Way to Go (TV series)

Last updated

Way to Go
Genre Sitcom
Created by Bob Kushell
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producer Jon Plowman
ProducerJustin Davies
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network BBC Three
Release17 January (2013-01-17) 
21 February 2013 (2013-02-21)

Way to Go is a British television sitcom created by American television writer and producer Bob Kushell. [1] It centers on three men who started an assisted suicide business. The series premiered on BBC Three on 17 January 2013. [2] In July 2013, BBC Three announced the show's cancellation after one series and six 30-minute episodes. [3] [4]

Contents

Regular cast and characters

Episodes

#TitleWriterDirectorOriginal air dateViewers
1"The Beginning of the End"Bob KushellCatherine Morshead17 January 2013 (2013-01-17) [6] TBA
Scott, fresh off being dumped by his girlfriend, helps prevent his brother Joey from being killed by money-lenders by reluctantly agreeing to an offer to assist the terminally ill man across the hall with his suicide. Scott employs his friend Cozzo to help build the machine that will do it. But Cozzo, whose prying wife Debbie is a police officer, decides that if he's going to take the risk, they should turn assisted-suicide into a business.
2"The Business End of Things"Bob KushellCatherine Morshead24 January 2013 (2013-01-24) [7] TBA
When the guys' second client deems their assisted-suicide operation amateurish, Scott drags his bumbling group to a business seminar, where things get even more unprofessional. Joey, meanwhile, still owes money to his lender and, as punishment, has to sadistically punish someone else.
3"The Be-All and End-All"Bob KushellCatherine Morshead31 January 2013 (2013-01-31) [8] TBA
Scott dances on the edge when he falls for Julia – who is his first client, Paddy's, beautiful daughter. Julia's on a search for Paddy's valuable George Best football boots, the very thing her father gave Scott as payment for assisting him with his suicide. Will Scott keep her from discovering his illegal business? Joey romances a Goth girl on the floor of a chicken restaurant, and Cozzo's wife Debbie becomes suspicious after finding his hidden stash of money. Meanwhile, the three friends make a dirty old man's final wish come true.
4"The Bitter End" Russell Arch Catherine Morshead7 February 2013 (2013-02-07) [8] TBA
When Scott's troubles in the bedroom are exacerabated by his sexual harassment at work, he plans a special night for Julia. Joey falls off the gambling wagon and Cozzo has to pretend he's Jewish in order to satisfy a client's dying needs.
5"Dead End"Brian DooleyCatherine Morshead14 February 2013 (2013-02-14) [8] TBA
Scott and Cozzo force Joey to go to a gambling addicts group, only to have it backfire on their business. Cozzo decides to get healthy for his baby. Scott, in a desperate move to get Julia back, claims he's struggling with an addiction of his own: sex.
6"The End of the Beginning" Jeff Greenstein Jeff Greenstein 21 February 2013 (2013-02-21) [8] TBA
After Julia breaks up with Scott, he decides to get away and suggests the guys splurge on a corporate retreat at a beautiful hotel in the country. While there, Cozzo faces his body issues, Scott hooks up with his ex-girlfriend and Joey meets his childhood hero, an 80s TV star (Warren Clarke) who asks Joey to help him die.

Music

The show's theme tune, "Superstar Luck Machine", was composed by Ian Masterson. [9]

Controversy

A week and a half before the show began airing, Tory MP, Mark Pritchard, publicly criticised the BBC for commissioning the program and turning the subject of assisted dying into "a matter of fun". [10]

Related Research Articles

A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television.

<i>Bottom</i> (TV series) British TV sitcom (1991–1995)

Bottom is a British sitcom created by Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson that ran for three series on BBC2 from 1991 to 1995. It focuses on Richard "Richie" Richard (Mayall) and Edward Elizabeth "Eddie" Hitler (Edmondson), two unemployed, crude, and perverted flatmates living in Hammersmith, London, who aspire to better themselves. Bottom became known for its chaotic, nihilistic humour and violent slapstick comedy. In 2004, Bottom was ranked 45th in a BBC poll for Britain's Best Sitcom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Deayton</span> English television presenter, actor, writer, and comedian (born 1956)

Gordon Angus Deayton is an English actor, writer, musician, comedian and broadcaster.

<i>Coupling</i> (British TV series) British TV series (2000–2004)

Coupling is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat that aired on BBC Two and BBC Three from 12 May 2000 to 14 June 2004. Produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC, the show centres on the dating, sexual adventures, and mishaps of six friends in their early 30s, often depicting the three women and the three men each talking among themselves about the same events, but in entirely different terms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Herring</span> English comedian and writer (born 1967)

Richard Keith Herring is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring. He is described by The British Theatre Guide as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy".

<i>My Family</i> British TV sitcom (2000–2011)

My Family is a British sitcom created and initially co-written by Fred Barron, which was produced by DLT Entertainment and Rude Boy Productions, and broadcast by BBC One for eleven series between 2000 and 2011, with Christmas specials broadcast from 2002 onwards. My Family was voted 24th in the BBC's "Britain's Best Sitcom" in 2004 and was the most watched sitcom in the United Kingdom in 2008. As of 2011, it is one of only twelve British sitcoms to pass the 100-episode mark. In April 2020, BBC One began airing the series from the first episode in an 8 pm slot on Friday nights; along with this all 11 series were made available on BBC iPlayer.

<i>Im Alan Partridge</i> British sitcom (1997–2002)

I'm Alan Partridge is a British sitcom created by Steve Coogan, Peter Baynham and Armando Iannucci. Coogan stars as Alan Partridge, a tactless and inept broadcaster who has been left by his wife and dropped by the BBC.

<i>Peep Show</i> (British TV series) British sitcom television series

Peep Show is a British television sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, and created by Andrew O'Connor, Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. The series was written by Armstrong and Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb, among others. It was broadcast on Channel 4 from 19 September 2003 to 16 December 2015. In 2010, it became the longest-running comedy in Channel 4 history in terms of years on air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Galecki</span> American actor (born 1975)

John Mark Galecki is an American actor. The accolades he has received include a Satellite Award, alongside nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and six Screen Actors Guild Awards.

<i>The Office</i> (British TV series) British mockumentary television sitcom (2001–2003)

The Office is a British mockumentary television sitcom first broadcast in the UK on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, it follows the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictional Wernham Hogg paper company. Gervais also starred in the series as the central character, David Brent.

Sally Jane Lindsay is an English actress and television presenter. She rose to fame playing Shelley Unwin in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street (2001–2006). Her other roles include Lisa Johnson in the Sky One comedy-drama Mount Pleasant (2011–2017), Alison Bailey in the ITV police procedural Scott & Bailey (2011–2016), and Kath Agnew in the BBC sitcom Still Open All Hours (2013–2019). Since 2021, she has starred as Jean White in Channel 5's The Madame Blanc Mysteries (2021–present), which she co-created and produces.

<i>Not Going Out</i> British TV sitcom

Not Going Out is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006 and is the second-longest-running British sitcom, behind Last of the Summer Wine. Series 1 starred Lee Mack, Tim Vine and Megan Dodds; as of series 13, the main cast are Mack, Sally Bretton, Deborah Grant, Geoffrey Whitehead, Hugh Dennis, and Abigail Cruttenden.

<i>Gavin & Stacey</i> British TV sitcom (2007–2019)

Gavin & Stacey is a British sitcom written by James Corden and Ruth Jones about two families: one in Billericay, Essex; one in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan. Mathew Horne and Joanna Page play the eponymous characters Gavin and Stacey, while Corden and Jones star as Smithy and Nessa. Alison Steadman and Larry Lamb star as Gavin's parents Pam and Mick, Melanie Walters plays Stacey's mother Gwen, and Rob Brydon plays Stacey's uncle Bryn.

<i>Outnumbered</i> (British TV series) British TV sitcom (2007–present)

Outnumbered is a British sitcom about the Brockman family, starring Hugh Dennis as the father, Claire Skinner as the mother and their three children played by Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche and Ramona Marquez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Whitehall</span> English comedian, actor, presenter and writer (born 1988)

Jack Peter Benedict Whitehall is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is known for his roles as JP in the Channel 4 comedy-drama series Fresh Meat (2011–2016) and as Alfie Wickers in the BBC Three sitcom Bad Education also co-writing the latter and its film adaptation, The Bad Education Movie (2015).

<i>Miranda</i> (TV series) British TV sitcom (2009–2015)

Miranda is a British television sitcom written by and starring comedian Miranda Hart. It originally aired on BBC Two from 9 November 2009, and later on BBC One. Developed from Hart's semi-autobiographical BBC Radio 2 comedy Miranda Hart's Joke Shop (2008), the situation comedy revolves around socially inept Miranda, who frequently finds herself in awkward situations. The show features actors Sarah Hadland, Tom Ellis, Patricia Hodge, Sally Phillips, James Holmes and Bo Poraj. It was taped in front of live audiences at the BBC Television Centre and The London Studios.

<i>The Wright Way</i> British TV sitcom (BBC, 2013)

The Wright Way is a British television sitcom written by Ben Elton which aired on BBC One from 23 April to 28 May 2013. It concerns a health and safety manager, his staff and his family. Widely panned by critics, it was cancelled after one series.

<i>Detectorists</i> British television series

Detectorists is a British comedy television series first broadcast on BBC Four in October 2014. It is written and directed by Mackenzie Crook, who also stars alongside Toby Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Demetriou</span> English comedian and actor (born 1987)

Jamie Demetriou is an English comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Bus Rodent in Fleabag and for creating, co-writing, and starring in Stath Lets Flats. For the latter, he won Best Male Actor in a Comedy, Best Writer of a Comedy, and Best Scripted Comedy at the 2020 BAFTA Awards.

Here We Go is a British sitcom created and written by Tom Basden for the BBC. It stars Jim Howick, Katherine Parkinson, Alison Steadman and Tori Allen-Martin alongside Basden. The pilot episode, originally titled Pandemonium, was broadcast on 30 December 2020, commissioned as part of the long-running Comedy Playhouse strand.

References

  1. "BBC Three - Way to Go, The Beginning of the End". BBC. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  2. "British TV: What a Way to Go!". HuffPost UK. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  3. "BBC Three commissions new comedy Way To Go". BBC. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  4. Jeffery, Morgan (1 July 2013). "BBC Three axes controversial sitcom 'Way To Go'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  5. "BBC Three - Way to Go". BBC. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  6. "Way To Go – Episode 1.1. The Beginning of the End". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  7. "Way To Go – Episode 1.2. The Business End of Things". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Way To Go – Episode 1.3. The Be All & End All". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  9. "Way To Go – Production Details". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
  10. Stephenson, David (6 January 2013). "Row over BBC's suicide comedy Way To Go". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 27 August 2023.