Henpocalypse!

Last updated

Henpocalypse!
Screenplay byCaroline Moran
Directed byJack Clough
Holly Walsh
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
  • Phil Clarke
  • Helen Williams
  • Roberto Troni
ProducerImogen Cooper
Production companies
Original release
Network BBC Two
Release15 August 2023 (2023-08-15) –
present

Henpocalypse! is a 2023 British comedy television series on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 15 August 2023.

Contents

Synopsis

Unbeknownst to a group of Birmingham women on a hen-do in remote North Wales, and their hired male stripper, an apocalypse of crab measles threatens to wipe out human civilisation. [1]

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Episodes

No.Title  [2] Directed byWritten byOriginal air date  [2] U.K. viewers
(millions)
1"Tits Up"Holly Walsh / Jack CloughCaroline Moran15 August 2023 (2023-08-15)N/A
2"Ends Of The Earth"Jack CloughCaroline Moran22 August 2023 (2023-08-22)N/A
3"Liquid Gold"Jack CloughCaroline Moran29 August 2023 (2023-08-29)N/A
4"Feel The Bern"Jack CloughCaroline Moran5 September 2023 (2023-09-05)N/A
5"Don't Tell The Bride"Jack CloughCaroline Moran12 September 2023 (2023-09-12)N/A
6"The Big Day"Jack CloughCaroline Moran19 September 2023 (2023-09-19)N/A

Production

A six-part series of 30 minute episodes was commissioned in July 2022 for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. Executive producers on the series include Phil Clarke, Helen Williams and Roberto Troni. [3] Written by Caroline Moran, the series has Holly Walsh & Jack Clough as a director. [4] The series is produced by Phil Clarke and Jesse Armstrong’s production company, Various Artists Limited. [5]

Casting

The main cast features Elizabeth Berrington, Lucie Shorthouse, Callie Cooke, Lauren O'Rourke, and Kate O'Flynn. [6] Screenwriter Moran personally wrote Danny Dyer an email to request his cameo appearance. [7]

Filming

Filming locations included Pensby Boys School on the Wirral. [8] Filming also took place in North Wales, in early 2023. [9] Locations in Wales include Abergele, with Llanfair Talhaiarn and Moel Famau, in the Clwydian Range also used. [10]

Broadcast

The programme premiered on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2023. [11]

Reception

David Craig in The Radio Times says "it's totally daft but unashamedly so, and there's a lot of fun to be had for those willing to go along for the ride". [12]

Rebecca Nicholson in The Guardian said it was a "big, robust comedy", which "isn't for the faint-hearted". [13]

It was a The Times Critics' choice saying the show was "coarse, amoral and seriously funny. Bring on series two." [14]

Frances Taylor in The Radio Times calls it "bold, brash and a lot of fun". [15]

The Daily Telegraph called it "gleefully broad and raucously entertaining". [16]

Rachel Cooke in The New Statesman called the comedy on the show “relentlessly laboured” full of “faux-feminist puerility”. [17]

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References

  1. ↑ Nicholson, Rebecca (12 August 2023). "Henpocalypse: The hilarious hen-do comedy about drinking 'penis coladas' at the end of the world". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Henpocalypse! episode guide - British Comedy Guide". The Futon Critic . Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Henpocalypse! commissioned for BBC Two and iPlayer". Advanced-Television. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  4. ↑ Gilbert, Gerard (15 August 2023). "What's on TV tonight: A hen party is interrupted by the end of the world in Henpocalypse!". inews. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  5. ↑ Khomani, Nadia (12 August 2023). "'Female version of the Lord of the Flies': BBC sitcom explores hen do that goes feral". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  6. ↑ May, Naomi (14 August 2023). "Henpocalypse: This New BBC Comedy Is About A Hen Party Being Derailed By The Apocalypse". Elle. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Craig, David. "Henpocalypse! creator 'begged' Danny Dyer to star: "It had to be him"". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  8. ↑ Greer, Jamie (12 August 2023). "BBC comedy filmed in former Wirral school to start next week". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  9. ↑ Craig, David (15 February 2023). "Elizabeth Berrington on Henpocalypse! and the reality of ageism in TV". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  10. ↑ Nisbet, Megan (17 August 2023). "BBC Henpocalypse! cast list, Welsh filming locations and how many episodes". Wales Online. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  11. ↑ "Prepare for the Henpocalypse". Chortle. 13 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "Henpocalypse! Unashamedly fun – as any good hen do should be". The Radio Times. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Henpocalypse! The hilarious hen-do comedy about drinking 'penis coladas' at the end of the world". Guardian. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Henpocalypse!". The Times. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  15. ↑ "Henpocalypse!". The Radio Times. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "Henpocalypse!". The Daily Telegraph. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  17. ↑ "Henpocalypse! How did this painful dildo-wielding comedy make it to air?". New Statesman. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
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