, when it concluded it was show in reruns being in a late night timeslot for years. It was also repeated for a daytime slot on Nine while they lobbied (unsuccessfully) to the Australian Broadcasting Authority for a daytime drama to count towards their local drama quota points.
Zoe Tate is a fictional character from the British soap opera Emmerdale, played by Leah Bracknell. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 12 December 1989. Zoe was involved in many major storylines during her time on the soap, including the deaths of her father Frank and brother Chris, the betrayal and departure of her stepmother Kim, coming out as lesbian and a battle with schizophrenia. Zoe became the first lesbian character in a British soap opera when she came out in 1993. She departed on 22 September 2005.
Maggie Steed is an English actress and comedian.
Confessions of a Shopaholic is a 2009 American romantic comedy film based on the first two entries in the Shopaholic series of novels by Sophie Kinsella. Directed by P. J. Hogan, the film stars Isla Fisher as the shopaholic journalist and Hugh Dancy as her boss.
The eighteenth series of the British medical drama television series Casualty began airing on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2003, and concluded on 28 August 2004. The series consists of 46 episodes, which focus on the professional and personal lives of medical and ancillary staff at the emergency department (ED) of the fictional Holby City Hospital. Foz Allen serves as the series producer, while Mal Young and Mervyn Watson act as the executive producers of the series. Twelve regular cast members reprised their roles from the previous series and six actors joined the cast during the series. Original cast member Julia Watson, who portrays Baz Wilder, also returned.
Margaux Williamson is a Canadian painter, filmmaker, and writer based out of Toronto. Williamson’s paintings are meant to be understood in part as "a philosophical investigation of the landscape around her, as well as dedicated rigour and formal exploration into the development and possibilities of painting as a medium". Through her work she has created a highly personal visual language which she uses to explore themes of subjecthood, storytelling, life, death, aging and tension. Although dealing with dark and heavy themes, Williamson's works are ultimately hopeful, exploring the possibility of light in darkness. Williamson's works are often intertextual with her references ranging from popular culture to objects she finds lying around her studio. In her work she is unafraid to reference and draw on art history, specifically finding inspiration from artists such as "Goya, Manet, Duchamp, Luc Tuymans and Philip Guston over the years".
Diane Morgan is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has portrayed Philomena Cunk on the review programme Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe (2013–2020) and in the mockumentary series Cunk on Britain (2018) and Cunk on Earth (2022). She also played Liz on the BBC Two sitcom Motherland (2016–2022) and Kath in the Netflix dark comedy series After Life (2019–2022), as well as writing and starring in the BBC Two comedy series Mandy (2019–present).
Mallory Jansen is an Australian actress and model.
Call My Agent! is a French comedy-drama television series that premiered on France 2 on 14 October 2015. The series depicts talent agents at the fictional agency ASK and their relationships with their actor clients, who are real, mainly French, celebrities playing themselves. It won Best Comedy Series at the 49th International Emmy Awards.
National Treasure is a four-part 2016 British television drama by Channel 4, written by Jack Thorne. It stars Robbie Coltrane as Paul Finchley, a once successful comedian of the 1980s and early 1990s, now hosting a television quiz show. He is accused of raping several young women in the early 1990s. Julie Walters plays his wife Marie and Andrea Riseborough plays his daughter Dee.
The Banana Splits Movie is a 2019 American comedy horror film directed by Danishka Esterhazy from a screenplay written by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas. It serves as a horror reimagining of Hanna-Barbera's 1968 children's television series The Banana Splits, and stars Dani Kind, Steve Lund, Celina Martin, Finlay Wotjak-Hissong, Sara Canning, Romeo Carere, and Maria Nash, with Eric Bauza as the voice of the Banana Splits. It follows a family who try to survive during a live-on-tape of the series when the titular characters start a killing spree around the filming studio upon learning of the show's upcoming cancellation.
The Man from Toronto is a 2022 American action comedy film directed by Patrick Hughes. The film stars Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson, Kaley Cuoco, Jasmine Mathews, Lela Loren, Pierson Fodé, Jencarlos Canela, and Ellen Barkin.
The Mother is a 2023 American action thriller film directed by Niki Caro with a screenplay by Misha Green, Andrea Berloff and Peter Craig, from a story by Green. The film stars Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick, Paul Raci, and Gael García Bernal. It is about a former US army operative (Lopez) who partners with an FBI agent to rescue her teenage daughter after she is kidnapped by criminals. The Mother was released by Netflix on May 12, 2023.
Ella Road is a British screenwriter, playwright and actor. She is best known for her stage-play The Phlebotomist.
Rebecca Humphries is a British actress and writer.