The First Team (TV series)

Last updated

The First Team
The First Team.jpg
Genre Comedy [1]
Created by
Written by
  • Damon Beesley
  • Iain Morris
Directed by
  • Damon Beesley
  • Iain Morris
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Damon Beesley
  • Caroline Leddy
  • Iain Morris
  • Gregor Sharp
  • Tom Werner
ProducerSam Pinnell
CinematographySimon Tindall
Editors
  • Charlie Fawcett
  • William Webb
Running time27–30 minutes [2]
Production companies
Original release
Network
Release28 May (2020-05-28) –
2 July 2020 (2020-07-02)

The First Team (stylised as The F1rst Team) is a British comedy television series, created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, both well known for their work on The Inbetweeners . [3] The series follows the lives of Mattie Sullivan (Jake Short), Benji Achebe (Shaquille Ali-Yebuah) and Jack Turner (Jack McMullen), who are young players of a fictional Premier League football team. [4]

Contents

Produced by BBC Studios and the creators' production company Fudge Park Productions, the sole series began broadcasting on BBC Two on 28 May 2020, consisting of six episodes, concluding on 2 July the same year. [2] The series received mixed reviews by critics. [5] [6]

Plot

Focusing on the lives of young players Mattie, Jack and Benji, the show follows the trio as they contend with the manifold issues on and off the field that are associated with modern-day football. One of the overriding themes of the show, according to Beesley, is the "fault lines, where masculinity and insecurity collide". [4]

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guest

Production

Development

The series was created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, who were notable for producing the famous E4 comedy television series The Inbetweeners . [9] The series, entitled The First Team, was reported to be focused on the lives of players in a fictional Premier League football team, similar to the format of former ITV drama television programme Footballers' Wives . [9] The programme's crew was mainly made up of former members of The Inbetweeners crew, with Beesley and Morris' self-constructed production company Fudge Park Productions collaborating with BBC Studios to produce the series. [9] [10]

Casting

In September 2019, the cast was confirmed, with Jake Short, Shaquille Ali-Yebuah and Jack McMullen set to star. [10] This was the first British production in which Short had appeared - he was previously known for his work for Disney Channel in the United States (although Short's previous Disney Channel appearances had been broadcast to viewers in the British Isles on Disney Channel UK and Ireland and Disney XD UK and Ireland respectively). [11] It was Ali-Yebuah's first lead role in both television and film. [10]

Theo Barklem-Biggs and Tamla Kari were cast in supporting roles, both having appeared in previous Beesley and Morris projects: Barklem-Biggs in The Inbetweeners Movie and Kari in both this and The Inbetweeners 2. [10] Other notable cast members included Will Arnett, Phil Wang and Neil Fitzmaurice. [10]

Filming

The series was filmed across the United Kingdom. The football stadium and training complex were filmed at Charlton Athletic Football Club's facilities: The Valley and their Sparrows Lane training complex. [12] Furthermore, a fan of the programme stated that they had witnessed the programme also being filmed in a local Charlton pub named The Rose of Denmark. [12]

When filming in Chester, England international footballer Raheem Sterling was seen at the same Costco store where the crew were filming. [12] It appeared that Sterling was a friend of Shaquille Ali-Yebuah, who portrays the role of Benji Achebe. [12] The scenes where the three main characters visit Petey Brooks's (Theo Barklem-Biggs) home was filmed at a private residence in Sevenoaks, Kent. [13] [12]

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
series		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
11"Selling Shirts" [14] Damon Beesley
Iain Morris 		Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		28 May 2020 (2020-05-28)N/A
New signing Mattie arrives. Meanwhile, club hardman Petey takes a dislike to him, and a team-mate shares an embarrassing problem.
22"New Friends" [15] Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		4 June 2020 (2020-06-04)N/A
Mattie befriends the team's star player Carlos Velez. Meanwhile, Jack plucks up courage to date a girl he met online, and Benji is approached by a mysterious Malaysian businessman.
33"Octopus Situation" [16] Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		11 June 2020 (2020-06-11)N/A
After a sexual conduct briefing, Mattie, Benji and Jack are determined to keep out of trouble, but a chance meeting with friendly Nicola leads to a very tricky situation.
44"International Break" [17] Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		18 June 2020 (2020-06-18)N/A
Petey insists that Mattie, Jack and Benji come to his BBQ. Meanwhile Jack's dad oversteps the mark with his online posts and Cesare's job as manager starts to look uncertain.
55"Pints of Sorry" [18] Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		25 June 2020 (2020-06-25)N/A
The Chairman announces a caretaker manager. After a poor start the team is forced to attend a pub night as an apology to the fans. Benji employs a social media manager.
66"Upheaval" [19] Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		Damon Beesley
Iain Morris		2 July 2020 (2020-07-02)N/A
Petey plots to bring an end to Chris Booth's run of success. Meanwhile Jack gets a girlfriend and plans a romantic surprise. Benji has had enough of his social media manager.

Reception

The show received mixed reviews after its release, being dubbed "a football sitcom fit for relegation", with 2/5 star reviews in both The Guardian [5] and The Radio Times . [6] The review from The Evening Standard , however, was more positive, asserting that despite a slow start, by episode two, the series "feels a lot more confident and funny". [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iain Morris</span> English writer

Iain Kevan Morris is an English writer. He is best known for creating The Inbetweeners with his writing partner Damon Beesley and co-hosting a show on London radio station XFM with stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Davies</span> Welsh comedian and actor

Gregory Daniel Davies is a Welsh comedian, actor, presenter, and writer. He is best known for his roles as Greg in We Are Klang, Mr Gilbert in The Inbetweeners, Ken Thompson in Cuckoo, the Taskmaster in Taskmaster and Dan Davies in Man Down, and he currently writes and stars as Paul "Wicky" Wickstead in The Cleaner. He has appeared on Mock the Week, Fast and Loose, Live at the Apollo, and Would I Lie to You?.

<i>The Inbetweeners</i> British TV teen sitcom (2008–2010)

The Inbetweeners is a British coming-of-age television teen sitcom, which originally aired on E4 from 2008 to 2010 and was created and written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris. The series follows the misadventures of suburban teenager William McKenzie and his friends Simon Cooper, Neil Sutherland and Jay Cartwright at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive. The programme involves situations of school life, uncaring school staff, friendship, male bonding, lad culture and adolescent sexuality. Despite receiving an initially lukewarm reception, it has been described a classic amongst the most successful British sitcoms of the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emily Head</span> British actress

Emily Head is an English actress. Her breakout role was as Carli D'Amato in E4's sitcom The Inbetweeners and she later played Rebecca White in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale and Colette Andrews in BBC drama, The Syndicate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Bird</span> English actor and comedian

Simon Antony Bird is an English comedian, actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Will McKenzie in the multi-award-winning E4 comedy series The Inbetweeners (2008–2010), as well as its two films, and Adam Goodman in the Channel 4 comedy series Friday Night Dinner (2011–2020).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Thomas (actor)</span> English actor and comedian (born 1983)

Joseph Owen Thomas is an English actor and comedian. He played Simon Cooper in the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners (2008–2010) and its two film adaptations, The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) and The Inbetweeners 2 (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Buckley (actor)</span> English actor and comedian

James Patrick Buckley is an English actor, musician, YouTuber and streamer. He is best known for playing Jay Cartwright in the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners, and Brian Fitzpatrick in the BBC sitcom White Gold .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Harrison</span> British actor

Blake Keenan Harrison is an English actor. He is best known for playing Neil Sutherland in the BAFTA-winning E4 comedy The Inbetweeners and more recently as 'Medium' Dan, in the ITV sitcom Kate & Koji.

Damon Beesley is an English writer and television producer, best known for his work on British comedy The Inbetweeners and New Zealand comedy Flight of the Conchords. He often works alongside his writing partner Iain Morris.

Belinda Anthea Stewart-Wilson is a British actress who played Polly McKenzie in The Inbetweeners.

The Persuasionists is a sitcom broadcast on BBC Two set in the world of advertising starring Iain Lee, Simon Farnaby, Adam Buxton, Jarred Christmas and Daisy Haggard, and featuring Natalie Gumede. It was the sitcom writing debut for Jonathan Thake, best known until then for ‘the slag of all snacks’ campaign for Pot Noodle. The Persuasionists premiered on Wednesday 13 January 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Short</span> American actor

Jacob Patrick Short is an American actor. His roles have included Fletcher Quimby in the Disney Channel sitcom A.N.T. Farm (2011–2014), Oliver in the Disney XD series Mighty Med (2013–2015) and Lab Rats: Elite Force (2016), and Mattie Sullivan on the BBC Two sitcom The First Team (2020).

<i>The Inbetweeners Movie</i> 2011 film by Ben Palmer

The Inbetweeners Movie is a 2011 British coming-of-age teen adventure comedy film based on the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners, written by series creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris and directed by Ben Palmer.

<i>The Inbetweeners</i> (American TV series)

The Inbetweeners is an American television sitcom developed by Brad Copeland for MTV. The show stars Joey Pollari, Bubba Lewis, Mark L. Young, Zack Pearlman, Alex Frnka and Brett Gelman. The show is a remake of the original UK series of the same name written and created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, who served as executive producers alongside Copeland, Aaron Kaplan and Lauren Corra. It ran on MTV from August 20, to November 5, 2012. On November 28, 2012, the series was canceled after one season, due to poor ratings and reviews.

<i>Bad Education</i> (TV series) British television sitcom

Bad Education is a British television sitcom set in a dysfunctional secondary school broadcast on BBC Three. Running from August 2012 to October 2014, the first three series were written by Jack Whitehall, who starred as Alfie Wickers, "the worst teacher ever to grace the British education system". Set at the fictional Abbey Grove School in Hertfordshire, the series follows Wickers' class of misfits, Class K, headed by eccentric headteacher Shaquille "Simon" Fraser, and Wickers' ploys to win the affection of crush Rosie Gulliver.

<i>The Inbetweeners 2</i> 2014 film directed by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris

The Inbetweeners 2, is a 2014 teen coming of age adventure sex comedy film and sequel to The Inbetweeners Movie (2011), which is based on the E4 sitcom The Inbetweeners. It was written and directed by series creators Damon Beesley and Iain Morris.

<i>White Gold</i> (TV series) 2017 British sitcom

White Gold is a British sitcom featuring a group of UPVC window salesmen in mid-1980s Corringham, Essex. It stars Ed Westwick as Vincent, the head of a double-glazed windows sales team, with former Inbetweeners cast members Joe Thomas and James Buckley. BBC Two announced that series two of the show would air on 6 March 2019. Series 1 was released internationally by Netflix on 11 August 2017. Series 2 was released internationally by Netflix on 17 May 2019.

<i>Love, Victor</i> 2020 American teen drama television series

Love, Victor is an American teen comedy drama television series created by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, inspired by and set in the same world as the 2018 film Love, Simon. The series premiered on June 17, 2020, on Hulu and ended on June 15, 2022, with 28 episodes over three seasons. It is produced by 20th Television, with Aptaker and Berger serving as showrunners.

Shaquille Ali-Yebuah is a British actor.

Theo Barklem-Biggs is a British television and film actor from London. He has performed both comedic and dramatic roles.

References

  1. ↑ "BBC Two - The First Team". BBC . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  2. 1 2 "BBC iPlayer - The First Team". BBC . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Meet the cast of BBC Two's The First Team". The Radio Times.
  4. 1 2 "The First Team: Release date, trailer, cast & how to watch new football comedy series". Goal.com.
  5. 1 2 Nicholson, Rebecca (28 May 2020). "The First Team review – a football sitcom fit for relegation". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  6. 1 2 Cremona, Patrick (28 May 2020). "The First Team review: BBC Two's football sitcom hits the post with underwhelming start". The Radio Times. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  7. ↑ "The First Team - BBC2". British Comedy Guide.
  8. ↑ "The F1rst Team (TV Series 2020 -) Full Cast & Crew". IMDb.
  9. 1 2 3 "The First Team release date, cast, trailer for BBC comedy". Radio Times. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "BBC - Casting announced for brand new BBC Two comedy The First Team - The Media Centre". BBC. 23 September 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  11. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (3 September 2015). "Lab Rats & Mighty Med Spin-off Series to Succeed the Two Comedies on Disney XD". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Where was The First Team filmed? Filming locations of BBC show explored". HITC. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "Kent Film Office".
  14. ↑ ""The F1rst Team" Selling Shirts (TV Episode 2020)". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  15. ↑ ""The F1rst Team" New Friends (TV Episode 2020)". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  16. ↑ ""The F1rst Team" Octopus Situation (TV Episode 2020)". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  17. ↑ ""The F1rst Team" International Break (TV Episode 2020)". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  18. ↑ ""The F1rst Team" Pints of Sorry (TV Episode 2020)". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  19. ↑ ""The F1rst Team" Upheaval (TV Episode 2020)". Internet Movie Database . Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  20. ↑ Butter, Susannah (28 May 2020). "The First Team review: Unlikely lads make this slow-burn sitcom not just for football fans". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.