This England
Promotional poster
Genre	Drama
Written by	Michael Winterbottom Kieron Quirke
Directed by	Michael Winterbottom Julian Jarrold Anthony Wilcox Mat Whitecross
Starring	Kenneth Branagh Ophelia Lovibond Andrew Buchan Simon Paisley Day Charles Dance
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	6
Production
Executive producer	Richard Brown
Producers	Melissa Parmenter Josh Hyams
Production companies	Fremantle Passenger Revolution Films
Original release
Network	Sky Atlantic
Release	28 September 2022 (2022-09-28)

This England (originally titledThis Sceptred Isle) is a Britishdocudrama televisionminiseries written byMichael Winterbottom andKieron Quirke. It depicts the first wave of theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom based on testimonies of people in theBoris Johnson administration, on the various intergovernmental advisory groups (including theScientific Advisory Group for Emergencies), and in other affected British institutions such as care homes and hospitals.^[1][2] It premiered onSky Atlantic andNow on 28 September 2022.^[3]Kenneth Branagh stars asBoris Johnson, andOphelia Lovibond asCarrie Symonds.

Boris Johnson wins alandslide victory in theDecember 2019 general election under theGet Brexit Done slogan, but within a few months faces theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, for which he is ultimately hospitalised, and the birth of his first child with his then partnerCarrie Symonds.^[1]

Tim Harford, Kate Lawson and Richard Vadon also appear as themselves presentingMore or Less.

The miniseries was announced in June 2020 asThis Sceptred Isle.^[5] It was co-written byMichael Winterbottom andKieron Quirke.^[6]Kenneth Branagh's casting asBoris Johnson was announced in January 2021. The series was produced byFremantle, Passenger andRevolution Films,^[5] with Richard Brown of Passenger and Melissa Parmenter of Revolution Films serving as executive producers.^[7]

All episodes were originally set to be directed by Winterbottom,^[6] but after the miniseries began filming in February 2021,^[8] Winterbottom stepped down from directing in March, reportedly due to health issues. He was replaced byJulian Jarrold.^[9]Tim Shipman, political editor ofThe Sunday Times, acted as a consultant. In March 2021,Ophelia Lovibond andSimon Paisley Day joined the cast asCarrie Symonds andDominic Cummings.^[10]

In 2022, it was announced that Sky had changed the title fromThis Sceptred Isle toThis England. Both phrases are taken from the same passage in Shakespeare'sRichard II.^[11] The miniseries was set to premiere on 21 September 2022;^[12] however on 9 September 2022 the premiere was pushed back to 28 September 2022, in respect of theUK period of mourning for the late QueenElizabeth II.^[13]

The series received mixed reviews,^[14] with some British critics feeling that it was too soon for such a drama.^[15][16][17]The Independent said: "here comes the show that precisely nobody was asking for".^[18] TheNew York Times said it "debuted with solid ratings" and said, "It adds up to a heartbreaking depiction of the pressure on health workers, and the fear, pain and often lonely deaths of those hooked up to ventilators".^[19]The Times praised the series and called it "An impressive enterprise but not an easy watch".^[20]The Irish Times said "If you can stomach the material, this show is hugely watchable".^[21]

Branagh was praised for his performance,^[17] withThe Times calling it mesmerising.^[22]The Guardian andNew Statesman felt the series was overly sympathethic to Johnson, as well as sanitised and detached from the front line experience.^[23][24][25] TheNME praised the series, but said that the format "takes some getting used to" as it oscillates between harrowing scenes in hospitals to events that resemble the 2005 BBC political satireThe Thick of It.^[26]

• Brexit: The Uncivil War, a 2019 film featuring Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson
• COVID-19 pandemic in popular culture
• Boris Johnson in popular culture
• Politics in fiction

• This England atIMDb
• This England atRotten Tomatoes
• This England Sky official trailer

• Sky Atlantic original programming
• Television series by Fremantle (company)
• British English-language television shows
• Television series set in 2020
• 2022 British television series debuts
• 2022 British television series endings
• 2020s British political television series
• 2020s British television miniseries
• 2020s British workplace drama television series
• British political drama television series
• Media depictions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom
• Television shows about the COVID-19 pandemic
• Cultural depictions of Boris Johnson
• Television shows directed by Michael Winterbottom
• Television series about prime ministers

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from October 2022
• Rotten Tomatoes ID same as Wikidata