''The Book Group'' is a British

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

that was broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

between 2002 and 2003 and ran for two seasons. It was written and directed by the American-born, Glasgow resident

Annie Griffin Annie Griffin (born 1960) is an American writer and director. Born in New York City, Griffin relocated to the United Kingdom in 1981. She started out as an experimental theatre writer and director in the 1980s, with her first notable work being B ...

, who also wrote and directed ''

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

''. It was the winner of two BAFTA Scotland awards. In January 2006, it was announced that screenwriter Andrew Davies would make a feature film adaptation of ''The Book Group'' for

Film 4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, it ...

, but the project was never started.

Plot

''The Book Group'' revolved around the life of American Clare Pettengill (

Anne Dudek Anne Louise Dudek (born March 22, 1975) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Tiffany Wilson in the 2004 film ''White Chicks'', Danielle Brookson in the USA Network television series ''Covert Affairs'', Dr. Amber Volakis on the Fox ...

) who at the start of the series had recently moved from

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. She starts a book club to try find friends with similar interests. Those she encounters are not what she expected; a drug-addled, egotistical postgraduate student (and subsequently his neurotic and ever-worrying brother), an easy-going disabled man who aims to be a writer, three discontented footballers' wives, and a straggler who hides his homosexuality with an obsession for football. All of the members are brought together not so much by the books that they read (if they read them at all) but their own longings for companionship, and ambitions to better their lives. Some episodes are titled for the book that is discussed in the group.

Critical reception

Reviewing ''The Book Group'' for ''The Guardian'',

Gareth McLean Gareth McLean (born c.1975) is a Scottish journalist and screenwriter who has written for ''The Guardian'' newspaper and on soap operas for the '' Radio Times'' magazine. McLean graduated with an MA (Hons) in English from the University of Aberd ...

stated "the acting is as cracking as the script and the production values" and described the show as "a genuine ensemble drama in which everyone plays a vital part".

Cast

as Clare Pettengill *

Rory McCann Rory McCann (born 24 April 1969) is a Scottish actor, best known for portraying Sandor "The Hound" Clegane on the HBO series ''Game of Thrones'', Michael "Lurch" Armstrong in Edgar Wright's crime-comedy ''Hot Fuzz'', Jurgen the Brutal in the a ...

as Kenny McLeod *

Derek Riddell Derek Riddell (born 11 January 1967) is a Scottish television and theatre actor. He is best known for the portrayal of Dr. Jamie Patterson in the Channel 4 television series ''No Angels''. He has also guest starred in '' Doctor Who'', ''Ugly B ...

as Rab *

Michelle Gomez Michelle Gomez (born 23 November 1966) is a Scottish actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the comedy series ''The Book Group'' (2002–2003), ''Green Wing'' (2004–2007), and '' Bad Education'' (2012–2013). She went on to appear ...

as Janice McCann *

James Lance James Frederick Grenville Lance (born 29 September 1974) is an English actor, best known for his appearances in a number of British comedy series and the British-American comedy series ''Ted Lasso'' for which he was nominated for a Primetime E ...

as Barney Glendenning/Lachlan Glendenning *

Saskia Mulder Saskia Mulder (born 18 May 1973 in the Hague) is a Dutch film and television actress. She is the younger sister of model Karen Mulder. Career Mulder appeared in '' The Beach'' and the British horror movie ''The Descent''.Moore, Roger (2006)The ...

as Fist de Grooke * Bonnie Engstrom as Dirka Nilssen * Gotti Sigurdarson as Lars Nilssen * Desmond Hamilton as Jackie McCann *

Jack McElhone Jack McElhone (born 1994) is a former Scottish actor. He is famous for his role as Frankie in the 2004 film ''Dear Frankie'', for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Scotland Award. He also had roles in '' Young Adam'', ''The Book Group'', ''St ...

as Wee Jackie McCann *

Karen Kilgariff Karen Kilgariff (born May 11, 1970 in Petaluma, California) is an American writer, comedian, singer, author, actress, television producer, and podcast host. She began her career as a stand up comedian in the early 1990s and later became a televis ...

as Jean Pettengill (Series 2) *

Kerry McGregor Kerry McGregor (30 October 1974 – 4 January 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and actress from West Lothian. McGregor appeared on the third UK series of ''The X Factor'', where she was mentored by Sharon Osbourne. McGregor died on 4 Ja ...

as Carol Ann (Series 2) *

Henry Ian Cusick Henry Ian Cusick (born 17 April 1967) is a Peruvian-Scottish actor of television, film, and theatre and a television director. He is best known for his role as Desmond Hume in the ABC television series ''Lost'', for which he received a Primet ...

as Miles Longmuir (Series 2) *

Ben Miller Bennet Evan Miller (born 24 February 1966) is an English actor, comedian, and author. He rose to fame as one half of the comedy duo Armstrong and Miller. Miller is also known for playing the lead role of DI Richard Poole in the first two serie ...

as Martin (Series 1, 2 episodes) *Andoni Gracia as Anselmo (Series 2, 2 episodes)

Crew

*Writer:

*Director:

*Producers: Anita Overland (series one),

Derrin Schlesinger Derrin Schlesinger is a British producer, known for producing ''The IT Crowd'', ''Nathan Barley'', ''The Book Group'' and ''Fur TV''. In 2007 she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for ''The IT Crowd'' which was nominated for the Situation C ...

(season two)

Episodes

Season one

On The Road ''On the Road'' is a 1957 novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across the United States. It is considered a defining work of the postwar Beat and Counterculture generations, with its protagonis ...

" #"

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Ben ...

" #"Magical Realism" #"Bedtime Stories" #"Dark Alley" #"A Little More Living"

Season two

#"Sueños" #"Hunger" #"You Must Change Your Life" #"Drowning" #"Research" #"A'salaam Insha'lah"

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Book Group, The Channel 4 sitcoms 2000s British LGBT-related comedy television series 2002 British television series debuts 2003 British television series endings 2000s British comedy-drama television series English-language television shows Television shows set in Glasgow