The Long Song (TV series)

Last updated

The Long Song
GenreHistorical drama
Created by Andrea Levy
Based on The Long Song by Andrea Levy
Screenplay by Sarah Williams
Directed by Mahalia Belo
Starring Tamara Lawrance
Hayley Atwell
Jack Lowden
Jordan Bolger
Sharon Duncan-Brewster
Gordon Brown
Ayesha Antoine
Leo Bill
Lenny Henry
Madeleine Mantock
ComposerJonathan Rhys Hill
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes3
Production
ProducerRoopesh Parekh
Production location Dominican Republic [1]
Production company Heyday Television
Original release
Network BBC One
Release18 December 2018 (2018-12-18) 
2018 (2018)

The Long Song is a three-part BBC television serial, which is an adaptation of Andrea Levy's 2010 historical novel of the same name.

Contents

Produced by Heyday Television, its three episodes were adapted by Sarah Williams and directed by Mahalia Belo. It premiered on BBC One on 18 December 2018 and aired in the US on PBS on January 31, 2021 as part of the network's long-running series Masterpiece .

Synopsis

The story is set in early-nineteenth-century colonial Jamaica, focusing on the final years of slavery on the island, including the Christmas Rebellion of 1831, and the transition to freedom that took place after its abolition in 1833. It follows the life of July (Tamara Lawrance), an enslaved woman on a sugarcane plantation. The adaptation explores many of the novel's themes, including colonialism, slavery, racism, violence and love.

Cast

Tamara Lawrance plays July, the series' main character. Hayley Atwell plays Caroline Mortimer, the owner of the plantation, who eventually marries an idealistic overseer, Robert Goodwin (Jack Lowden). The cast also included Jordan Bolger, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Gordon Brown, Ayesha Antoine, Leo Bill, Lenny Henry, and Madeleine Mantock in supporting roles. [2] [3]

Reviews

It received generally favourable reviews from critics. The Guardian 's Lucy Mangan awarded it four stars out of five, calling it "a beautiful, moving, horrifying adaption of [July's] unsimple tale, that honours the source and its subject." [4] The Independent offered similar praise in a four-out-of-five-star review, which called it a "moving reminder of the cruelty of slavery." [5] Stuart McGurk in GQ praised the acting, characterisation and story, but found the narration distracting and unnecessary. [6] For a review in The Radio Times , Eleanor Bley Griffiths concluded that "With wonderful acting from Lawrance and Atwell, a brilliant story from Andrea Levy, and sensitive screenwriting from Sarah Williams, this drama may be airing right at the end of the year—but it truly deserves a spot on the list of best dramas of 2018." [7]

Related Research Articles

Andrea Levy was an English author best known for the novels Small Island (2004) and The Long Song (2010). She was born in London to Jamaican parents, and her work explores topics related to British Jamaicans and how they negotiate racial, cultural and national identities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayley Atwell</span> British and American actress (born 1982)

Hayley Elizabeth Atwell is a British and American actress. After appearing in various West End productions, Atwell gained popularity for her roles in period dramas, appearing in the films Brideshead Revisited (2008), The Duchess (2008) and the miniseries The Pillars of the Earth (2010); for the latter two, she was nominated for a British Independent Film Award and a Golden Globe Award respectively.

Doña Croll is a Jamaican-born British actress. She is best known for her roles in soap operas, playing Pearl McHugh in Channel 5's Family Affairs, Vera Corrigan in Doctors, and Emerald Fox in EastEnders, both on the BBC. She also played the regular role of nurse Adele Beckford in series 8 of Casualty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Ritter</span> English actor (1966–2021)

Simon Paul Adams, known professionally as Paul Ritter, was an English actor. He had roles in films including Son of Rambow (2007), Quantum of Solace (2008), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), The Eagle (2011), and Operation Mincemeat (2021), as well as television programmes including Friday Night Dinner (2011–2020), Vera (2011–2013), The Hollow Crown (2012), The Last Kingdom (2015), Chernobyl (2019), Belgravia (2020) and Resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Lowden</span> Scottish actor (born 1990)

Jack Andrew Lowden is a Scottish actor. Following a four-year stage career, his first major international onscreen success was in the 2016 BBC miniseries War & Peace, which led to starring roles in feature films.

Sarah Williams is a British producer and screenwriter perhaps best known for writing the scripts to the 2005 television film Wallis & Edward and co-writing the 2007 feature film Becoming Jane. For her work adapting the novels Poppy Shakespeare and Small Island for television, Williams received two Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award nominations.

<i>The Long Song</i> 2010 novel by Andrea Levy

The Long Song is a historical novel by Andrea Levy published in 2010 that was the recipient of the Walter Scott Prize. It was Levy's fifth and final novel, following the 2004 publication of Small Island. In December 2018, a three-part television adaptation of the same name was broadcast on BBC One; The Long Song was aired on PBS in February 2021.

<i>The Cry</i> (2018 TV series) 2018 drama series

The Cry is a 2018 mystery psychological drama television series written by Jacquelin Perske and adapted from the 2013 novel of the same name by Helen FitzGerald, which was broadcast on the ABC in Australia and BBC One in the UK. The series stars Jenna Coleman as Joanna Lyndsay, a schoolteacher whose four-month-old baby Noah disappears while she and her fiancé, Alistair, are visiting family in Australia. The series was directed by Glendyn Ivin and produced by Synchronicity Films.

<i>The Trial of Christine Keeler</i> 2019 BBC TV historical drama series

The Trial of Christine Keeler is a British television series based on the chain of events surrounding the Profumo affair in the 1960s. The six-part series premiered on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2019. The series was adapted by screenwriter Amanda Coe and stars Sophie Cookson, James Norton, Ellie Bamber, Ben Miles, Visar Vishka, Emilia Fox, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Anthony Welsh.

Tamara Naomi Lawrance is a British actress. She is known for her performances as Prince Harry's republican girlfriend in the 2017 BBC television film King Charles III, and as Viola in the 2017 production of Twelfth Night at the National Theatre cinecast internationally on NT Live. In 2018 she received the second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for this performance as Viola.

<i>The Bisexual</i> 2018 British television series

The Bisexual is a comedy-drama television series created by Desiree Akhavan and Rowan Riley and starring Akhavan, Maxine Peake, and Brian Gleeson. The series, a co-production between British television network Channel 4 and American streaming service Hulu, debuted on 10 October 2018 in the United Kingdom and on 16 November 2018 in the United States.

<i>The Miniaturist</i> (TV series) 2017 British TV series or programme

The Miniaturist is a 2017 BBC television miniseries adaptation of the debut novel of the same name by Jessie Burton. The series was directed by Guillem Morales and stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Romola Garai and Alex Hassell and first aired in two parts from 26–27 December 2017 on BBC One. In the United States, it aired in three parts from 9–27 September 2018 on PBS's Masterpiece.

Danny Dyer's Right Royal Family is a two-part BBC One historical television documentary hosted by actor Danny Dyer, who explores the lives of his aristocratic ancestors and how they lived. The series aired in January 2019.

<i>The Pale Horse</i> (TV series) 2020 UK television series

The Pale Horse is a British mystery television miniseries broadcast as two episodes in 2020. Written by Sarah Phelps, the serial is loosely based on Agatha Christie's novel of the same name. It is Phelps' fifth adaptation of a Christie work for the BBC. Directed by Leonora Lonsdale, it stars Rufus Sewell and Kaya Scodelario.

The Salisbury Poisonings is a fact-based drama television series, starring Anne-Marie Duff, Rafe Spall and Annabel Scholey which portrays the 2018 Novichok poisonings and decontamination crisis in Salisbury, England, and the subsequent Amesbury poisonings. The series was broadcast in three parts on BBC One in June 2020, and has been shown in four parts elsewhere. It was created by Adam Patterson and Declan Lawn for Dancing Ledge Productions.

The Pursuit of Love is a British romantic drama television miniseries written and directed by Emily Mortimer. It is based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Nancy Mitford, which had previously been adapted as Love in a Cold Climate (1980) and Love in a Cold Climate (2001). It premiered on 9 May 2021 on BBC One.

Finding Alice is a British television comedy-drama produced by RED Production Company in association with Bright Pictures TV, Buddy Club Productions and Genial Productions. It premiered on ITV in the UK on 17 January 2021.

Taj Atwal is a British actress from Norwich, who has appeared in Stella, In the Club, Line of Duty, TV drama The Syndicate and comedy Hullraisers.

<i>Time</i> (2021 TV series) British TV series

Time is a British anthology drama television series created and co-written by Jimmy McGovern, with Helen Black. Each series presents a new scenario following the lives of inmates and staff in His Majesty's Prison Service. Its first series, starring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 June 2021 and concluded on 20 June 2021. Its second series, starring Jodie Whittaker, Tamara Lawrance and Bella Ramsey, was broadcast, also on BBC One, on 29 October 2023 and concluded on 12 November 2023.

Mr Loverman is a British TV series starring Lennie James based on the novel of the same name by Bernardine Evaristo.

References

  1. Medd, James (16 December 2018). "Where was 'The Long Song' filmed?". Condé Nast . Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  2. "The Long Song". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  3. "The Long Song: Character descriptions". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  4. Mangan, Lucy (18 December 2018). "The Long Song review - a sharp, painful look at the last days of slavery". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  5. O'Grady, Sean (18 December 2018). "The Long Song review: A moving reminder of the cruelty of slavery" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  6. McGurk, Stuart (18 December 2018). "The Long Song: Good drama, shame about the voiceover". GQ. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  7. Griffiths, Eleanor Bley (20 December 2018). "Why you should watch hilarious and heartbreaking BBC1 slavery drama The Long Song". The Radio Times. Retrieved 1 February 2019.