Mayflies | |
---|---|
Based on | Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan (2020 novel) |
Screenplay by | Andrea Gibb |
Directed by | Peter Mackie Burns |
Starring | |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 2 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
|
Cinematography | Alasdair Boyce |
Production company | Synchronicity Films |
Original release | |
Network | BBC One |
Release | 27 December – 28 December 2022 |
Mayflies is a two-part British television drama starring Martin Compston and Tony Curran, adapted by Andrea Gibb from Andrew O'Hagan's 2020 novel of the same name, and directed by Peter Mackie Burns.
Tully and Jimmy have been friends since 1986 after meeting in Scotland. Thirty years later, Jimmy received a heartbreaking phone call from Tully that he has terminal cancer. [1]
The BBC announced the project in August 2022. Set and filmed in Scotland, Synchronicity Films were announced to be producing for the BBC. [2] Compston described the process of adapting an acclaimed novel “terrifying” while Curran said they had tried to “honour” the book. [3]
The first episode of Mayflies aired in the UK on BBC One on Wednesday, December 28 at 9pm, the second episode the following day at the same time. [4]
The Financial Times reviewed a “thoughtful exploration of how death liberates the soon-to-be deceased, and devastates those left behind” with an “array of stirring performances”. [5] The Guardian described it as “beautifully told” whilst “Curran is deeply moving as a man who refuses to let death have the last laugh, with Ashley Jensen as his firecracker wife Anna.” [6]
Ruth Barbara Rendell, Baroness Rendell of Babergh, was an English author of thrillers and psychological murder mysteries.
David John Tennant is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the sci-fi series Doctor Who. He returned to the show as the fourteenth incarnation of the character from 2022 to 2023. His other notable screen roles include DI Alec Hardy in the crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017) and its 2014 remake, Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present) and various fictionalised versions of himself in the comedy series Staged (2020–2022).
Martin Compston is a Scottish actor and former professional footballer. He played Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in the BBC drama Line of Duty, Liam in Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, Paul Ferris in The Wee Man, Ewan Brodie in Monarch of the Glen and Dan Docherty in The Nest.
Andrew O'Hagan is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author. Three of his novels have been nominated for the Booker Prize and he has won several awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Award.
Ashley Jensen is a Scottish actress and narrator. She is best known for her role as Maggie Jacobs in Extras (2005–2007), in which she was nominated for an Emmy, Christina McKinney in Ugly Betty (2006–2010), Agatha Raisin in Agatha Raisin (2014–present) and DI Ruth Calder in Shetland (2023–present).
Anna Maxwell Martin, sometimes credited as Anna Maxwell-Martin, is a British actress. She won two British Academy Television Awards, for her portrayals of Esther Summerson in the BBC adaptation of Bleak House (2005) and N in the Channel 4 adaptation of Poppy Shakespeare (2008). She is also known for her roles as DCS Patricia Carmichael in BBC One crime drama Line of Duty (2019–2021) and Kelly Major in Code 404 (2020–present). From 2016-2022, Martin starred in the BBC comedy Motherland, for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.
Douglas “Dougie” James Henshall is a Scottish television, film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles as Professor Nick Cutter in the science fiction series Primeval (2007–2011) and Detective Inspector Jimmy Pérez in the crime drama Shetland (2013–2022).
Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in Underworld: Evolution, Doctor Who, Roots, and the Netflix historical epic Outlaw King. He appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor: The Dark World (2013) as Bor and the second season of Daredevil (2016) as Finn Cooley. In late 2022, Curran starred in the BBC drama Mayflies.
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Shetland is a Scottish crime drama series made by ITV Studios for BBC Scotland. First broadcast on BBC One on 10 March 2013, it is originally based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves and adapted by David Kane. The first seven series starred Douglas Henshall as DI Jimmy Pérez, whilst Ashley Jensen stars as DI Ruth Calder from the eighth series. The cast also includes Alison O'Donnell as DS Alison "Tosh" McIntosh and Steven Robertson as DC Sandy Wilson, as well as Lewis Howden and Anne Kidd. Henshall won the 2016 BAFTA Scotland award for Best Actor and the series received the award for Best TV Drama.
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