''Getting On'' is a

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

British

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

based on a geriatric ward in an

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

hospital. It is written by its core cast,

Jo Brand Josephine Grace Brand (born 23 July 1957) is an English comedian, writer, presenter and actress. Starting her entertainment career with a move from psychiatric nursing to the alternative comedy stand-up scene and early performances on '' Saturd ...

Vicki Pepperdine Vicki Pepperdine (born 1961) is an English comedy actress and writer. She was nominated for two BAFTA TV Awards for co-writing the BBC sitcom '' Getting On'' (2009–12), and was also nominated for a British Comedy Award for her portrayal of D ...

, and

Joanna Scanlan Joanna Marion Scanlan (born 27 October 1961) is a British actress. On television, she is known for her roles in British series such as ''The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), '' Getting On'' (2009–2012), ''Puppy Love'' (2014), and ''No Offence'' ( ...

. Series 1 and 2 were directed by

Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...

, who also appears as Dr. Healy. It first aired in July 2009, for three episodes. The second series of six episodes aired in 2010, with the third series (also of six episodes) airing in late 2012. Despite strong critical acclaim, the show was not recommissioned for a fourth series. It was shot in the closed Plaistow Hospital. A U.S. version of ''Getting On'' began airing on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

in November 2013 and concluded in December 2015. A three-part spin-off series, ''Going Forward'', was announced in March 2016 and began airing in May 2016 on

BBC Four BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

Characters

*Kim Wilde, played by

, is a return-to-work nurse who must adapt to the difficulties the modern NHS throws at her, with ''C. diff'', form-filling, and

political correctness ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

. She is the staff member most empathetic to the concerns of patients and their families, which often brings her into conflict with her colleagues, who are more concerned with sticking to the rules. She appears to be happily married to Dave, with several children, though her life outside the ward is rarely touched upon. *Dr Pippa Moore, played by

, is the "tough but fair" Care of The Elderly Consultant. She is uptight, self-centred, and lacking in "people skills", often being discourteous to her colleagues, her medical students, and even the patients. She, however, remains oblivious to the offence she causes, believing that people are impressed by her professionalism. At the start of the series, she is married to a pilot called Philip but the marriage is not happy. She has something of a crush on her psychiatrist colleague, Dr Healy, but he has no feelings for her. *Denise "Den" , played by

, is the ward sister and Wilde's immediate superior. She is legally separated from her husband. *Hilary Loftus, played by

Ricky Grover Ricky may refer to: Places *Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic *Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic *Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky" ...

, is the male

matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person ...

. He has a relationship with Den, which is complicated by the fact that he is clearly inexperienced in romantic relationships, as well as identifying as homosexual.

Reception

The show has received very high praise from television critics across the board in the UK, with praise for the actors' performances, and the gritty, realistic portrayal of an NHS hospital. ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'' listed it as the best British television show of the year. Brand, Scanlan, and Pepperdine won the 2010

Royal Television Society Award The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

for Best Writing in Comedy. and in 2010 the three also won the Writer's Guild Award for Best Comedy. Both Jo Brand and Joanna Scanlan were nominated for the 2010

BAFTA Television Award The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the BAFTA. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in 1955, consisted of six categories. Until ...

for Best Female Performance in a Comedy Role. Jo Brand won the BAFTA for her performance in 2011. For the third series, Brand, Scanlan and Pepperdine were nominated for the 2012

and the

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

for Best Writing in Comedy.

Episodes

Series 1 (2009)

Series 2 (2010)

Series 3 (2012)

Home video releases

All three series of ''Getting On'' have been released on DVD via

2entertain 2 Entertain (stylized as 2 , entertain) is a British video and music publisher founded in September 2004 by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004. Under CEO Richard Green, the company operated as a joint venture b ...

distribution. "Series One" was released on 7 September 2009, while "Series Two" was released 6 December 2010. Following this, a box set containing both "Series One" and "Series Two" was released on 6 December 2010. "Series Three" received its release on 26 November 2012. A complete series box set containing all three series was made available on 26 November 2012. In Australia, the "Complete Series 1 & 2" was released on 7 July 2011 via Roadshow distribution. As of yet, the third series has not been released in Australia.

References

External links

* * *{{British Comedy Guide, tv, getting_on 2009 British television series debuts 2012 British television series endings 2000s British black comedy television series 2000s British medical television series 2000s British sitcoms 2000s British workplace comedy television series 2010s British black comedy television series 2010s British medical television series 2010s British sitcoms 2010s British workplace comedy television series BBC black comedy television shows BBC high definition shows BBC medical television shows BBC television sitcoms English-language television shows Television series about old age