The Change (TV series)
| The Change | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Dark comedy Comedy-drama Surreal humour |
| Created by | Bridget Christie |
| Written by | Bridget Christie |
| Directed by | Al Campbell Mackenzie Crook |
| Starring |
|
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Lisa Mitchell |
| Production company | Expectation Entertainment
|
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 |
| Release | 21 June 2023 – present |
The Change is a British comedy drama series starring, written and created by Bridget Christie for Channel 4 and co-directed by Mackenzie Crook. Regular cast members include Susan Lynch, Jim Howick, Jerome Flynn, Paul Whitehouse, Liza Tarbuck and Omid Djalili. A second series was broadcast in March 2025.
The show's end credits music is Hares on the Mountain performed by Shirley Collins and Ian Kearey.
Synopsis
[edit]Linda (Christie) has an existential crisis at the age of 50 after being informed she has started menopause. She finds her old Triumph motorcycle and goes on a pilgrimage around her old haunts in the Forest of Dean.[1]
Cast
[edit]- Bridget Christie as Linda
- Monica Dolan as Carmel (Season 1)
- Susan Lynch as Agnes
- Jim Howick as The Verderer
- Jerome Flynn as William (Pig Man)
- Paul Whitehouse as Tony
- Liza Tarbuck as Linda's sister Siobhain
- Tanya Moodie as Joy
- Omid Djalili as Linda's husband Steve
- Sonny Charlton as Ryan, a non-binary member of the community
- Laura Checkley as Theresa (Season 2)
Episodes
[edit]Series 1 (2023)
[edit]| No. | Title [2] | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [2] | U.K. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Al Campbell | Bridget Christie | 21 June 2023 | N/A | |
|
After being told she is going through the menopause, Linda heads to the Forest of Dean to find a time capsule she hid in a tree, trying to reconnect with the person she used to be. | ||||||
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Al Campbell | Bridget Christie | 21 June 2023 | N/A | |
|
Trying to locate the time capsule, Linda runs into Pig Man, who maybe knows about her more than he lets on. | ||||||
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Al Campbell | Bridget Christie | 28 June 2023 | N/A | |
|
Linda interrupts the town meeting after stumbling upon crucial information. | ||||||
| 4 | "Episode 4" | Al Campbell | Bridget Christie | 28 June 2023 | N/A | |
|
Linda receives a visit from her sister Siobhain, who is very displeased with Linda's newfound community. | ||||||
| 5 | "Episode 5" | Al Campbell | Bridget Christie | 5 July 2023 | N/A | |
|
Ahead of the town festival, Linda bonds with the Eel sisters and Joy. | ||||||
| 6 | "Episode 6" | Al Campbell | Bridget Christie | 5 July 2023 | N/A | |
|
The transformed Eel Festival threatens to disrupt the delicate harmony in the village. | ||||||
Series 2 (2025)
[edit]The second series was made available prior to linear broadcast on Channel 4 on-demand for subscribers to its paid Channel 4+ tier on 11 March 2025.[3]
| No. | Title [2] | Directed by | Written by | Original release date [2] | U.K. viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "malleus maleficarum" | Bridget Christie and Mackenzie Crook | Bridget Christie | 11 March 2025 | N/A | |
|
Linda finds herself on trial for lying to the town about her true identity | ||||||
| 2 | "mycelium" | Bridget Christie and Mackenzie Crook | Bridget Christie | 11 March 2025 | N/A | |
|
The seeds of a revolution are being sown, but Linda’s reluctant to lead the campaign | ||||||
| 3 | "the mental load" | Bridget Christie and Mackenzie Crook | Bridget Christie | 11 March 2025 | N/A | |
|
Linda begins to realise the power that her ledgers have unleashed in the town's women | ||||||
| 4 | "psilocybin" | Bridget Christie and Mackenzie Crook | Bridget Christie | 11 March 2025 | N/A | |
|
While the men and women are more divided than ever, Linda’s past comes back to haunt her | ||||||
| 5 | "the witch trials of england (C15-C18)" | Bridget Christie and Mackenzie Crook | Bridget Christie | 11 March 2025 | N/A | |
|
The Eel Sisters invite Linda to their annual Silent Supper, and The Verderer declares war | ||||||
| 6 | "truffle" | Bridget Christie and Mackenzie Crook | Bridget Christie | 11 March 2025 | N/A | |
|
The strike is over and there’s a sense of new beginnings for everyone… | ||||||
Production
[edit]In July 2022 the series started filming, and Howick, Djalili, Whitehouse, Tarbuck and Dolan joined the cast.[4] Later, Susan Lynch was revealed to have joined the cast as an Eel sister.[5] Filming took place on location in the Forest of Dean.[6] Christie was brought up in near the Forest of Dean, and had in 2021 experienced some of the symptoms explored in the series.[7][8][9]
A second series was confirmed in May 2024 with filming locations including Chepstow in July 2024.[10][11]
Broadcast
[edit]The series began airing on Channel 4 on 21 June 2023.[12] The second series premiered on Channel 4 on 25 March 2025.[13]
Reception
[edit]Critical reception
[edit]The Evening Standard awarded the show four stars out of five, calling it "joyful" and observing that "[while] it is cutting both in its humour and its astute social commentary, it is also immensely warm, grounded in familial community and nostalgic in a way that is hard to define."[14] The Guardian also gave four stars out of five, declaring it "like nothing else on TV" and identifying Christie's protagonist as "the role model we've all been waiting for.".[12] Comedy website Chortle also gave it four stars, calling it 'sardonic yet surreal'[15]
Hollie Richardson in The Guardian subsequently reviewed the final episode of the first series as "gorgeous", "life-affirming", and "the most profound finale of the year."[16] Chitra Ramaswamy in The Guardian gave the second series five stars describing it as "ambitious, surreal, moving, and above all hysterically funny".[17]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the first series has a 92% approval rating based on 12 critics' reviews, with an average rating of 8.0/10.[18] The second series has 100% approval from 6 critics, with average rating 8.8/10.[19]
Accolades
[edit]In February 2024, the series was nominated at the Broadcast Awards in the Best Comedy Programme category.[20] That month, it was also nominated in the Best TV Show category at the Chortle Awards.[21] Christie was nominated for Best Writer - Comedy at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards.[22] In March 2024, Christie was nominated in the Female performance in a comedy programme category at the 2024 British Academy Television Awards.[23]
In August 2024, Christie won Best Actress - Comedy at the Edinburgh TV Awards at the Edinburgh International Television Festival.[24]
References
[edit]- ↑ "The Change". Comedy.co.uk.
- 1 2 3 4 "The Change on Channel 4". Channel 4. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ↑ "Watch The Change | Stream free on Channel 4". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 11 March 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
- ↑ "Bridget Christie comedy reveals cast". Comedy.co.uk. 5 July 2022.
- ↑ "Dursley actor Susan Lynch set to star in Channel 4 comedy, The Change". Stroud Times. 8 December 2022.
- ↑ "Filming starts in the Forest of Dean for Bridget Christie's new Channel 4 comedy series". Gloucestershirelive.co.uk. 27 July 2022.
- ↑ "Gloucester comedienne Bridget Christie's new Channel 4 comedy show set in Forest of Dean". Gloucestershirelive.co.uk. 11 May 2022.
- ↑ "Comedian Bridget Christie: 'I see my flasher's penis all the time. But I can make horrible things amusing'". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Bridget Christie: Menopausal women are some of the coolest people on the planet". The Independent. 5 November 2021.
- ↑ "Bridget Christie's The Change to return for Series 2". Comedy.co.uk. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
- ↑ "TV crew arrives in Chepstow to film series 2 of 'The Change'". South Wales Argus. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- 1 2 Jones, Ellen E (21 June 2023). "The Change review – Bridget Christie's super-cool menopause comedy is like nothing else on TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
- ↑ Richardson, Hollie (25 March 2025). "TV tonight: Bridget Christie's superb menopause comedy is back". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
- ↑ "The Change on Channel 4 review: come for the menopause, stay for the druids..." Evening Standard. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ↑ "The Change - review of Bridget Christie's Channel 4 comedy". Chortle. 22 June 2023.
- ↑ Richardson, Hollie (6 July 2023). "The most profound finale of the year: why menopause comedy The Change is life-affirming TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ↑ Ramaswamy, Chitra (25 March 2025). "The Change series two review – Bridget Christie's glorious feminist sitcom will leave you ecstatic". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
- ↑ "The Change: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ↑ "The Change: Season 2". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
- ↑ "Black Ops wins at Broadcast Awards 2024". Comedy.co.uk. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ↑ "Final Chortle Award nominees revealed". Chortle. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ↑ "RTS PROGRAMME AWARDS 2024". RTS.org.uk. 7 March 2024.
- ↑ Richardson, Hollie (20 March 2024). "Bafta TV awards 2024 nominations: full list". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ↑ "Edinburgh TV Awards announces 2024 winners". Comedy.co.uk. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
External links
[edit]- The Change at IMDb