''State of the Union'' is a British

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

television series that premiered on 6 May 2019 on

Sundance TV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...

. It is written by

Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir ''Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work f ...

and directed by

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

. The second season went to air in February 2022.

Premise

Season 1 of ''State of the Union'' follows "Louise and Tom, played by Pike and O’Dowd, who meet in a pub immediately before their weekly marital therapy session. Each episode pieces together how their lives were, what drew them together, and what has started to pull them apart."

Cast and Characters

Season 1

Rosamund Pike Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike (born 1979) is a British actress. She began her acting career by appearing in stage productions such as ''Romeo and Juliet'' and ''Gas Light''. After her screen debut in the television film ''A Rather English Marriage'' ...

as Louise *

Chris O'Dowd Christopher O'Dowd (born 9 October 1979) is an Irish actor and comedian. He received wide attention as Roy Trenneman, one of the lead characters in the Channel 4 comedy '' The IT Crowd'', which ran for four series between 2006 and 2010. He has ...

as Tom

Season 2

Brendan Gleeson Brendan Gleeson (born 29 March 1955) is an Irish actor and film director. He is the recipient of three IFTA Awards, two British Independent Film Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award and has been nominated twice for a BAFTA Award and four times for ...

as Scott *

Patricia Clarkson Patricia Davies Clarkson (born December 29, 1959) is an American actress. She has starred in numerous leading and supporting roles in a variety of films ranging from independent film features to major film studio productions. Her accolades incl ...

as Ellen *Esco Jouley as Jay

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2022)

Production

Development

On 13 July 2018, it was announced that

had given the production a series order consisting of ten episodes running around ten minutes each. The series was expected to be written by

and directed by

, both of whom were set to be executive producers. Production companies involved with the series included

See-Saw Films See-Saw Films is a British-Australian film and television production company founded in 2008 by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, with offices in London and Sydney. Their productions include ''The King's Speech'', ''Top Of The Lake'', ''Lion'', ' ...

Series 1

Casting

Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that

and

had been cast in the series' lead roles for season 1.

Filming

Principal photography for the series was scheduled to begin in the summer of 2018 in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The pub used for the series was the Thatched House in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London W6.

Soundtrack

Roger Eno Roger Eugene Eno (born in Woodbridge, Suffolk, Woodbridge, England, in 1959) is an English ambient music composer. He is the brother of Brian Eno. Early life and education Roger Eno began euphonium lessons when he was 12 years old, and entered C ...

scored the soundtrack, which was performed by jazz musicians Jack Pinter,

Sebastian Rochford Sebastian Rochford is a British drummer and composer. He has recorded and released music as leader of the British band Polar Bear, as Kutcha Butcha and as part of numerous collaborations. Early life Rochford was born in Aberdeen and has a large ...

(drums) and Steve Watts on saxophone and recorded at AIR Studios in London, according to the trailer.

Series 2

On 25 January 2021 the series was renewed for a second season, starring

and Esco Jouléy.

Release

Marketing

On 10 October 2018, a "first-look" image from the series was released.

Premiere

On 28 January 2019, the series received its world premiere during the

2019 Sundance Film Festival The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018. Films U.S. Dramatic Competition * '' Before You Know It'' by Hannah Pearl Utt * ''B ...

Reception

In a positive review, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

''s Daniel D'Addario praised the series saying, "''State of the Union'' pulls off a neat trick; given both its short running time and its fleetness of dialogue, we never get tired of hearing this couple's arguments, which could in other contexts be tiresome and circular." In another encouraging criticism, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''s Daniel Fienberg described the series as a "clever and beautifully acted piece" and declared that "Stephen Frears and Nick Hornby's perceptive two-hander is still well worth seeing."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{EmmyAward Short-format Comedy or Drama Series 2019 British television series debuts 2010s British comedy television series 2020s British comedy television series English-language television shows Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Sundance TV original programming