David Farnor | On 02, Apr 2020

BBC Three’s This Country has officially bowed out as one of the online channel’s biggest comedies.

Last week, fans waved goodbye to Kerry and Kurtan, the beloved brother and sister of the Cotswold village-based mockumentary, who first made their way on to our screens several years ago. Daisy May and Charlie Cooper’s note perfect depiction of life in rural Britain has been a hit with, winning a BAFTA for Best Scripted Comedy and an RTS Scripted Comedy award over its three seasons.

Its first two seasons racked up more than 11 million iPlayer requests, with the six-part third season ordered swiftly after Season 2. Now, together with the third season and the special, This Country has been requested over 52 million times on iPlayer, making it one of the biggest BBC Three comedies since the channel went online in 2016 – on a par with Fleabag.

The first episode of the third season had three times as many as the first ever episode across its first seven days on iPlayer. As of this week, Season 1 has more than 23 million requests, Season 2 nearly more than 20 million and Season 2 more than 8 million, with over half the requests for Season 3 among the 16-34 age group. Since Season 3 launched on 17th February, just over half of the total requests for the show have come from previous episodes, which illustrates its long-term staying power.

Fiona Campbell, Controller BBC Three, says: “Filling the gap left by This Country is not going to be easy, it was a truly unique comedy and these numbers are a rich reward for the whole team involved in the show. Additionally, it once again proves that there aren’t many places better than BBC Three for growing new comedy and bringing it to wide audiences.”

 

This Country to end with Season 3

21st January 2020

This Country will end with its third season, BBC Three has confirmed.

The BAFTA winning comedy, written by siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper, documents the lives of young cousins Kerry (Daisy May) and Lee ‘Kurtan’ Mucklowe (Charlie), as they interact with the other residents of their claustrophobic Cotswold village. These include the local vicar – and one-time 80s popstar – Reverend Francis Seaton, aspiring tattoo artist, bodyguard and S Club 7 fan, Mandy Harris and self-confessed peeper and bookies’ favourite for Worst Father in Britain, Martin Mucklowe.

The mockumentary has been a breakout hit for BBC Three, enjoying over 11 million iPlayer requests with its first two seasons. The six-part third Season was ordered soon after Season 2 and picks up after the 40-minute one-off special, which focused on Kerry and her relationship with her father.

Season 3 will comprise six episodes, premiering at 7pm on Monday 17th February on BBC iPlayer.

 

First look: This Country Season 3 begins filming

13th August 2019

Filming is now underway on Season 3 of This Country, and we’ve got our first look at the show’s return.

The BAFTA winning show, written by siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper, documents the lives of young cousins Kerry (Daisy May) and Lee ‘Kurtan’ Mucklowe (Charlie), as they interact with the other residents of their claustrophobic Cotswold village. These include the local vicar – and one-time 80s popstar – Reverend Francis Seaton, aspiring tattoo artist, bodyguard and S Club 7 fan, Mandy Harris and self-confessed peeper and bookies’ favourite for Worst Father in Britain, Martin Mucklowe.

The show has enjoyed over 11 million iPlayer requests with its first two seasons and, on BBC One, has seen audiences of well over a million, winning its slot every week with an average 13 per cent audience share.

It was shortly after Season 2’s release in 2018 that BBC renewed it for a third season, plus a special.

Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning, said of the decision: “Once in a while a show lands fully formed and audiences take it to their hearts immediately. Daisy and Charlie’s characters and world have struck a chord with viewers of all ages as their sharp writing delivers a winning mix of heartfelt moments and punchy belly laughs, all performed to comic perfection.”

Picture credit: Simon Mayhew-Archer

 

BBC Three renews This Country for Season 3

21st April 2018

After the recent cliffhanger at the end of This Country’s second season, BBC Three has doubled-down and commissioned both a one-off special and a third run of the award-winning mockumentary.

The show, which is written by and stars siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper, documents the lives of young cousins Kerry and Lee ‘Kurtan’ Mucklowe, as they interact with the other residents of their claustrophobic Cotswold village. These include the local vicar – and one-time 80s popstar – Reverend Francis Seaton, aspiring tattoo artist, bodyguard and S Club 7 fan, Mandy Harris and self-confessed peeper and bookies’ favourite for Worst Father in Britain, Martin Mucklowe.

Season 2 of This Country launched in February 2018 on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer with a slot on BBC One on Tuesday nights. The show has had over 11 million iPlayer requests to date and, on BBC One, has seen audiences of well over a million, winning its slot every week with an average 13 per cent audience share.

The show recently won three RTS Programme Awards for Scripted Comedy, Writer – Comedy, and Comedy Performance (Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper). The show has also been nominated for four awards at the upcoming BAFTAs: Scripted Comedy, Female Performance in a Comedy Programme at the Television Awards and the pair are nominated for Breakthrough Talent and Writer – Comedy at the Television Craft Awards.

Daisy May Cooper says: “This is great because the truth is I bought a corner sofa from DFS on tick and I currently only own an arm of it. With this news I can now own the entire sofa and the special can pay for the throw cushions.”

Charlie Cooper says: “Yeah it’s great but I feel empty inside.”

Shane Allen, Controller of Comedy Commissioning, says: “Once in a while a show lands fully formed and audiences take it to their hearts immediately. Daisy and Charlie’s characters and world have struck a chord with viewers of all ages as their sharp writing delivers a winning mix of heartfelt moments and punchy belly laughs, all performed to comic perfection.”

Chris Sussman, Head of Comedy at BBC Studios, adds: “We’re just happy to get as much out of Kerry and Kurtan as we can before they become too famous, and we’re left pitching an Uncle Nugget spin-off series.”

Damian Kavanagh, Controller BBC Three, comments: “Daisy and Charlie have established themselves as two of the freshest writing and performing comedy talents of this generation and I’m delighted that they are bringing their magic back to BBC Three.”

Filming will begin on the 40-minute special this summer, with the six-part season to go into production next year.

The whole second series is available on BBC iPlayer as a boxset until the end of September.

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