Production
The miniseries was announced in June 2020 as This Sceptred Isle. [4] It was co-written by Michael Winterbottom and Kieron Quirke. [5] Kenneth Branagh's casting as Boris Johnson was announced in January 2021. The series was produced by Fremantle, Passenger and Revolution Films, [4] with Richard Brown of Passenger and Melissa Parmenter of Revolution Films serving as executive producers. [6]
All episodes were originally set to be directed by Winterbottom. [5] After the miniseries began filming in February 2021, [7] Winterbottom stepped down from directing in March, reportedly due to health issues. He was replaced by Julian Jarrold. [8] Tim Shipman, political editor of The Sunday Times , acted as a consultant. In March 2021, Ophelia Lovibond and Simon Paisley Day joined the cast as Carrie Symonds and Dominic Cummings. [9]
In 2022, it was announced that Sky had changed the title from This Sceptred Isle to This England. Both phrases are taken from the same passage in Shakespeare's Richard II . [10] The miniseries was set to premiere on 21 September 2022. [11] On 9 September 2022, the premiere was pushed back to 28 September 2022, in respect of the UK period of mourning for the late Queen Elizabeth II. [12]
The music was composed by David Holmes], [13] a Northern-Irish musician and composer.
Reception
The series received mixed reviews, [15] with some British critics feeling that it was too soon for such a drama. [16] [17] [18] The Independent said: "here comes the show that precisely nobody was asking for". [19] The New 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". [20] The Times praised the series and called it "An impressive enterprise but not an easy watch". [21] The Irish Times said "If you can stomach the material, this show is hugely watchable". [22]
Branagh was praised for his performance, [18] with The Times calling it mesmerising. [23] The Guardian and New Statesman felt the series was overly sympathethic to Johnson, as well as sanitised and detached from the front line experience. [24] [25] [26] The NME 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 satire The Thick of It . [27]
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