| Staged | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sitcom |
| Created by | |
| Written by | Simon Evans |
| Directed by | Simon Evans |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Alex Baranowski |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 21 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producers |
|
| Editor | Dan Gage |
| Running time | 15–20 minutes |
| Production company | Infinity Hill – GCB Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 10 June 2020 (2020-06-10) – 26 January 2021 (2021-01-26) |
| Network | Britbox |
| Release | 31 December 2021 (2021-12-31) – 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) |
Staged is a British television comedy series. Set and filmed during theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, primarily usingvideo-conferencing technology, the series stars actorsMichael Sheen andDavid Tennant as fictionalised versions of themselves.Simon Evans,Georgia Tennant,Anna Lundberg, and Lucy Eaton also star. The first series premiered 10 June 2020 onBBC One, and the second series premiered 4 January 2021 on BBC One. AComic Relief New Year Special was uploaded to theBritBoxYouTube page on 31 December 2021. A third series,BackStaged, premiered on 24 November 2022 on BritBox.
In the first series, Michael Sheen and David Tennant play fictionalised versions of themselves, trying to rehearse a performance ofLuigi Pirandello'sSix Characters in Search of an Author duringlockdown via videoconference,[2] while the underconfident director, Simon, struggles to keep control of the production.[3][4]
The second series follows the "real" Michael and David following the success of the first series ofStaged. Simon begins work on an Americanremake of the first series but Michael and David are not asked to reprise their roles.
The third series starts with Simon trying to get Michael and David to agree to a Christmas staged version ofSix Characters in Search of an Author, and laterA Christmas Carol, before becoming ametafictional behind the scenes documentary of the show entitledBackstaged.
Guest stars play themselves unless otherwise noted.
| Series | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | Network | |||
| 1 | 6 | 10 June 2020 (2020-06-10) | 24 June 2020 (2020-06-24) | BBC One | |
| 2 | 8 | 4 January 2021 (2021-01-04) | 26 January 2021 (2021-01-26) | ||
| Special | 31 December 2021 (2021-12-31) | Britbox | |||
| 3 | 6 | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) | |||
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Cachu Hwch" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 10 June 2020 (2020-06-10) |
| 2 | 2 | "Up to No Good" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 10 June 2020 (2020-06-10) |
| 3 | 3 | "Who the F#!k Is Michael Sheen?" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 17 June 2020 (2020-06-17) |
| 4 | 4 | "Bara Brith" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 17 June 2020 (2020-06-17) |
| 5 | 5 | "Ulysses" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 24 June 2020 (2020-06-24) |
| 6 | 6 | "The Cookie Jar" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 24 June 2020 (2020-06-24) |
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | "Saddle Up Sheen" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 4 January 2021 (2021-01-04) |
| 8 | 2 | "Long Time, No See" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 5 January 2021 (2021-01-05) |
| 9 | 3 | "The Dirty Mochyns" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 11 January 2021 (2021-01-11) |
| 10 | 4 | "Woofty Doofty, David" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 12 January 2021 (2021-01-12) |
| 11 | 5 | "The Warthog and the Mongoose, Part 1" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 18 January 2021 (2021-01-18) |
| 12 | 6 | "The Warthog and the Mongoose, Part 2" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 19 January 2021 (2021-01-19) |
| 13 | 7 | "The Loo Recluse" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 25 January 2021 (2021-01-25) |
| 14 | 8 | "Until They Get Home" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 26 January 2021 (2021-01-26) |
| No. overall | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | "Happy New Year from David Tennant & Michael Sheen" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 31 December 2021 (2021-12-31) |
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1 | "Is There a Version?" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) |
| 17 | 2 | "Who's Playing Who?" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) |
| 18 | 3 | "Past" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) |
| 19 | 4 | "Present" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) |
| 20 | 5 | "Future" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) |
| 21 | 6 | "Knock, Knock" | Simon Evans | Simon Evans | 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) |
The series premiered on 10 June 2020 onBBC One.[5] On 22 October 2020, it was announced that a second series had been commissioned.[6] The second series premiered on 4 January 2021 on BBC One, and all eight episodes were added toBBC iPlayer on the same day.[7] A New Year Special was uploaded toBritBoxYouTube page on 31 December 2021, with Michael, David, Simon, Georgia, Anna & Lucy all reprising their roles.[8]
The first series was released in the U.S. via streaming serviceHulu on 16 September 2020.[9]
A third series of six episodes premiered on 24 November 2022 on BritBox UK.[10][11]
The first series was well received by critics. Louis Chilton, in a four-starred review forThe Independent, describedStaged as "a welcome distraction, an eminently watchable portrait of two artists as petulant, egotistical children".[12] Anna Leszkiewicz, for theNew Statesman, said it was "charming: absurdly silly in a quiet, understated way".[3] Rupert Hawksley, in thei, described it as "compelling 'lockdown' television".[4] Gabriel Tate, reviewingStaged forMetro, said "Sheen and Tennant shared a warmth and willingness to take the mickey out of each other that felt entirely unforced."[13] Fergus Morgan, writing inThe Stage, gave the production five stars and said: "Tennant and Sheen are excellent, perennially, even when performing as themselves to their own laptops. Here, joined by Evans and by their real-life spouses – the actors Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg – they are on top form, crackling with snide chemistry. The whole thing is a treat."[14]
The second series received more mixed reviews. Rupert Hawksley ofThe Independent called the first episode "stale and indulgent [...] PerhapsStaged was always this smug and we just didn’t notice, so grateful were we to have something new to watch, but the tone is now horribly out of step with the national mood." Writing forThe Telegraph, Anita Singh criticised the meta aspects of the second series, saying "Staged is at its best when the duo are being funny, rather than debating whether or not they’re funny."
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