''This England'' (originally titled ''This Sceptred Isle'') is a 2022 British television

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

miniseries written by

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', '' Wonderland'' and '' 24 Hour Party People''� ...

and

Kieron Quirke Kieron Quirke is an English writer. Early life Quirke was educated at King Edward's School, Birmingham and the Junior Royal Academy of Music. Quirke attended Merton College, Oxford. He was Librarian of the Oxford Union and left with a Double ...

. It depicts the first wave of the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confir ...

based on testimonies of people in the Boris Johnson administration, on the various intergovernmental advisory groups (including the

Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is a British Government body that advises central government in emergencies. It is usually chaired by the United Kingdom's Chief Scientific Adviser, currently Sir Patrick Vallance. Specialis ...

), and in other affected British institutions such as care homes and hospitals. It premiered on

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group Limited broadcast in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel is primarily dedicated to imported programmes from the United States, and holds the domestic rights to HBO ...

and

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

on 28 September 2022.

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus t ...

stars as

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

, and Ophelia Lovibond as

Carrie Symonds Caroline Louise Beavan Johnson (' Symonds; born 17 March 1988) is a British media consultant and the wife of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson. She is the daughter of Matthew Symonds, co-founder of ''The Independent.'' ...

Background

wins a

landslide victory A landslide victory is an election result in which the victorious candidate or party wins by an overwhelming margin. The term became popular in the 1800s to describe a victory in which the opposition is "buried", similar to the way in which a geol ...

in the December 2019 general election under the ''

Get Brexit Done Get Brexit Done was a political slogan frequently used by the British Conservative Party and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the run up to the 2019 general election. The slogan reflected the party's pledge to, if re-elected, facilitate t ...

'' slogan, but within a few months faces the

, for which he is ultimately hospitalised, and the birth of his first child with his then partner

Cast

Simon Paisley Day Simon Paisley Day (born 13 April 1967), also credited as Simon Day, is an English stage and screen actor. His most recent work includes ''Timon of Athens'' (2008), ''Entertaining Mr Sloane'' (2009), ''Private Lives'' (2010), ''Twelfth Night'' ...

Dominic Cummings Dominic Mckenzie Cummings (born 25 November 1971) is a British political strategist who served as Chief Adviser to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson from 24 July 2019 until Cummings resigned on 13 November 2020. From 2007 to 2014, he was a ...

* Ophelia Lovibond as

Andrew Buchan Andrew Buchan (born 19 February 1979) is an English stage and television actor known for his roles as Mark Latimer in the ITV drama ''Broadchurch'' (2013–17), as Scott Foster in the BBC political drama '' Party Animals'' (2007), as John Merc ...

Matt Hancock Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 201 ...

* Derek Barr as

Lee Cain Lee Edward Cain (born 1981) is a British public relations professional and former journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications under Boris Johnson from July 2019 until the end of 2020. Education Cain attended Ormskirk G ...

* James Corrigan as

Isaac Levido Isaac Levido (born ) is an Australian political strategist who was the head of the British Conservative Party's successful campaign in the 2019 United Kingdom general election. Early life Levido was raised in Port Macquarie, New South Wales ...

* Jimmy Livingstone as Prof. Chris Whitty *

Simon Treves Frederick Simon Treves (born 19 June 1957) is an English actor, director and writer, best known for playing Harold 'Stinker' Pinker in three series of ITV's ''Jeeves and Wooster''. In 2018 he played Aleister Crowley in the short film ''Boca ...

as Prof. Sir Stephen Powis, Medical Director NHS England *

Simon Lowe Simon Lowe is a British actor who, among other titles, has played series regulars in ''Bodies'' (Dr. Tim Sibley), and ''The Grimleys'' (Shane Titley), both of which were written by Jed Mercurio. He also played Derek Evans in '' EastEnders''. In ...

James Slack James Slack is a British political advisor and journalist who served as Downing Street Director of Communications for Prime Minister Boris Johnson between January and March 2021. Career Previously home affairs editor of the '' Daily Mail'', ...

* Philip Buck as Martin Reynolds *

Neil Stuke Neil Robert Stuke (born 22 February 1966 in Deal, Kent) is an English actor best known for his role of Matthew in the TV sitcom '' Game On'' and more recently for playing Billy Lamb in the BBC legal drama ''Silk''. Career Stuke played Matthew ...

as Senior Civil Servant, Department of Health * Shri Patel as

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

* Aimée Kelly as Alison and Elise Larkin * Joe Bannister as Jack Doyle *

Greta Bellamacina Greta Rosanna Bellamacina (born ) is a British actress, poet and model. Early life Bellamacina was born in Hampstead, London, England, and raised in Camden. She discovered an interest in performing at an early age. She attended Royal Academ ...

as Cleo Watson * Rina Mahoney as Julie * Olivier Huband as Jamie Njoku-Goodwin * Adrian Harris as

Duncan Selbie Duncan Selbie (born 1962/3) is a British government official who is a senior advisor to the Department of Health and Social Care on global and public health. He served as Chief Executive of Public Health England from its foundation in 2013 until ...

* Alec Nicholls as Sir Patrick Vallance *

Ben Lloyd-Hughes Benedict Lloyd-Hughes (born 14 April 1988) is a British actor. He is known for portraying Josh Stock in the British series '' Skins'' (2007) and for his role as Will in the film '' Divergent'' (2014). He plays Tsar Alexander in the 2016 BBC tel ...

as Ben Gascoigne * Michael Colgan as Gabriel Milland * Salima Saxton as Teena * Wasim Zakir as Dr. Amir Hamdi * Tom Andrews as Dr. Tom Armstrong * Justin Edwards as Mark Sedwill * Lee Comley as Ben * Ravin J. Ganatra as Roshan *

Helen Monks Helen Monks (born 2 October 1992) is an English writer, actress and comedian. She is best known for her roles in '' Raised by Wolves'', ''Upstart Crow'', ''The Archers'', '' Holby City'', ''The Last Kingdom'', ''Genius'', and ''Inside No. 9''. E ...

as Jodie * Albin Calderon as Manny *

Heather Peace Heather Mary Peace (born 16 June 1975) is a British actress, musician and LGBT rights activist from Bradford, England. She is best known for her hit role as Nikki Boston in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' from 2012 to 20 ...

Mary Wakefield Mary Wakefield (born August 12, 1954) is an American nurse and health care administrator, who served in the Obama administration as acting United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2015 to 2017, and as head of the Health ...

* Ruth Redman as Yvonne Doyle * Isabella Javor as Lara * Roisin Rae as Sally * Joan Walker as

Sharon Peacock Sharon Jayne Peacock (born 24 March 1959) is a British microbiologist who is Professor of Public Health and Microbiology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge. Peacock also sits on Cambridge University Council. Peacock ...

* Adam Oakley as Government Press Advisor (uncredited) * Rachel Sophia-Anthony as Lola Aldenjana (uncredited) * Julie Williamson as Downing Street Staff (uncredited) * Michael Barron as Baron Eddie Lister (uncredited) * Jarek Ciepichal as Police Protection Officer (uncredited) * Richard Tree as Downing Street Staff (uncredited) * Tony Hood as Security Guard No. 10 (uncredited)

Tim Harford Timothy Douglas Harford (born 27 September 1973) is an English economic journalist who lives in Oxford. Harford is the author of four economics books and writes his long-running ''Financial Times'' column, "The Undercover Economist", syndic ...

, Kate Lawson and Richard Vadon also appear as themselves presenting '' More or Less''.

Episodes

Production

The miniseries was announced in June 2020 as ''This Sceptred Isle''. It was co-written by

and

's casting as

was announced in January 2021. The series was produced by

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, Passenger and

Revolution Films Revolution Films is a British film production company, founded by producer Andrew Eaton and director Michael Winterbottom. They have produced a number of film and television productions since 1994, including '' Jude'' (1996), ''24 Hour Party P ...

, with Richard Brown of Passenger and Melissa Parmenter of Revolution Films serving as executive producers. All episodes were originally set to be directed by Winterbottom, but after the miniseries began filming in February 2021, Winterbottom stepped down from directing in March, reportedly due to health issues. He was replaced by

Julian Jarrold Julian Edward Peter Jarrold (born 15 May 1960 in Norwich, Norfolk) is a BAFTA Award-nominated English film and television director. Early life Jarrold was born into the family which founded Jarrolds of Norwich in 1823. He was educated at Gresh ...

Tim Shipman Timothy James Shipman (born 13 May 1975) is a British journalist, who is a former political editor of the British newspaper ''The Sunday Times''. Shipman attended Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Horncastle in Lincolnshire, and studied History ...

, the political editor of ''The Sunday Times'', is acting as a consultant. In March 2021, Ophelia Lovibond and

joined the cast as

and

. In 2022, it was announced that Sky had changed the title from ''This Sceptred Isle'' to ''This England''. Both phrases are taken from the same passage in Shakespeare's ''

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

''. The miniseries was set to premiere on 21 September 2022; however on 9 September 2022 the premiere was pushed back to 28 September 2022, in respect of the UK period of mourning for the late Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

Reception

The series received mixed reviews, with some British critics feeling that it was too soon for such a drama. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' said: "here comes the show that precisely nobody was asking for". The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said it "debuted with solid ratings" and said, "It adds up to a heartbreaking depiction of the pressure on health workers, and the fear, pain and often lonely deaths of those hooked up to ventilators". ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' praised the series and called it "An impressive enterprise but not an easy watch". ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' said "If you can stomach the material, this show is hugely watchable". Branagh was praised for his performance, with ''The Times'' calling it mesmerising. ''

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 ...

'' and ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' felt the series was overly sympathethic to Johnson, as well as sanitised and detatched from the front line experience. The ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' praised the series, but said that the format "takes some getting used to" as it oscillates between harrowing scenes in hospitals to events that resemble the 2005 BBC political satire ''

The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...

''.

References

External links

* *
''This England''
Sky official trailer {{authority control Sky Atlantic original programming Television series by Fremantle (company) English-language television shows Television series set in 2020 2022 British television series debuts 2022 British television series endings 2020s British drama television series 2020s British political television series 2020s British television miniseries 2020s British workplace drama television series British political drama television series Media depictions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom Television shows about the COVID-19 pandemic Cultural depictions of Boris Johnson Television series about prime ministers