''Archie'' is a 2023 British television drama series about the life of

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...

starring

Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), C ...

in the lead role with

Kara Tointon Kara Louise Tointon (born 5 August 1983) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Dawn Swann in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 2010, she won the BBC competition series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', and in 2015, she appeared as ...

Harriet Walter Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 24 September 1950) is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 20 ...

Jason Watkins Jason Watkins (born 28 October 1962) is an English stage, film and television actor. He played the lead role in the two-part drama ''The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies'', for which he won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor. He has also ...

Calam Lynch Calam Finbar Lynch (born 7 November 1994) is a British actor of Irish descent. His films include the Disney adaptation of ''Black Beauty'' (2020) and Terence Davies' ''Benediction'' (2021). On television, he appeared in the BBC One drama ''Mrs W ...

and

Laura Aikman Laura Holly Aikman (born 24 December 1985) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Debbie in ''Not Going Out'' and ''Gavin and Stacey'' as Sonia. Early life Aikman was born in the London Borough of Brent in 1985, the daughter ...

Synopsis

The series depicts the man originally named Archibald Leach, born into poverty in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1904, before he became Hollywood's Cary Grant. Scenes set later, in the 1960s, feature Grant in Los Angeles with personal issues affecting his happiness despite international stardom and many hit movies.

Cast

Production

Despite Grant's

upbringing, and the city of Bristol being the setting for large parts of the series, filming actually took place in the city of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

in the summer of 2022. The four part series is written by

Jeff Pope Jeff Pope is a British television producer and screenwriter who co-wrote the film '' Pierrepoint'' and the television drama ''The Fattest Man in Britain'' and who won a BAFTA in 2006 for the drama '' See No Evil: The Moors Murders''.

. Filming also took place in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

in September 2022. Pope interviewed Grant's daughter

Jennifer Grant Jennifer Diane Grant (born February 26, 1966) is an American actress. The daughter of actors Cary Grant and Dyan Cannon, she is best known for roles in the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' and ''Movie Stars''. Early life Grant was ...

and Grant's ex-wife

Dyan Cannon Dyan Cannon (born Samille Diane Friesen; January 4, 1937) is an American actress, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Her accolades include a Saturn Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Academy Award nominations, and a star on the Ho ...

for the production and both act as Executive Producers.

ITV Studios ITV Studios is a British multinational television production and distribution company owned by the British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcas ...

produce with

BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

International as co-producers and

Paul Andrew Williams Paul Andrew Williams (born 1973 in Portsmouth, England) is a British film writer and director. He won the New Director's Award for his film '' London to Brighton'' in the 2006 Edinburgh International Film Festival. Career Williams began his caree ...

as director. In September 2022,

was added to the cast as Grant's mother Elsie Leach, and

, Dainton Anderson and

Oaklee Pendergast Oaklee Pendergast (born 24 June 2004) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in '' The Impossible'' and '' The Woman in Black: Angel of Death''. Career Pendergast made his acting debut in 2008, appearing in an episode of ''EastEnd ...

were added as younger versions of Archie. Additional cast members added included

Lisa Faulkner Lisa Tamsin Faulkner (born 19 February 1972) is an actress, presenter and celebrity chef. Early life Faulkner was born in Merton, London, to David Faulkner and Julie (née Day). She lived in Esher and was educated at Tiffin Girls' School in ...

Niamh Cusack Niamh Cusack ( ; born 20 October 1959) is an Irish actress. Born to a family with deep roots in the performing arts, Cusack has been involved as a performer since a young age. She has served with the UK's two leading theatre companies, the Ro ...

Henry Lloyd-Hughes Henry Lloyd-Hughes (born 11 August 1985) is an English actor. He is known for his roles in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' (2005), ''Unrelated'' (2007), ''The Inbetweeners'' (2008–2010), '' Miliband of Brothers'' (2010), '' Weekender' ...

Ian Puleston-Davies Ian Puleston-Davies (born 6 September 1958) is a Welsh actor and writer. He is best known for his role as builder Owen Armstrong in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2010 to 2015. In November 2014, ITV announced that Puleston-Davi ...

and

Ian McNeice Ian McNeice (born 2 October 1950) is an English film and television actor. He found fame portraying government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series ''Edge of Darkness'', and went on to feature in popular films such as ''The Englishman ...

Broadcast

The series became available on 23 November 2023 in the UK, on the streaming service

ITVX ITVX (formerly ITV Hub) is a British online video-on-demand service operated by ITV plc, ITV. The service offers predominantly features content from ITV1, as well as ITV Digital Channels, ITV Digital channels and some licensed content. The serv ...

, and will subsequently be broadcast on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

. The series became available in the USA on the 7 December 2023, on the streaming service

BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

Reception

News of the production was reported by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' as having a positive response by fans.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Archie 2020s British drama television series 2023 British television series debuts Biographical television series British English-language television shows Television shows set in Bristol Television series by ITV Studios ITV television dramas Television shows shot in Liverpool