In the Long Run

Last updated

In the Long Run
Genre Comedy drama
Created by
Written by
Directed by
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series3
No. of episodes19
Production
Producers
Original release
Network Sky One
Release29 March 2018 (2018-03-29) 
27 August 2020 (2020-08-27)

In the Long Run is a British comedy-drama television series created by Idris Elba which premiered on Sky One on 29 March 2018. Loosely based on Elba’s childhood, the show is set in the 1980s on the gritty, fictitious Eastbridge Estate in East London. The series follows the Easmon family; Walter (Elba), his wife Agnes (Madeline Appiah) and their 13-year-old British-born son Kobna (Sammy Kamara) who have settled in England after having arrived from Sierra Leone. [2]

Contents

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest stars

Episodes

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 629 March 2018 (2018-03-29)26 April 2018 (2018-04-26)
2 6 (+1)16 October 2019 (2019-10-16)20 November 2019 (2019-11-20)
20 December 2019 (2019-12-20)(special)
3 623 July 2020 (2020-07-23)27 August 2020 (2020-08-27)

Series 1 (2018)

#TitleOriginal air date
1"Episode 1"29 March 2018 (2018-03-29)
Walter receives a letter from his mother telling him his fun-loving younger brother Valentine is coming from Sierra Leone to live with him. Agnes worries that Valentine will be a bad influence on the family.
2"Episode 2"29 March 2018 (2018-03-29)
Instead of just taking occasional odd jobs, Walter arranges an interview for Valentine at the car parts factory where he works. A simply cash-in-hand electrical job lands Bagpipes in hot water when it turns out to be a brothel and is spotted leaving by wife Kirsty.
3"Episode 3"5 April 2018 (2018-04-05)
Walter's wife Agnes rallies the neighbours to provide a decent send-off for a lonely pensioner who died in his flat. Bagpipes coaches Valentine after he signs up for open trials at Leyton Orient football club.
4"Episode 4"12 April 2018 (2018-04-12)
Walter and Agnes goddaughter Cynthia arrives at the Easmons pleading for help with her engagement party. Cynthia's father, Uncle Akie, disapproves of the union between her and Kevin, her white Glaswegian fiance. Walter and Agnes agree to help smooth things over between the two families.
5"Episode 5"19 April 2018 (2018-04-19)
Kirsty tries to revive her flagging sex life with Bagpipes on their romantic trip away, to Essex in a motorhome. Valentine is dumped by Adelaide, a British-born woman of Sierra Leone heritage he met at the engagement party. Meanwhile, Agnes starts taking driving lessons with Walter but quickly realises it is mistake. Frustrated, she convinces a heartbroken Valentine to take over as her instructor, and uses the chance to offer some relationship advice.
6"Episode 6"26 April 2018 (2018-04-26)
Walter and Bagpipes become anxious when they hear rumours of job cuts at the factory. But when young Kobna overhears Walter considering moving back to Sierra Leone, he resorts to running away. A heartbroken Valentine lands a delivery job.

Series 2 (2019)

#TitleOriginal air date
1"Episode 7"16 October 2019 (2019-10-16)
Walter has been elected union representative at the factory and tasked with the difficult task of making job cuts. Kirsty is shocked when Melissa's biological father, Leon, turns up. Valentine finally moves out of the Easmons' home, but finds bachelor life is not what he thought it would be.
2"Episode 8"23 October 2019 (2019-10-23)
Feeling threatened by Leon's arrival, Bagpipes plans to run him out of town. When Valentine gets ripped buying a van from crooked garage owner Don, Agnes and Kobna are forced to intervene. The workers at Walter's and Bagpipes' factory go on strike.
3"Episode 9"30 October 2019 (2019-10-30)
With money tight due to strike at the factory, Agnes manages to get a job at the council. Bagpipes joins Valentine on a road trip delivering paper in Southend. Kobna helps the Easmon household income by getting a Saturday job at Don's garage.
4"Episode 10"6 November 2019 (2019-11-06)
Walter is struggles to resolve the strike at the factory. With finances tight, Kirsty gets a job at the local bookies. Leon agrees to start to share in his responsibilities with Melissa. Kobna falls in love for the first time - with Don's daughter Kerry.
5"Episode 11"13 November 2019 (2019-11-13)

Valentine DJs Don's daughter Kerry's birthday party and gives Kobna advice on how to impress her. Valentine confronts Don after overhearing an insensitive nickname he uses for Kobna at work. Leon decides to let Bagpipes adopt Melissa.

First appearance of Kadeem Ramsay as John "Barney"
6"Episode 12"20 November 2019 (2019-11-20)
Bagpipes persuades Walter to come along with him and help smooth things over when they visit his estranged parents. Kirsty is busy organizing Melissa's adoption party at the Milton Arms.
7"X-Mas Special"20 December 2019 (2019-12-20)
Walter, Christmas obsessed, throws the annual Easmon party together with Agnes and Bagpipes, only for it to spiral into chaos. Kobna and Dean try to earn some extra money by carol singing – despite not being actually being able to sing – and Valentine gets a job as a Christmas elf to make some extra cash.

Series 3 (2020)

#TitleOriginal air date
1"Episode 14"23 July 2020 (2020-07-23)
Walter's mother comes to visit from Sierra Leone. Valentine is worried that he will lose his place as Mama's favourite to her grandson Kobna. After a panic attack, Bagpipes assesses the fragility of life. Meanwhile, Agnes gets involved in the plans to improve the estate.
2"Episode 15"30 July 2020 (2020-07-30)
Mama tries to find a nice lady for her lothario grandson Valentine. Agnes and Kirsty bump into a group of men who are planning to redevelop the estate. This leads to Kirsty to spot an opportunity for her catering business at the Milton Arms.
3"Episode 16"6 August 2020 (2020-08-06)
Hearing that their boss Rajesh is having trouble getting his wife pregnant, Bagpipes and Walter hatch a plan to break Rajesh out of work. Valentine bumps into Dawn and uses all his charm to woo her. Meanwhile, at an overnight work conference Agnes discovers Charles Lander's plans for the estate.
4"Episode 17"13 August 2020 (2020-08-13)
Charles and Agnes join forces to present a new vision of the Eastbridge estate to the residents. Valentine's night DJing a gig does end well after he offends Dawn and her friend Andy. Kobna's plan to impress his friends with his new car end spectacularly badly.
5"Episode 18"20 August 2020 (2020-08-20)
Kirsty gets her first posh catering job but Agnes is reluctant to help when she realizes it's for a friend of her arch-rival - Charles Lander. Walter and Rajesh help Bagpipes get over his fear of death during a day out fishing. Valentine must use all his willpower to avoid the advances of an attractive lady at a boat party.
6"Episode 19"27 August 2020 (2020-08-27)
Agnes and Kirsty fall out over the redevelopment of the estate. Valentine invites Walter and Agnes to a meal at his flat to introduce Dawn. Kobna comes clean about the car accident, and how he is being exploited by Uncle Akie. When the vote for the redevelopment of the estate ends in a tie, Walter realises he forgot to vote.

Production

Development

In the Long Run is filmed at various locations across London including Kingston, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth. The housing estate scenes are filmed at Cambridge Road and Czar Street Estates in Lewisham and Kingston upon Thames, respectively. [3] The Milton Arms pub interior scenes are shot at the Peckham Liberal Club, with exterior shots filmed at the Wheelshunters Club in Hornshay Street, Southwark. [4] [5]

The singing boy in series 1, known only as Singing Boy in the show’s credits, is young Eritrean-British singing sensation Deno Michael Mebrahitu aka Deno. The singer has had over 46 million listens on Spotify. [6] 2012's Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist Malakai Paul is the current Singing Boy, after taking over from Deno from series 2. [7]

Reception

The Guardian described In the Long Run as "less likely to prompt belly laughs than instil a warm glow, and has the unmistakable feel of a comedy still finding its feet. At its heart, however, it's a joyful portrait of community and camaraderie, of home and belonging, of dreams and joie de vivre." [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shere Khan</span> Fictional tiger in "The Jungle Book"

Shere Khan is a fictional Bengal tiger in Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book and its adaptations, in which he is often portrayed as the main antagonist, itself an exaggeration of his role in the original stories, which he only appears in a third of. The name roughly translates as tiger ruler, with shere being the Persian word for 'tiger'), and khan being used as a title of distinction among the Turco-Mongol peoples, usually meaning chief or ruler. According to The Kipling Society, the name "show[s] that he is the chief among tigers". Shere Khan is named after Afghan Emperor Sher Shah Suri.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idris Elba</span> English actor (born 1972)

Idrissa Akuna Elba is an English actor, rapper, singer, and DJ. He has received a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three BAFTA Awards and six Emmy Awards. He was named in the Time 100 list of the Most Influential People in the World in 2016. His films have grossed over $9.8 billion at the global box office, making him one of the top 20 highest-grossing actors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kellie Shirley</span> British actress

Kelly Jane Shirley, known professionally as Kellie Shirley is an English actress who works in film, television, theatre, and radio. She hails from Croydon via a large Northern Irish family and started her career by training at The BRIT School. As well as acting, she has also co-presented programmes for BBC2 and Channel 5 and written all 6 episodes of Spirit Studios, podcast drama: ROAR available on Apple. As an actress, she is probably best known for her roles as Kirsty De La Croix in Sky One returning, comedy-series In the Long Run created by Idris Elba as well as the role of Carly Wicks in the BBC continuing drama EastEnders and as Kym in The Office Christmas Specials. She can currently be seen playing new series regular Sophia Peters, who is a psych liaison nurse in the drama series, Casualty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angie Le Mar</span> British comedian

Angie Le Mar is a British comedian, actor, writer, director, presenter and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aml Ameen</span> British actor

Aml Ameen is a British actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his roles as Trevor (Trife) in Kidulthood (2006), Malcolm Davies in Harry's Law, Lewis Hardy in the ITV television series The Bill, Capheus in the first season of the Netflix original series Sense8, and Alby in The Maze Runner (2014). His directorial debut was the 2021 romantic comedy Boxing Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Akingbola</span> British-Nigerian TV, theatre and film actor (born 1978)

James Olatokunbo Akingbola is a Nigerian-British television, theatre and film actor. He rose to fame playing PC Neil Parker in Holby Blue, and subsequently Antoine Malick in its parent series Holby City. He has subsequently appeared as Koji in the first series of the sitcom Kate & Koji, Mick in Rev., Valentine Easmon in In the Long Run, Geoffrey Thompson in Bel-Air and DC Steve Bradshaw in The Tower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hero Fiennes Tiffin</span> British actor, model and producer (born 1997)

Hero Beauregard Faulkner Fiennes Tiffin is an English actor, model and film producer. He is most known for his starring roles as Hardin Scott in the After film series and for his portrayal of a young Tom Riddle, in the film Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

<i>Luther</i> (TV series) British crime drama television series

Luther is a British psychological crime thriller television series starring Idris Elba as DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson as Alice Morgan, written by Neil Cross. The detective Luther must make cases against criminals while the murderer Morgan has a complicated relationship with him. The first series is composed of six episodes which ran in May and June 2010. A second series of four episodes aired on BBC One in June and July 2011, and a third was commissioned in 2012 composed of four episodes which aired in July 2013. A two-episode fourth series was broadcast in December 2015, and a fifth series of four episodes premiered on 1 January 2019. BBC Studios handled distribution for the TV series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Maskell</span> English actor, writer and director

Neil Maskell is an English actor, writer and director who is known for his appearances in British crime and horror films. His credits include Nil by Mouth (1997), The Football Factory (2004), Rise of the Footsoldier (2007), Doghouse (2009), Bonded by Blood (2010), Kill List (2011), Wild Bill (2011), St George's Day and Piggy, The Great Train Robbery (2013), Raised by Wolves (2015), The Mummy (2017), King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017), Peaky Blinders (2019), Bull (2021), Litvinenko (2022), and Hijack (2023).

<i>Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom</i> 2013 film by Justin Chadwick

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a 2013 biographical film directed by Justin Chadwick from a script written by William Nicholson and starring Idris Elba and Naomie Harris. The film is based on the 1994 autobiographical book Long Walk to Freedom by anti-apartheid revolutionary and former South African President Nelson Mandela.

<i>The Dark Tower</i> (2017 film) 2017 American film by Nikolaj Arcel

The Dark Tower is a 2017 American neo-Western science fantasy film directed and co-written by Nikolaj Arcel. Loosely based on Stephen King's novel series of the same name, the film stars Idris Elba as Roland Deschain, a gunslinger on a quest to protect the Dark Tower—a mythical structure which supports all realities—while Matthew McConaughey plays his nemesis Walter Padick, and Tom Taylor stars as Jake Chambers, a boy who becomes Roland's apprentice.

Cecile Emeke is a British filmmaker, writer and artist born in London of Jamaican and English descent. She is known for the online documentary series Strolling, as well as the short film turned web series Ackee & Saltfish. Emeke's work has been featured by press worldwide and she was selected as one of Broadcast magazine's 2015 Hot Shots.

Ghulam Dustgir Khan, popularly known as Guz Khan, is a British comedian and actor. His TV appearances include Man Like Mobeen, Taskmaster, Our Flag Means Death and stand-up performances on Live at the Apollo.

The National Film Awards UK are presented in an annual award show hosted by the National Film Academy (NFA). As of 2015, it has taken place in Central London at the Porchester Hall. The most recent 9th National Film Awards UK was held on 4 July 2023.

Baboucarr Alieu Ceesay is a British actor. He is known for his role in Guerrilla. He also starred as the main antagonist Pilgrim in season 3 of AMC TV series Into the Badlands.

<i>Turn Up Charlie</i> British TV series or programme

Turn Up Charlie is a British comedy television series created by Idris Elba and Gary Reich. The series stars Elba as a disc jockey who reluctantly becomes the nanny for his famous friend's daughter; Piper Perabo, JJ Feild and Frankie Hervey also star. The series premiered on 15 March 2019 on Netflix. In April 2020, the series was cancelled after one season.

Deno Michael Mebrahtu, known mononymously as Deno, is a British singer, songwriter, rapper and actor from London. His parents are originally from Eritrea, and he was raised in South London. He came to the forefront of London's afro-wave music scene beginning in 2018 with a number of viral music videos and hit songs.

The 2020 British Academy Television Awards were held on 31 July 2020, hosted by British director and comic actor Richard Ayoade.

References

  1. "In The Long Run - Sky1 Sitcom - British Comedy Guide". www.comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  2. "In The Long Run set to return to Sky One on 22 July" . Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  3. "Kingston and Lewisham plays 80s Hackney in Idris Elba's new series". 24 March 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  4. "Malaki Paul". British Comedy Guide . Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  5. "South London stars in Idris Elba's '80s TV comedy In the Long Run" . Retrieved 12 August 2020.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. "IN THE LONG RUN: WHO IS SINGING BOY? WILL HE BE BACK IN SEASON 2?". 17 October 2019. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  7. "BT TV talks to Kellie Shirley about returning to the 1980s for Idris Elba's hit comedy In The Long Run on Sky One" . Retrieved 12 August 2020.
  8. "In the Long Run: Idris Elba's joyful portrait of community in 1980s Hackney". The Guardian. 24 March 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2020.