''In the Long Run'' is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

comedy-drama television series created by

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

which premiered on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

on 29 March 2018. Loosely based on Elba’s childhood, the show is set in the 1980s on the gritty, fictitious Eastbridge Estate in East London. The series follows the Easmon family; Walter (Elba), his wife Agnes (Madeline Appiah) and their 13-year-old British-born son Kobna (Sammy Kamara) who have settled in England after having arrived from

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

Cast and characters

Main

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

as Walter Easmon (series 1–present), patriarch of the Easmon family *

Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...

as Terence 'Bagpipes' De La Croix (series 1–present), Walter's best friend * Madeline Appiah as Agnes Easmon (series 1–present), Walter's wife *

Jimmy Akingbola James Olatokunbo Akingbola (born 7 April 1978) is an English television, theatre and film actor. Early life Jimmy Akingbola was born in London to parents of the Yoruba tribe who had emigrated from Nigeria. In 1996, Akingbola started at the A ...

as Valentine Easmon (series 1–present), Walter's younger brother *

Kellie Shirley Kelly Jane Shirley (born 11 July 1981), known professionally as Kellie Shirley is an English actress who works in film, television, theatre and radio. She hails from Croydon via a large Northern Irish family. She has also co-presented programme ...

as Kirsty De La Croix (series 1–present), 'Bagpipes' wife * Sammy Kamara as Kobna Easmon (series 1–present), Walter and Agnes' British-born son * Mattie Boys as Dean De La Croix (series 1–present), 'Bagpipes' and Kirsty's son

Recurring

* Neil D'Souza as Rajesh (series 1–present), Walter and Bagpipes' factory boss *

Curtis Walker Curtis Walker is a British actor, writer and stand-up comedian. He starred in BBC comedy shows ''Paramount City'', CBBC sitcom ''Kerching!'', ''The Real McCoy "The real McCoy" is an idiom and metaphor used in much of the English-speaking wo ...

as Leon (series 2–present), Melissa's biological father * Amani Johnson as Melissa (series 1–present), Kirsty's daughter * Deno as Singing Boy (series 1) * Malaki Paul as Singing Boy (Series 2-present) * Kadeem Ramsay as John "Barney" (Series 2-present) *

Jude Akuwudike Jude Akuwudike (born 1965) is a Nigerian actor. He has mostly worked in the United Kingdom, on screen and stage. He has appeared in productions of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. Early life Born in Nigeria, Wes ...

(series 1–present) as Uncle Akie

Guest stars

Ellen Thomas Ellen Thomas (born January 24, 1947) is an American peace activist. She first became involved with the White House Peace Vigil on April 13, 1984. The daughter of a US Marine, Thomas was born in Brooklyn and grew up in California. She became opp ...

as Mama (series 3; episodes 1-2), Walter's mother

Episodes

Series 1 (2018)

Series 2 (2019)

Series 3 (2020)

Production

Development

''In the Long Run'' is filmed at various locations across

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

including Kingston,

Lewisham Lewisham () is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified i ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

and

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

. The

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...

scenes are filmed at Cambridge Road and Czar Street Estates in

and

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, respectively. The Milton Arms

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

interior scenes are shot at the

Peckham Peckham () is a district in southeast London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon p ...

Liberal Club, with exterior shots filmed at the Wheelshunters Club in Hornshay Street,

. The singing boy in series 1, known only as Singing Boy in the show’s credits, is young Eritrean-British singing sensation Deno Michael Mebrahitu aka Deno. The singer has had over 46 million listens on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

. 2012's

Britain’s Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...

semi-finalist Malakai Paul is the current Singing Boy, after taking over from Deno from series 2.

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described ''In the Long Run'' as "less likely to prompt belly laughs than instil a warm glow, and has the unmistakable feel of a comedy still finding its feet. At its heart, however, it's a joyful portrait of community and camaraderie, of home and belonging, of dreams and joie de vivre."

References

External links

* * * {{Sky1 2018 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings 2010s British sitcoms 2020s British sitcoms English-language television shows Race and ethnicity in television Sky UK original programming Television shows set in England