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Southcliffe

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This article is about the British TV series. For the village, see South Cliffe.

Southcliffe
Written byTony Grisoni[1]
Directed bySean Durkin[1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producersPeter Carlton
Sophie Gardiner
Running time240 minutes
Production companyWarp Films
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release4 August (2013-08-04) –
18 August 2013 (2013-08-18)

Southcliffe is a British drama series airing on Channel 4. Set in a fictional town on the North Kent Marshes, it employs a nonlinear narrative structure to tell the story of a series of shootings by a local man portrayed by Sean Harris, the cause of these shootings and the effects on the town and residents. It explores tragedy, grief, responsibility and redemption, as seen through the eyes of a journalist returning to the small town of his childhood, to cover the story of the tragedy, and those closest to the victims of the tragedy.[2]

The series was filmed in Faversham in North Kent.[3]

It has been selected to be screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[4][5]

Cast

Production

In August 2012, Channel 4 announced that they have ordered a four-part drama series titled Southcliffe. The drama was written by Tony Grisoni and produced by Warp Films, with Peter Carlton and Sophie Gardiner serving as executive producers and Sean Durkin as director.[6]

Conception

The story is of a fictional English market town devastated by a spate of shootings which take place over a single day. According to its writer Grisoni, the "Southcliffe is a fictional market town inhabited by fictional characters, but with similarities to many actual people and places in Britain today; invisible people, anonymous places." He added that "Southcliffe is an anthem to ordinary people's ability to reinvent themselves in the face of ultimate darkness."[2] However, he denied that Southcliffe's central conceit is exploitative. "It's not really a story of a spree shooting. It's a story of people who are suddenly robbed of someone very close to them." He insisted that it is vitally important not to portray the shooter as a cartoon monster, but that he is a human being and should be treated as one.[7]

Filming

Filming began in October 2012 in Faversham on an eight-week filming schedule.[8] Filming took place at various locations in the town, using local homes, town centre streets, the Faversham Creek and Hollowshore pub The Shipwright's Arms.[9] It was estimated by Faversham Enterprise Partnership that the filming generated £500,000 for the local economy, however some residents of the town expressed concerns about its effect on the town after it became apparent that the story is of a Hungerford-type shooting.[10]

Reception

The response to the first two episodes were mostly positive from the critics. Benji Wilson of The Daily Telegraph thought that with its "its muted palette, protracted silences, dank fogs and seething unease, Southcliffe was anything but nice-cup-of-tea and a sit-down TV, but it was a mesmerising tragedy, nonetheless."[11] Arifa Akbar of The Independent noted "its disturbing silences" and called it "a rare and brilliant Sunday-night viewing",[12] while Paul Whitelaw of The Scotsman considered Southcliffe to be "a major work, and quite easily the best British TV drama of the year so far."[13] The sentiment was shared by Euan Ferguson of The Observer who called it "the TV event of the year."[14] Andrew Collins of The Guardian thought that this is "tragedy as art", and that it is the latest example of a movie director lured to television and he as a viewer is being spoiled by television.[15]

Serena Davies of The Daily Telegraph however voiced a contrary opinion and wondered if the level of violence in this show as well as other TV dramas is really necessary,[16] while Christopher Stevens of The Daily Mail thought the character and situation not believable and that the storyline went from "improbable to downright insulting."[17]

Episodes

No. Title[18] Original air date UK viewers inc.HD
(million)[19]
1"The Hollow Shore"9pm 4 August 2013 (2013-08-04)2.77
2"Light Falls"9pm 5 August 2013 (2013-08-05)TBA
3"Sorrow's Child"9pm 11 August 2013 (2013-08-11)TBA
4"All Souls"9pm 18 August 2013 (2013-08-18)TBA

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Robinson, John (26 July 2013). "Southcliffe: the most harrowing drama on TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Stellar casting announced for Channel 4 drama Southcliffe". Channel 4. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Faverham stars in gritty crime thriller 'Southcliffe' on Channel 4". Kent Online. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Southcliffe". TIFF. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Toronto Adds 75+ Titles To 2013 Edition". Indiewire. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  6. ^ "Channel 4 has announced that they have ordered a new four-part drama titled Southcliffe". TV Wise. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  7. ^ Rebecca Nicholson (21 July 2013). "Southcliffe: TV that threatens the status quo". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  8. ^ "Faversham takes lead role in new Channel 4 drama Southcliffe". Faversham Times. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  9. ^ "Channel 4 drama Southcliffe brings £500k cash boost to Faversham". Faversham Times. 19 December 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  10. ^ McCann, Jaymi (27 July 2013). "We wanted Midsomer Murders not Hungerford massacre: Town in uproar over serial killer TV series being filmed on their doorstep". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  11. ^ Wilson, Benji (4 August 2013). "Southcliffe, episode one, Channel 4, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  12. ^ Akbar, Arifa (5 August 2013). "TV review: Southcliffe might not be cheery, but this is rare and brilliant Sunday night viewing". The Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  13. ^ Whitelaw, Paul (9 August 2013). "TV preview: Southcliffe, Steve Coogan". The Scotsman. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  14. ^ Ferguson, Euan (10 August 201), "Rewind TV: Southcliffe; The Field of Blood; Make Me a German – review", The Observer, retrieved 12 August 2013
  15. ^ Collins, Andrew (6 August 2013). "The week in TV: The Returned; The Mill; New Tricks; Celebrity Masterchef; Southcliffe – video review". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  16. ^ Davies, Serena (6 August 2013). "Southcliffe: Is there too much violence on TV?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  17. ^ Stevens, Christopher (4 August 2013). "This SAS fantasist is so off target it's an insult to all real squaddies: Christopher Stevens reviews last weekend's TV". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  18. ^ "Southcliffe: Episode Guides". Channel 4.
  19. ^ "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB.
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