James R | On 09, Feb 2021

The Split will return to BBC One for a third and final season.

From BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning writer Abi Morgan (River, Suffragette, The Hour) and executive producers Jane Featherstone (Chernobyl, Giri-Haji, Utopia), Lucy Dyke (The Split, Black Mirror, Ripper Street) and Lucy Richer (Small Axe, The Salisbury Poisonings, The A Word), the legal drama in the fast paced, complex world of London’s high-end divorce circuit.

“A fantastic Nicola Walker leads a top-notch cast in this believably messy legal drama,” we wrote in our review of Season 1.

It follows the complicated lives of the three Defoe sisters, Hannah (Nicola Walker), Nina (Annabel Scholey) and Rose (Fiona Button) and their formidable mother Ruth (Deborah Findlay). They will return for a third season, with Nicola Walker and Stephen Mangan as Hannah’s husband reprising their roles for one last legal battle.

Season 2, which averaged over 6 million viewers and over 19 million streams, became the third most watched drama series on BBC iPlayer in 2020. With Dee Koppang O’Leary (Bridgerton, The Crown) boarding as lead director and Chukwudi Iwuji set to reprise his role as Hannah’s boss, the final run will conclude proceedings with the most dramatic twist to date, as we see a divorce lawyer confronted with her own divorce.

Season 3 picks up 10 months after the end of Season 2, with the two professional divorce lawyers respectfully negotiating their separation and appearing to have reached an amicable agreement. However, a shocking revelation dramatically changes the stakes.

Morgan says: “It’s great to be back writing for the Defoe Family, and to dive once more into to the complications of their lives and those of their clients. In the final series of this bittersweet trilogy, Hannah faces the heartbreak of her own divorce, and the fight to save her family and her marriage. Siblings clash, past mistakes are exposed and hearts are broken as Noble Hale Defoe notches up more billable hours in the divorce capital of the world.”

Walker adds: “I can’t wait to be back in the Defoe Family, we are all looking forward to the journey Abi has planned for us. I don’t know if Hannah will cling to the wreckage or walk away, but I do know it’s going to be a fantastic ride.”

 

Trailer: The Split returns for Season 2 this February

4th February 2020

The Split is back on our screens this February, and a new trailer gives us a glimpse of the second season.

Set in the fast-paced, messy world of London’s high-end divorce circuit, The Split is a witty examination of modern marriage and the legacy of divorce. Exploring the often complex realities that bind families together, and tear them apart, the series follows the three Defoe sisters, Hannah (Nicola Walker), Nina (Annabel Scholey) and Rose (Fiona Button) and their formidable mother Ruth (Deborah Findlay).

“Hannah and her sisters make for engrossing, compellingly human television,” we wrote in our review of Season 1. “With so much seething distrust, jealousy and resentment simmering under the surface… the fun lies in seeing each relative use their clients as ammunition to snipe at the others.”

Season 2 premieres on Tuesday 11th February at 9pm on BBC One. Here’s the trailer:

 

Production begins on The Split Season 2

23rd March 2019

Production is now underway on Season 2 of BBC One’s The Split.

The legal drama, set in the fast-paced, messy world of London’s high-end divorce circuit, premiered last year on the BBC, offering an authentic, multi-layered, witty examination of modern marriage and the legacy of divorce. Exploring the often complex realities that bind families together, and tear them apart, the series follows the three Defoe sisters, Hannah (Nicola Walker), Nina (Annabel Scholey) and Rose (Fiona Button) and their formidable mother Ruth (Deborah Findlay).

That combination made for the kind of formula that has seen The Good Wife – and The Good Fight – become major hits in the USA. Indeed, Episode 1 launched to 6 million (consolidated) viewers, and racked up 2.2 million requests on BBC iPlayer in the 30 days following its launch.

Joining the trio are Stephen Mangan (Episodes), Annabel Scholey (Being Human), Rudi Dharmalingam (Our Girl), Barry Atsma (Hector And The Search For Happiness), Chukwudi Iwuji (Zander) and Ellora Torchia (Maggie Lavelle), reprising their roles from Season 1, plus new faces Donna Air (Hotel Babylon) and Ben Bailey Smith (Cleaning Up, Doctor Who).

Season 2 picks up as Hannah is torn between her past and the promise of a different future, follow the events of Season 1. Now, the Defoes are back, at newly merged law firm Noble Hale Defoe, and as former rivals now find themselves on the same side of the table, while Hannah’s latest case is set to put NHD firmly on the map.

Locked into an aggressive NDA by her controlling husband Richie Hansen (Ben Bailey Smith) when she was young and naive, Fi Hansen (Donna Air), one half of the UK’s most powerful celebrity couples, now wants out of her marriage. Hiring Hannah to help prepare to leave her dangerously coercive and manipulative partner, their divorce is set to be all the things the press love: public and messy. As the curtain is pulled back from the glossy veneer of their meticulously constructed public image, the pain that lies behind Brand Hansen is slowly revealed and Hannah must invest more than just her billable hours in helping Fi reclaim her life.

Meanwhile, Rose and James return from their honeymoon with ambitions to start their own family and Nina teeters on the edge, as the consequences of her erratic behaviour finally catch up with her.

The series is helmed by award-winning writer Abi Morgan (River, Suffragette, The Hour) and executive producer Jane Featherstone (Broadchurch, River, Humans).

Featherstone says: “I love these characters so much and can’t wait to spend time with them again as we watch them struggle through life’s complicated relationships.”

Morgan adds: “Sitting on set on the first day of filming I am always reminded what a joy and privilege it is to do what we do – tell stories. Returning for the second series of The Split, the world of high end law and the stories of love, marriage and divorce in the metropolis ricochet through the lives of Hannah and her sisters. Relationships are challenged, friendships are tested and the lines between work and home blue. It’s great to be back.”

Created and written by Abi Morgan, The Split is produced by Sister Pictures for BBC One, co-produced with SundanceTV, and was re-commissioned by Piers Wenger, Controller of BBC Drama, and Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content. Season 2 is executive produced by Sister Pictures Founder Featherstone (Broadchurch, Humans, River), Morgan (River, Suffragette, The Hour), Lucy Dyke (Black Mirror, Ripper Street) and Lucy Richer for the BBC. Paula van der Oest boards as director with Natasha Romaniuk producing.
 

BBC One’s The Split to return for Season 2

30th May 2018

BBC One has ordered a second season of legal drama The Split.

Written by Abi Morgan, the original drama is set in the fast-paced world of London’s divorce law circuit, following the Defoe family, exploring modern marriage and the legacy of divorce through their lens. It stars Nicola Walker (River, Last Tango In Halifax), Meera Syal (Goodness Gracious Me), Stephen Mangan (Episodes), Fiona Button (Lip Service), Deborah Findlay (Leaving), Annabel Scholey (Being Human), Anthony Head (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Barry Atsma (Hector And The Search For Happiness) and Stephen Tompkinson (DCI Banks).

That combination of impressive cast, stellar writer, human drama and legal disputes made for the kind of formula that has seen The Good Wife – and The Good Fight – become major hits in the USA. Indeed, Episode 1 launched to 6 million (consolidated) viewers, and racked up 2.2 million requests on BBC iPlayer in the 30 days following its launch.

“Hannah and her sisters make for engrossing, compellingly human television,” we wrote in our review. “With so much seething distrust, jealousy and resentment simmering under the surface… the fun lies in seeing each relative use their clients as ammunition to snipe at the others.”

Now, the day after its finale, the BBC has announced that it has ordered a second season from producers Sister Pictures.

Of the show’s return, Abi Morgan says: “It’s a delight and a privilege to bring The Split back for Season 2 and to submerge myself once more into the world of Noble, Hale and Defoe and the lives of Hannah and her sisters. Thank you to the BBC and the enthusiasm of viewers and we look forward to seeing you in 2019.”

Jane Featherstone, Executive Producer for Sister Pictures, says: “I’ve been very proud to see Nicola Walker leading our incredible cast through six episodes of Abi Morgan’s beautifully crafted exploration of families and modern marriage, and I am thrilled that we’re going to be able to continue to explore their lives in even more detail in a second series. Expect things to get even messier for the Defoe sisters and those closest to them.”

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