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Season 1 – Upstart Crow

Play trailer Poster for Season 1 – Upstart Crow May 2016 Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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69% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
William Shakespeare starts to make a name for himself while also trying to be a husband and father.
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Upstart Crow — Season 1

Upstart Crow — Season 1

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Critics Consensus

Upstart Crow does not clear the high bar of the Bard's written work - and the series' sitcom stylings may prove drearily retro for some viewers -- but the series is stimulatingly literate and boasts a terrifically put-upon David Mitchell as history's most famous writer.

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Critics Reviews

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Deborah Ross The Mail on Sunday (UK) 04/15/2019
2/5
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet? Would it? I don't wish to argue with Shakespeare, who isn't here to defend himself, but in some instances a rose by any other name is no match for the first rose, as is the case here. Go to Full Review Ben Travis London Evening Standard 04/12/2019
Upstart Crow is a witty take on Shakespeare that benefits from a hugely likeable cast, with plenty of in-jokes from the plays, and a pitch-perfect performance from David Mitchell. Go to Full Review Jasper Rees Daily Telegraph (UK) 04/12/2019
4/5
Mitchell, who has cornered the market in sardonic self-doubt, nicely embodied the anxiety and arrogance of nascent genius. Go to Full Review Christopher Stevens Daily Mail (UK) 04/12/2019
2/5
It's as though Elton, the writer of brilliant Eighties sitcoms including Blackadder and The Young Ones, has forgotten a basic fact about jokes: they aren't funny when you've heard them before. Go to Full Review Ben Dowell Radio Times 04/12/2019
A well-constructed opening story peppered with some good gags and the kind of elaborate wordplay so beloved of Blackadder fans. Go to Full Review Pattie Pegler The Post NZ 04/12/2019
It ties in neatly with how many of us feel from uninspiring high school encounters with Shakespeare plays. And it also quickly creates a world ripe with comedy potential. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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y c 06/25/2020 Hilarious, witty, intelligent and just downright fun, if you look past the absurd shoehorning of modern feminist theory (that, unfortunately, is too often left unchallenged) it is a great little series. See more 11/12/2018 Simply brilliantington! See more 01/26/2018 Lukewarm, easy laughs. Very good in places, but peppered with copious embarrassing nods to the audience (Oh, they all thought X wouldn't be popular in years to come, but it is. Ha ha. Repeat same formula five minutes later. Ha ha.), clumsily crow-barred citations of modern language/culture and back-references to Blackadder so massive they're not so much back-references as public wanking. The character of Kemp (parody of Ricky Gervais' stage persona) could - if Ben was so bent on being childish - have been given sharp, clever swipes of Gervaisness woven within an actual character. As he stands he's a simply cringe-worthy one-dimensional show-up of Ben's ego. The show definitely improves as the series progresses, but feels catch-phrasey and cheap too often to allow the sections of good writing to ever catch much air. I'm stunned that the reviews have been so overwhelmingly positive for this show. It's like a fresh baked apple pie that Ben's decided to top off with a huge, monogrammed turd. See more Read all reviews
Upstart Crow — Season 1

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Cast & Crew

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David Mitchell

Will Shakespeare

Liza Tarbuck

Anne Hathaway

Paula Wilcox

Mary Arden

Helen Monks

Susanna

Harry Enfield

John Shakespeare

Gemma Whelan

Kate

Episodes

Episode 1 Aired May 9, 2016 Star Crossed Lovers Will struggles to find inspiration for Romeo while having to deal with an angry actor. Details Episode 2 Aired May 16, 2016 The Play's the Thing Will's new play is about to be presented to Queen Elizabeth when it goes missing. Details Episode 3 Aired May 23, 2016 The Apparel Proclaims the Man Will hopes to move up in the world when he is invited to Lord Southampton's party. Details Episode 4 Aired May 30, 2016 Love Is Not Love Will has completed his final sonnet and senses literary immortality just around the corner. But will the fair youth and the dark lady like them? Is Anne likely to be impressed that her husband's 154 hot new love poems don't contain much about her? Details Episode 5 Aired Jun 6, 2016 What Bloody Man Is That? The plague leads Will and his friends to escape to the family home in Stratford. On the way they meet three witches who have some surprising predictions to make about Will's future, leading to a very serious case of house envy. Details Episode 6 Aired Jun 13, 2016 The Quality of Mercy There's money to be made investing in cargos from the New World, but while Marlowe invests in tobacco and potato products, Will would rather invest in building a new theatre. Details

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Upstart Crow — Season 1

Upstart Crow Upstart Crow Upstart Crow View more photos

Season Info

Director
Matt Lipsey
Screenwriter
Ben Elton
Network
BBC
Rating
TV-14
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
British English
Release Date
May 9, 2016