The Commons (TV series)

Last updated

The Commons
Genre
Created byShelley Birse
Written by
  • Shelley Birse [1]
  • Matt Ford [1]
  • Michael Miller [1]
  • Matt Cameron [1]
Directed by
  • Jeffrey Walker [1]
  • Rowan Woods [1]
  • Jennifer Leacey [1]
ComposerRoger Mason [1]
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
  • Shelley Birse [2]
  • Graham Yost [2]
  • Fred Golan [2]
  • Michael Dinner [2]
  • David Maher [1]
  • David Taylor [1]
ProducerDiane Haddon [1]
CinematographyEarle Dresner [1]
Running time50mins [1]
Production company Playmaker Media [1]
Original release
Network Stan
ReleaseDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)

The Commons is an Australian television drama series on Stan about climate change and biotechnology set in the future. The eight-part, character-driven thriller looks at ethical boundaries and the place of humanity in saving the planet. [3]

Contents

Premise

Eadie, a radical and gifted neuropsychologist, is desperate for a child. In that quest, she faces intellectual property theft, disaster capitalism and eugenics.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date
1"Episode 1"Jeffrey WalkerShelley BirseDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
2"Episode 2"Jeffrey WalkerShelley BirseDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
3"Episode 3"Rowan WoodsShelley BirseDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
4"Episode 4"Rowan WoodsMatt FordDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
5"Episode 5"Jennifer LeaceyMichael MillerDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
6"Episode 6"Jennifer LeaceyMatt CameronDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
7"Episode 7"Jeffrey WalkerMichael MillerDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)
8"Episode 8"Jeffrey WalkerShelley BirseDecember 25, 2019 (2019-12-25)

Production

The Commons was written by Shelley Birse with Matt Ford, Michael Miller and Matt Cameron. It is produced by Diane Haddon for Playmaker in association with Sony Pictures Television. Jeffrey Walker is the director with Rowan Woods and Jen Leacey. [2] [4]

The series aired on Sundance Now in the United States in 2020. [5]

Awards

Birse won the 2020 John Hinde Award for Excellence in Science-Fiction Writing at the AWGIE Awards for The Commons. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth McGovern</span> American actress (born 1961)

Elizabeth Lee McGovern is an American actress. She has received many awards and nominations, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, three Golden Globe Award nominations, and one Academy Award nomination.

Carnival Film & Television Limited, trading as Carnival Films, is a British production company based in London, UK, founded in 1978. It has produced television series for all the major UK networks including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky, as well as international broadcasters including PBS, A&E, HBO and NBC. Productions include single dramas, long-running television dramas, feature films, and stage productions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Goode</span> British actor (born 1978)

Matthew William Goode is a British actor. Goode made his screen debut in 2002 with ABC's television film Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Stevens</span> British actor (born 1982)

Daniel Jonathan Stevens is an English actor. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV period drama series Downton Abbey (2010-2012).

Raquel Cassidy is an English actress. She played the role of Phyllis Baxter in the television series Downton Abbey (2013–2015), winning a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. She has reprised the role for both the 2019 feature film of the same name and its 2022 sequel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle Dockery</span> English actress (born 1981)

Michelle Suzanne Dockery is an English actress. She is best known for starring as Lady Mary Crawley in the ITV television period drama series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised her role in the films Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen Leech</span> Irish actor

Allen Leech is an Irish actor. He is widely known for his roles as Tom Branson in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey (2010–2015) and Paul Prenter in the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley Nicol (actress)</span> English actress (born 1953)

Lesley Nicol is an English actress, a three-time SAG Award winner in the Best Cast in a Drama Series category for her role as Beryl Patmore in the ITV and PBS drama TV series Downton Abbey. She also starred in the 2019 feature film adaptation of the series and its 2022 sequel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanne Froggatt</span> English actress (born 1980)

Joanne Froggatt is a British actress. From 2010 to 2015, she portrayed Anna Bates in the ITV period drama series Downton Abbey, for which she received three Emmy nominations and won the 2014 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. From 2017 to 2020, she starred as Laura Nielson in the ITV/Sundance drama series Liar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brendan Coyle</span> British and Irish actor

Brendan Coyle is a British-Irish actor. He won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for The Weir in 1999. He also played Nicholas Higgins in the miniseries North & South, Robert Timmins in the first three series of Lark Rise to Candleford, and more recently Mr Bates, the valet, in Downton Abbey, which earned him a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Roadside Attractions, LLC is an American production company and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California, founded on July 27, 2000, by Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff. Lionsgate Films bought a portion of Roadside in 2007, and has majorly served as the arthouse division for the studio since then.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuppence Middleton</span> British actress (born 1987)

Tuppence Amelia Middleton is a British actress known for her performances in film, television and theatre. In 2010, she was nominated for the London Evening Standard Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Neame</span> British television producer and executive

Gareth Elwin Neame is a British television producer and executive. As an executive at the BBC, Neame presided over the development of the dramas Spooks, State of Play, Bodies, Hustle, New Tricks and Tipping the Velvet. He was executive producer of the historical drama series Downton Abbey and originally proposed the idea to its writer and creator Julian Fellowes. He is a recipient of the Emmy, BAFTA and Golden Globe awards.

Cara Louise Theobold is an English actress. She made her debut as Ivy Stuart in the ITV period drama Downton Abbey (2012–2013). She has since starred in the BBC series The Syndicate and Together, the E4 comedy Crazyhead (2016), and the Amazon Prime thriller Absentia (2017–2020).

<i>Liar</i> (TV series) British TV drama series (2017 & 2020)

Liar is a British thriller television series created by Harry and Jack Williams, and co-produced by ITV and SundanceTV. The series stars Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Gruffudd as two people whose initial attraction leads to far-reaching consequences for them and their friends and families. The series premiered on ITV on 11 September 2017, with the first series concluding on 16 October 2017. Upon its debut, it received positive reviews, with many critics praising the performances of Froggatt and Gruffudd. The programme was renewed for a second and final series, which premiered on 2 March 2020, concluding on 6 April 2020.

<i>Downton Abbey</i> (film) 2019 historical drama film

Downton Abbey is a 2019 historical drama film directed by Michael Engler from a screenplay by Julian Fellowes, based on the television series of the same name created by Fellowes. The film continues the storyline from the series, with much of the original cast returning. Set in 1927, it depicts a royal visit to the Crawley family's stately home in Yorkshire. As royal staff members descend on Downton, an assassin has also arrived and attempts to kill the monarch.

Michael Sheasby is an Australian actor, known for his roles as Steve Carmody in the Seven Network television soap opera Home and Away (2012), as Bert Ford in the Seven Network drama series A Place to Call Home (2013–2014), as Hayden Cole in the Network Ten psychological thriller drama The Secrets She Keeps (2020) and as Walter Moody in the TVNZ drama television miniseries The Luminaries (2020) wherein viewers were entranced by the authenticity of his Scottish accent.

Angela Black is a six-part thriller series, created and written by Harry Williams and Jack Williams, which began airing on ITV on 10 October 2021, in six weekly installments. The show is internationally co-produced by Spectrum Originals and ITV in conjunction with Two Brothers Pictures.

Douglas Reith is a British actor and teacher. He is best known for his role as Lord Merton in the television series Downton Abbey (2010–2015), as well as its two follow-up films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aquarius Films</span> Australian entertainment company

Aquarius Films is an independent Australian film and TV production company based in Sydney, founded in 2008 by producers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford. TV credits include Love Me, The Unusual Suspects, The Other Guy and Savage River Film credits include Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated Lion starring Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman, produced by Aquarius in association with See-Saw Films and the psychological thriller Berlin Syndrome starring Teresa Palmer and Directed by Cate Shortland which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, Dirt Music, directed by Gregor Jordan and starring Garrett Hedlund, Kelly Macdonald and David Wenham and Wish You Were Here, starring Joel Edgerton and Teresa Palmer, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival and won two Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, including Best Screenplay, and five Film Critics Circle Awards, including Best Film.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "The Commons (2019)". Screen Australia . Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Morris, Anthony (19 December 2019). "TV: The terrifying near-future of 'The Commons' feels all too real". ArtsHub Australia. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  3. "Stan's biggest gamble yet on new series starring Downton Abbey actress". SMH. 25 June 2019.
  4. "'Downton Abbey' star Joanne Froggatt to headline Stan drama". IF. 25 June 2019.
  5. "Listings - Commons, The On Sundance Now". TheFutonCritic.com. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  6. "Dystopic thriller Kin wins top Australian sci-fi screenwriting award". Australian Writers' Guild. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  7. "Climate Fiction series The Commons takes home $10,000 prize". Australian Writers' Guild. Retrieved 23 December 2023.