''Quacks'', created by James Wood, is a

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

about four

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

doctors. The series combines

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

, absurdist comedy and traditional

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

, with stories often being based on real history. Despite generally favourable reviews it was cancelled after one series.

Cast

Main characters

Rory Kinnear Rory Michael Kinnear (born 17 February 1978) is an English actor. He won two Olivier Awards, both at the National Theatre, in 2008 for his portrayal of Sir Fopling Flutter in ''The Man of Mode'', and for playing the William Shakespeare villain ...

as Robert Lessing, a

showman Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country. Australia Travelling Funfair, showmen ("showies") are people who run amusement and side show equipment at regional shows, state capital shows, events ...

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

who smokes cigarettes and wears a filthy bloodstained apron when performing operations before a public audience. *

Lydia Leonard Lydia Leonard (born 5 December 1981) is a British actress. She starred in the stage adaptation of Hilary Mantel's ''Bring Up the Bodies''. On television, she is known for her roles in the BBC Two sitcom '' Quacks'' (2017) and the Amazon Prime s ...

as Caroline, Robert's professionally- and sexually-frustrated wife. *

Mathew Baynton Mathew John Baynton (born 18 November 1980) is an English actor, comedian, musician and writer. He is a member of the Them There collective, in which he wrote and starred in ''Horrible Histories (2009 TV series), Horrible Histories'', ''Yonderlan ...

as William, an

alienist Alienism is an obsolete term for psychiatry, the study and treatment of mental illnesses. In the early 20th century this term was replaced by that of psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are ...

(an early

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

) and Robert's best friend. *

Tom Basden Thomas William Basden (born 30 November 1980) is an English actor, writer and comedian. He is best known for co-creating and starring in ''Plebs'', which won the Royal Television Society award for Best Scripted Comedy in 2014. He was nominated ...

as John, a dentist and early

anaesthetist Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine, a ...

who experiments freely with drugs and owes money to a

loan shark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at Usury, extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of debt collection, collection, and generally operates criminal, outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, ...

. *

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor. He first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupil at an English public scho ...

as Dr Hendricks, the paranoid and

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

of the

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

Recurring characters

* Andy Linden as Fitz, the old warder at the

lunatic asylum The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital. Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...

. *Adam Ewan as Tom, Robert's working class assistant. *Osi Okerafor as Butterworth, a

debt collector Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Commerc ...

who routinely threatens and assaults John. * Lisa Jackson as Mina, William's fiancée. *Miranda Hennesey as Nicola, John's lover. *

Selina Griffiths Selina Jane Griffiths (born 1969) is a British actress mostly known for her performances in sitcoms. She played Pauline Maltby in the ITV comedy series ''Benidorm''. She is the daughter of Annette Crosbie. Early life Selina Griffiths is the d ...

as a

Matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in a hospital in several countries, including the United Kingdom, and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person in charge ...

*Geoffrey McGivern as Landlord *Ed Gaughan as Peters

One-off characters

*Millie Thomas as

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during th ...

. * Andrew Scott as

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

. *

Roger Ashton-Griffiths Roger Ashton-Griffiths (born 19 January 1957) is an English character actor, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his role as Mace Tyrell in the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones''. Life and career Born in Hertfordshire, As ...

as the Bishop of Lambeth. *

Nicholas Blane Nicholas Blane is an English actor. Career He is best known for his roles in stage productions such as '' Year of the Rat'', '' See How They Run'' and ''Democracy''. He has appeared in numerous British television and film projects, including ...

as the Duke of Bedford. *

Fenella Woolgar Fenella Woolgar (born 4 August 1969) is an English film, theatre, television and radio actress. She is known for her roles in films including '' Bright Young Things'', '' Swallows and Amazons'' and '' Victoria and Abdul'' and for TV shows incl ...

as Lady Campbell. *

Kayvan Novak Kayvan Novak (born 23 November 1978) is a British actor and comedian.Kadivar, DariuSyriana breaks Iranian stereotypes, ''Persian Mirror''. Retrieved 3 August 2007. He co-created and starred in the comedy series ''Fonejacker'' (2006–2008) an ...

as Mr Kapoor, an

Indian restaurant Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian subcontinent. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally av ...

owner who moonlights as a hypnotist. *

Simon Farnaby Simon Farnaby (born 2 April 1973) is an English actor, comedian, children’s entertainer, writer and singer. He is best known for his work with the Them There collective where he has written and starred in productions including the sketch show ...

as Dr Flowers, purveyor of liniments and lotions. *

Ben Willbond Benjamin Thomas Willbond (born 18 January 1973) is an English actor and screenwriter best known as a member of the British Them There collective, for which he has written and starred in productions including ''Horrible Histories'', '' Yonderland ...

as Patrice Dupont, a renowned surgeon.

Episodes

Production

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham, Kent, Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham, Kent, Gillingham; at its most extens ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

doubled as streets of Victorian London. It was also used as the location of the apothecary and bareknuckle boxing fight featured in the series.

Critical response

The series has received positive reviews, with many critics comparing it with ''

Blackadder ''Blackadder'' is a series of four Period piece, period British sitcoms - ''The Black Adder'', ''Blackadder II'', ''Blackadder the Third'' and ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' - plus several one-off instalments, which originally aired on BBC1 from 19 ...

''. The first episode, which aired on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...

at 10pm on 15 August 2017, received positive reviews from ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Critics like Gerard Gilbert praised the series' originality, and particularly the performance of Lydia Leonard and Rupert Everett. ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' noted the similarities to ''

Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...

'' and ''Blackadder'', and praised the scriptwriters' ability to weave the series' surreal humour with anecdotes of bizarre real historical events. Reviews generally remained favourable by the time the final series episode aired, with Sean O'Grady of ''

'' calling for a second series.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Quacks (Tv Series) 2017 British television series debuts 2017 British television series endings 2010s British medical television series 2010s British sitcoms BBC high definition shows BBC medical television shows BBC television sitcoms British English-language television shows Television series set in the 1840s Television shows set in London