''Man Down'' is a British sitcom that was broadcast from 18 October 2013 to 29 November 2017 on Channel 4. The series stars Greg Davies as Dan Davies, a man undergoing a midlife crisis. Channel 4 commissioned an additional 25-minute Christmas special before the first series aired, and a second series was announced during Davies's live tour "The Back of My Mum's Head." Following Rik Mayall's death in June 2014, Davies met with Channel 4 to discuss the future of the show. It had been intended that Mayall's role in the second series would be more prominent than it had been previously. The series returned for a second Christmas special in 2014, a second series in 2015, a third in 2016, and a fourth in 2017. The majority of scenes are filmed in and around Watford and South Oxhey,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

Plot

Man Down centres on Dan Davies, a man in his forties who lives with his parents and is suffering a midlife crisis. He frequents Bob's Cafe, where he meets up with Jo and Brian, who are his friends from school despite both being six years younger than him. He hates his job as a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

drama teacher. His long-term girlfriend Naomi breaks up with him at the beginning of series 1 and during the rest of the first series, he makes several failed attempts to win her back. From the Christmas specials through to the end of series 3, he pursues young, highly

attractive Attraction may refer to: * Interpersonal attraction, the attraction between people which leads to friendships, platonic and romantic relationships ** Physical attractiveness, attraction on the basis of beauty ** Sexual attraction * Object or event ...

deputy headmistress Emma. During series 4, they have a son together, although Dan and Emma are not a couple.

Cast

Main cast

* Greg Davies as Daniel "Dan" Davies * Roisin Conaty as Jo Bellingham * Mike Wozniak as Brian Clive Ames * Gwyneth Powell as Polly Davies (Mum) * Rik Mayall as Richard Davies (Dad) (series 1 - 2013 special) *

Deirdre Mullins Deirdre Mullins is an Irish actress, director and activist. In 2017, she won a Scottish BAFTA for Best Actress in Film for her role in ''The Dark Mile''. Early life and education Born in Dublin, Mullins grew up in Stoneybatter on the city's ...

as Naomi (series 1) * Jeany Spark as Emma Lipsey * Stephanie Cole as Nesta (2014 special – series 4)

Recurring cast

Ashley McGuire Ashley McGuire is a British actress, known for her roles as Big Mandy in the BBC comedy series ''This Country'' and Vicky Houghton in the BBC One series '' This Is Going to Hurt''. Life and career McGuire attended Rose Bruford College of Speech ...

as Shakira *

Madeleine Harris Madeleine Harris (born 28 April 2001) is a British film and television star known for her roles in ''Paddington'' (2014) along with its sequel Paddington 2 (2017). Life and work Harris grew up in London and Shepton Mallet, Somerset. In 2012, ...

as Karen (series 1–3) * Alfie Davis as Dennis (series 1–3) * Frankie Akhurst as Robin (series 2–3) * George Bothamley as Maurice (series 1) * Geoffrey Sergison as Mickey Two Face * Stephen Morrison as Community officer * Annette Badland as Mrs Wigmore (series 1–2) * Ramon Tikaram as Dom (series 1–2) * Daniel Adegboyega as Sam (series 2–4) * Elliot Levey as Mr Hogan (series 2–4) *

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style eponymously k ...

as Mr Klackov (series 3) *

Mark Hamill Mark Richard Hamill (; born September 25, 1951) is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the ''Star Wars'' film series, beginning with the original 1977 film and subsequently winning three Saturn Awards f ...

as Bob (series 3) * Tony Robinson as Daedalus aka 'Daddy' (series 3-4) *

Isy Suttie Isobel Jane "Isy" Suttie (; born 11 August 1978) is a British musical comedian, actress, and writer. She played Dobby in the British sitcom '' Peep Show'', and in 2013 won the gold Sony Radio Academy Award for her radio show ''Pearl And Dave' ...

as Ally (series 3–4) * Ruth Bratt as Carol (series 4) * Rihanna Joy Hosmer as Josephine (series 4) * Michael Bunani as Jason (series 4) * Sam Hunt as Kevin (series 4) * Max Gill as Gregory (series 4)

Writers

* Greg Davies * Stephen Morrison * Sian Harries * Ed Gamble * Mike Wozniak * Richard Herring (additional material) * Andrew Collins (script editor) * Barry Castagnola * Lloyd Langford * Roisin Conaty * Carl Rice

Episodes

Viewing figures from BARB.

Series overview

Series 1 (2013)

Specials (2013–14)

Series 2 (2015)

Series 3 (2016)

Series 4 (2017)

On 8 November 2016 Greg Davies officially confirmed the renewal of the show for a fourth series consisting of six episodes.

Cancellation

In 2017, Channel 4 announced it would not be renewing ''Man Down'' for a fifth series.

International broadcast

The series premiered in Australia on 12 January 2015 on SBS One.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{IMDb title, id=3063454 2013 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British sitcoms 2010s high school television series British high school television series Channel 4 sitcoms British English-language television shows Television shows about midlife crisis Television series about dysfunctional families Television series about educators Television series by ITV Studios