MISHA MANSON-SMITH
Excluded - BBC2 SINGLE DRAMA
“This excellent one-off pilot written by actor/playwright Leo Richardson is full of sharp observations and likeable characters, especially emo Ann (Jennie Jaques), her boyf Lee (Joe Cole) and best friend Ben Ben (Richard Southgate). Throw in turns from Morwenna Banks and Sharon Horgan and you have the makings of a fine series.”
Heat
“The best new TV comedy we’ve seen for a while.”
Grazia
La La Land - SHOWTIME/BBC3 COMEDY SERIES
PRESS
“It really seems real, because of utterly convincing performances… The classroom scenes have such an authenticity about them that I really thought I was there, torn between feeling Mr Bately’s discomfort and frustration and wanting to throw things at him when his back was turned (then being weirdly won over and fascinated by his linear equations too). And the kid who plays Mark (George Whitehead) is brilliant, doing rage and defiance and hurt all at once – an extraordinary performance. It’s all brilliant – immediate, tense, funny, sad, touching, relevant. If you missed it, go and stand at the back of the room. Or, alternatively, go and watch it on iPlayer.”
Sam Wollaston, The Guardian
“An outstanding drama… top marks, as I couldn’t help myself murmuring.”
Phil Hogan, The Observer
"Worthy but far from dull, you will be entirely riveted throughout. Making his screen debut as troubled Mark, George Whitehead is a revelation."
The Daily Mail
“So why was Excluded so brilliant? Well, first of all, the acting, which had far fewer meaningful looks, double takes and general business than you get in whole evenings of prime-time.”
Andrew Billen, The Times
“Within a single hour this story of a struggling boy in a struggling school told us more about the state of the nation’s education than a hundred worthy documentaries.”
Keith Watson, Metro
"a thoughtful, slow-burn kind of storytelling that brings a skilled hand to the tale of a surly pupil and the teacher who tries to connect with him... the circumstances are beautifully sketched and horribly convincing... deftly played... it's subtle, touching and feels as though it could be unfolding right now at a school near you."
Radio TImes
"a candid glimpse into life at an urban comprehensive... that the film is partly improvised lends it authenticity and its tone ranges from bleak to uplifting without getting sentimental. Full marks." *****
TV Times
Stanley Park - BBC3/LIONSGATE DRAMA PILOT
Blog Summary Widget
WORK
High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman
Links
US agent: Jon Huddle at UTA
UK agent: Charlotte Kelly at Casarotto
UK commercials: Charlie at Rogue
This site is hosted by LimeTree
“It’s perfectly acted, cushion-bitingly awkward and, above all, very funny.”
Tim Arthur, Time Out
“The show that starts out innocently enough and soon accelerates to the point where you can scarcely believe what is taking place. Genius.”
Ali Caterral, The Guardian
“It’s genuinely funny.”
Tom Sutcliffe, The Independent
“Frequently astonishing… extremely funny… terrifyingly good.”
Radio Times
“Beautifully conceived… gloriously silly and devastatingly funny.”
Word
“La La Land is a genius idea, brilliantly executed.”
The Daily Mirror
“The world of celebrity exposed in all its horrendous glory.”
GQ
“Comedian Marc Wootton, a more complicated, more perverse and arguably just as brilliant version of Sacha Baron Cohen, lands in Los Angeles armed with three tenacious alter egos poised to grab the zeitgeist by its skinny throat and choke the life out of it… La La Land may be the single funniest thing I've seen on TV in the past year.”
Heather Havrilesky, Salon.com
Sex Education - SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
BBC Blog - The making of Excluded
BBC Blog - The making of La La Land PT3
BBC Blog - The making of La La Land PT2
BBC Blog - The making of La La Land PT1
The Guardian - How we did it
BBC Blog - STANLEY PARK
