''The Ranganation'' is a British comedy show hosted by

Romesh Ranganathan Jonathan Romesh Ranganathan (born 27 March 1978), is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and often self-deprecating comedy. Ranganathan has made numerous appearances on television comedy panel shows, and in 2016 he co-p ...

and broadcast on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. Ranganathan joins a group of 25 members of the public, including his mother, to discuss news events of the week. Two celebrity guests are also featured. The first series of six 45-minute episodes premiered on 19 May 2019. The second series of six episodes was filmed remotely due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and first aired on 10 May 2020.

Production

A pilot was filmed on 20 May 2018, produced by Zeppotron. The first series was commissioned in August 2018. It consisted of six weekly 45-minute episodes, beginning on 19 May 2019 and ending on 23 June 2019. Ranganathan said that he wanted the programme to be a "topical show, not a political show". He said that the casting focused on recruiting a diverse group of "regular people who are opinionated and passionate", and that he enjoyed the honesty of the panellists. Asked who his ideal guest would be in 2018, Ranganathan said it would be

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

if he was British, or

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

. When asked again in 2020, he suggested

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actor ...

. The second series of six episodes aired in May 2020, during the

. It was one of several topical British shows to be filmed and hosted by each participant remotely from their home, along with '' Have I Got News for You'', ''

The Mash Report ''Late Night Mash'' is a British satirical comedy broadcast on Dave, as a continuation of ''The Mash Report'' on BBC Two. It is hosted by Rachel Parris, formerly by Nish Kumar, and features an array of comedians satirising the week's news. First ...

'' and ''

The Last Leg ''The Last Leg'' (known during its first series as ''The Last Leg with Adam Hills'' and in Australia as ''Adam Hills: The Last Leg'') is a British comedy and late-night television talk/sketch show that originally ran alongside the 2012 Summer Pa ...

''. Ranganathan filmed in his garage, requiring him to remove DJ equipment he bought to learn how to

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

during the pandemic. On Sunday, 10 May 2020 at 9:15p.m., the first episode aired. The production aimed to incorporate a mixture of topics, despite homogeneous pandemic news coverage. On 18 January 2021, the BBC Press office announced the third series of ''The Ranganation'' would return that February. While Ranganathan was filmed from a studio, the guests participated from home. A fourth series began in October 2021. Following the relaxation of social distancing guidelines in the summer, Ranganathan and celebrity guests record in the studio while members still contribute remotely.

Awards and nominations

Episodes

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4

Series 5

Topics

The first series included a wide variety of discussions including: * Episode 1: Do you wash your legs in the shower? *Episode 2: Should plastic straws be banned? *Episode 3: Should homework be banned? * Episode 4: Do you believe in UFOs? * Episode 5: The staggering number of UK adults sleeping with a soft toy * Episode 6: Trying to answer stupid job interview questions

Series members

Each series of ''The Ranganation'' includes a diverse cross-section of the public with each member having a unique nickname. Some notable participants include Romesh's mum, Scott Caizley under the nickname OMG PHD, and Param Singh who is Wheeler Dealer.

Series 1

In the first series, 29 people appeared on the show: Vlogger, Vicars Daughter, Privileged, Yes Miss, Football Mad, OMG PHD, Lord Dave, Selfie Queen, EcoVegan, Wannabe MP, Mindful, Oxbridge, Dog Father, Technophobe, Table for One, Small Town Girl, Ex Banker, Gen Z, Wheeler Dealer, The Skipper, Single Dad, You're History, Witness the Fitness, Romesh's Mum, Never Voted, Granny To Be, Pride of Wales, Comic Book Guy, and Green Fingers.

Series 2

Series two included 25 members from the public: Romesh's mum, Craft Beard, Privileged, You're History, Never Voted, Lord Dave, Small Town Girl, Pride of Wales, Ex Banker, Mani-Pedi, Vlogger, Glam Gran, Wheeler Dealer, Technophobe, Metalhead, Old Bill, Green Fingers, Gen Z, Football Mad, Watch Your Language, Wine Buff, The Dogfather, Oxbridge, The Skipper, and Comic Book Guy.

Series 3

The third series included 20 members from the public including Romesh's mum, Old Bill, The Dogfather, You're History, Never Voted, Lord Dave, Small Town Girl, Ex Banker, Pride of Wales, Oxbridge, Country Life (New Member), Vlogger, Wheeler Dealer, Technophobe, Gen Z, Picture This, Football Mad, Watch Your Language, The Skipper, Comic Book Guy, Metalhead, Glam Gran, and Folk Hero. The display screen also changed to show the current speaker in the centre with the other people appearing around them. The central talking member still appears in the smaller windows around them.

Series 4

The Ranganation series 4 has included 22 members from the public including Romesh's mum, Vlogger, You're History, The Dogfather, Never Voted, Lord Dave, Small Town Girl, Pride of Wales, Folk Hero, Technophobe, Wheeler Dealer, Country Life, Renaissance Man, Oxbridge, Chippy Tea, Ex Banker, Glam Gran, Football Mad, Metalhead, Watch Your Language, Comic Book Guy, Flying Circus, and Gen Z.

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ranganation, The 2010s British comedy television series 2020s British comedy television series 2019 British television series debuts BBC television comedy English-language television shows Television series by Zeppotron Television series by Banijay Television shows shot at BBC Elstree Centre