Southcliffe

Last updated

Southcliffe
Southcliffe TV drama.jpg
Written by Tony Grisoni [1]
Directed by Sean Durkin [1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producersPeter Carlton
Sophie Gardiner
ProducerDerrin Schlesinger
Running time240 minutes
Production company Warp Films
Original release
Network Channel 4
Release4 August (2013-08-04) –
18 August 2013 (2013-08-18)

Southcliffe is a British drama series that aired on Channel 4. Set in a fictional town on the North Kent Marshes, it employs a nonlinear narrative structure to tell the story of a series of shootings by a local man portrayed by Sean Harris, the cause of the shootings and the effects on the town and residents. The series explores tragedy, grief, responsibility and redemption as seen through the eyes of a journalist returning to the small town of his childhood to cover the story. [2]

Contents

The series was filmed in Faversham in North Kent [3] and was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. [4] [5]

Cast

Production

In August 2012, Channel 4 announced that they had ordered a four-part drama series titled Southcliffe. The drama was written by Tony Grisoni and produced by Warp Films, with Peter Carlton and Sophie Gardiner serving as executive producers, and Sean Durkin as director. [7]

Conception

The story is of a fictional English market town devastated by a spate of shootings which take place on 2 November 2011. According to its writer Grisoni, "Southcliffe is a fictional market town inhabited by fictional characters, but with similarities to many actual people and places in Britain today; invisible people, anonymous places." He added that "Southcliffe is an anthem to ordinary people's ability to reinvent themselves in the face of ultimate darkness." [2] He denied that Southcliffe's central conceit is exploitative. "It's not really a story of a spree shooting. It's a story of people who are suddenly robbed of someone very close to them." He insisted that it is vitally important not to portray the shooter as a cartoon monster but that he is a human being and should be treated as one. [8]

Filming

Filming began in October 2012 in Faversham, on an eight-week shooting schedule, [9] and took place at various locations in and around Faversham, including local homes, town centre streets, the Faversham Creek, Hollowshore pub, The Shipwright's Arms, Faversham Recreation Ground, The Market Inn, Oare Marshes, Uplees Cottage, as well as other locations in Kent such as Whitstable, East Kent Railway, Grain Power Station, Teynham Court Farm, Canterbury Hospital, Sittingbourne Police Station, Sittingbourne Community College, and others. [10] [11] Faversham Enterprise Partnership estimated that the filming generated £500,000 for the local economy.[ citation needed ]

Reception

The critical response to the first two episodes was mostly positive. Benji Wilson of The Daily Telegraph thought that with "its muted palette, protracted silences, dank fogs and seething unease, Southcliffe was anything but nice-cup-of-tea and a sit-down TV, but it was a mesmerising tragedy, nonetheless." [12] Arifa Akbar of The Independent noted "its disturbing silences" and called it "a rare and brilliant Sunday-night viewing", [13] while Paul Whitelaw of The Scotsman considered Southcliffe to be "a major work, and quite easily the best British TV drama of the year so far." [14] The sentiment was shared by Euan Ferguson of The Observer , who called it "the TV event of the year." [15] Sam Wollaston of The Guardian thought that the drama series was a masterly study of a tragedy in smalltown England, one that "felt – and looked, and sounded – so utterly and terribly real", and that it was a "profound, chilling, moving piece of television". [16]

Serena Davies of The Daily Telegraph, however, voiced a contrary opinion and wondered if the level of violence in this show as well as other TV dramas was really necessary. [17]

Episodes

No.Title [18] Original air dateUK viewers inc.HD
(million) [19]
1"The Hollow Shore"9pm 4 August 2013 (2013-08-04)2.77
A local handyman, Stephen Morton, meets a young soldier, Chris Cooper, who has returned home from the War in Afghanistan, and invites him to a training mission. Morton presents himself as a former SAS soldier; however, Cooper later discovers this is untrue, and together with his uncle, beats and humiliates Morton. The morning after his humiliation Morton goes on a killing spree, starting with his elderly bedridden mother for whom he was caring.
2"Light Falls"9pm 5 August 2013 (2013-08-05)2.27
Stephen Morton goes to Chris Cooper's house and shoots Cooper's girlfriend, but spares Cooper. Pub landlord Paul Gould learns his wife and two young daughters were amongst the victims. The daughter of Claire Salter, a social worker caring for Morton's mother, is also shot dead. The reporter David Whitehead, who grew up in Southcliffe and knew Morton as a child, arrives at the crime scenes after hearing of the major incident in the town. Morton hides in a storm drain in the marshes and is then reported to have killed himself.
3"Sorrow's Child"9pm 11 August 2013 (2013-08-11)1.79
David Whitehead finds many of the townspeople reluctant to talk. In a fit of rage, he rants that the town asked for it and deserved the tragedy that befell the community. The families of the victims try to come to terms with their loss. Paul Gould, ridden with guilt and grief at the loss of his family, jumps off a foot bridge.
4"All Souls"9pm 18 August 2013 (2013-08-18)1.58
A year later the people affected are still traumatised by the event. David Whitehead returns to Southcliffe to investigate the possibility that Stephen might not have died. He becomes concerned at the mental state of Chris Cooper and stops him from trying to kill himself.

Awards and nominations

The drama series received the most nominations at the 2014 British Academy Television Awards together with The IT Crowd , with four nominations each. [20]

YearAwardCategoryRecipientResultsRef.
2014 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards Best Actor Rory Kinnear Nominated [21]
BAFTA TV Awards Best Actor Sean Harris Won [22]
Best Supporting Actor Rory KinnearNominated [20]
Best Supporting Actress Shirley Henderson Nominated
Best Mini-Series SouthcliffeNominated

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faversham</span> Market town in England

Faversham is a market town in Kent, England, 8 miles (13 km) from Sittingbourne, 48 miles (77 km) from London and 10 miles (16 km) from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2, which follows an ancient British trackway which was used by the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, and known as Watling Street. The name is of Old English origin, meaning "the metal-worker's village".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Kent Marshes</span>

The North Kent Marshes are in the far north of the county of Kent spanning dry and wet south banks and inlets of the Thames Estuary in south-east England. The marshes are one of 22 Environmentally Sensitive Areas recognised by the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). They are in the Thames Gateway regional planning area. They include the 5,289-hectare (20.4 sq mi) South Thames Estuary and Marshes biological SSSI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Harris</span> British actor

Sean Harris is an English actor. He played Ian Curtis in 24 Hour Party People (2002), Micheletto Corella in The Borgias (2011–2013), Fifield in Prometheus (2012), Solomon Lane in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), Philip in Possum (2018), William Gascoigne in The King (2019) and Henry Peter Teague / Peter Morley in The Stranger (2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Walker</span> British actress (born 1970)

Nicola Jane Walker is an English actress, known for her starring roles in various British television programmes from the 1990s onwards, including that of Ruth Evershed in the spy drama Spooks and DCI Cassie Stuart in Unforgotten (2015–2021). She has also worked in theatre, radio and film. She won the 2013 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and was twice nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for the BBC drama Last Tango in Halifax.

Tony Grisoni is a British screenwriter. He lives in London. His first feature film, Queen of Hearts, directed by Jon Amiel, won the Grand Prix at the 1990 Festival du Film de Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KM Media Group</span>

KM Media Group is a multimedia company in the county of Kent, England which originated as the publisher of the Kent Messenger. The Group now produces local newspapers, radio stations, TV and websites throughout the county. Iliffe Media acquired KM Media Group in April 2017.

<i>Single-Handed</i> (TV series) Irish TV series or programme

Single-Handed is an Irish television drama series, first broadcast on RTÉ Television in 2007. Set and filmed in the west of Ireland, it focuses on the life of a member of the Garda Síochána (police), Sergeant Jack Driscoll. Three two-episode, single-story series aired one each on consecutive nights in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Series Four, consisting of three stories told over six episodes, began in RTÉ One November 2010.

<i>Dirk Gently</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Dirk Gently is a British comic science fiction detective television series based on characters from the novel Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. The series was created by Howard Overman and stars Stephen Mangan as holistic detective Dirk Gently and Darren Boyd as his sidekick Richard MacDuff. Recurring actors include Helen Baxendale as MacDuff's girlfriend Susan Harmison, Jason Watkins as Dirk's nemesis DI Gilks and Lisa Jackson as Dirk's receptionist Janice Pearce. Unlike most detective series Dirk Gently features broadly comic touches and even some science fiction themes such as time travel and artificial intelligence.

<i>Scott & Bailey</i> British television drama series

Scott & Bailey is a British police procedural series that debuted on ITV on 29 May 2011 and concluded on 27 April 2016. The series stars Suranne Jones, Lesley Sharp, Amelia Bullmore, Nicholas Gleaves, Danny Miller and Pippa Haywood. The show, mainly written by Sally Wainwright, revolves around the personal and professional lives of detectives Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey. Both characters are members of the Syndicate Nine Major Incident Team (MIT) of the fictional Manchester Metropolitan Police.

Sugartown is a three-part comedy drama series for the BBC filmed in and around the seaside towns of Filey in North Yorkshire, and Bridlington in the East Riding of Yorkshire, utilising the John Bull rock factory. It is set in a fictional seaside town called Sugartown, credited as the home of rock and still the site of the struggling Burr's rock factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sean Durkin</span> Canadian film director

Timothy Sean Durkin is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and producer. Durkin is known for directing the critically acclaimed independent films Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011), The Nest (2020), and The Iron Claw (2023). He is also known for directing episodes of the Channel 4 series Southcliffe (2013) and the Amazon Prime Video miniseries Dead Ringers (2023).

Derek is a British comedy-drama television series starring, written by and directed by Ricky Gervais. The pilot was produced by Derek Productions Ltd. for Channel 4 and aired on 12 April 2012. Channel 4 describes the show as "A bittersweet comedy drama about a group of outsiders living on society's margins".

<i>Utopia</i> (British TV series) British television conspiracy thriller

Utopia is a British thriller drama television series that was broadcast on Channel 4 from 15 January 2013 to 12 August 2014. The show was written by Dennis Kelly and starred Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Adeel Akhtar, Paul Higgins, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Alexandra Roach, Oliver Woollford, Alistair Petrie and Neil Maskell. A second six-episode series was commissioned by Channel 4 and went into production in late 2013, and was broadcast in July and August 2014. The show has since gained a cult following.

The Mill is a 2013 period television drama broadcast on Britain's Channel 4. It was developed by Emily Dalton using stories from the archives of the National Trust Property. It is based on real-life stories and people of the textile mill workers at Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire, England, combined with fictional characters and events. The program is also filmed in Cheshire.

<i>What Remains</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

What Remains is a British television drama series that was first broadcast on BBC One on 25 August 2013. The last episode was broadcast on 15 September 2013. It was written by Tony Basgallop and directed by Coky Giedroyc.

<i>The Tunnel</i> (TV series) British-French crime drama television series

The Tunnel is a British–French crime drama television series adapted from the 2011 Danish–Swedish crime series The Bridge (Bron/Broen). The series began broadcasting on 16 October 2013 on Sky Atlantic in the UK, and on 11 November 2013 on Canal+ in France. The series stars Stephen Dillane and Clémence Poésy as British and French police detectives Karl Roebuck and Elise Wassermann. The plot follows the two detectives working together to find a serial killer who left the upper half of a French politician and the lower half of a British prostitute in the Channel Tunnel at the midpoint between France and the UK. The killer is nicknamed the "Truth Terrorist" and is on a moral crusade to highlight many social problems, terrorising both countries in the process. As the series progresses, the killer's true intention is revealed.

<i>Dolphins - Spy in the Pod</i> Nature documentary series

Dolphins - Spy in the Pod is a British factual television series that was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 January 2014. The two-part series was narrated by David Tennant and produced by John Downer Productions. The series was also broadcast by Discovery Channel in the US.

The Kent Film Office is a Kent County Council initiative which was set up in 2006 to promote filming in Kent and attract inward investment into the Kent economy from the film and broadcast industries.

The Windsors is a British sitcom and parody of the British royal family, the House of Windsor. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 in April 2016 and stars Harry Enfield, Haydn Gwynne, Hugh Skinner, Louise Ford, Richard Goulding, Tom Durant-Pritchard, Kathryn Drysdale, Morgana Robinson, Ellie White, and Celeste Dring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Munden</span> English film and television director

Marc Munden is an English film director best known for his work on Utopia, National Treasure and The Mark of Cain among others.

References

  1. 1 2 Robinson, John (26 July 2013). "Southcliffe: the most harrowing drama on TV". The Guardian . Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Stellar casting announced for Channel 4 drama Southcliffe". Channel 4. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Faverham stars in gritty crime thriller 'Southcliffe' on Channel 4". Kent Online. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "Southcliffe". TIFF. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  5. ↑ "Toronto Adds 75+ Titles To 2013 Edition". Indiewire. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Southcliffe - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide . Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Channel 4 has announced that they have ordered a new four-part drama titled Southcliffe". TV Wise. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Rebecca Nicholson (21 July 2013). "Southcliffe: TV that threatens the status quo". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Faversham takes lead role in new Channel 4 drama Southcliffe". Faversham Times . 11 October 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  10. ↑ Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Southcliffe Film Focus".
  11. ↑ "Channel 4 drama Southcliffe brings £500k cash boost to Faversham". Faversham Times . 19 December 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Wilson, Benji (4 August 2013). "Southcliffe, episode one, Channel 4, review". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Akbar, Arifa (5 August 2013). "TV review: Southcliffe might not be cheery, but this is rare and brilliant Sunday night viewing" . The Independent . Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  14. ↑ Whitelaw, Paul (9 August 2013). "TV preview: Southcliffe, Steve Coogan". The Scotsman . Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  15. ↑ Ferguson, Euan (10 August 2013), "Rewind TV: Southcliffe; The Field of Blood; Make Me a German – review", The Observer , retrieved 12 August 2013
  16. ↑ Wollaston, Sam (19 August 2013). "Southcliffe; Top of the Lake; The Mill; The White Queen – TV review". The Guardian . Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  17. ↑ Davies, Serena (6 August 2013). "Southcliffe: Is there too much violence on TV?". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  18. ↑ "Southcliffe: Episode Guides". Channel 4 .
  19. ↑ "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB.
  20. 1 2 Neela Debnath (18 May 2014). "Bafta TV awards 2014: This year's nominations" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022.
  21. ↑ Emma Daly (20 February 2014). "Chiwetel Ejiofor battles David Tennant for Best Actor at Broadcasting Press Guild Awards". Radio Times.
  22. ↑ John Plunkett; Hannah Ellis-Petersen (19 May 2014). "Baftas 2014: Broadchurch scores a hat-trick on a bad night for the BBC". The Guardian.
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.