''Reunited'' is a British

television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie), in United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television network or other dis ...

written by

Mike Bullen Michael J. Bullen (born 13 January 1960) is an English screenwriter. Bullen grew up in the West Midlands of England, attending the Solihull School and later Magdalene College, Cambridge. He left with a degree in history of art and became a rad ...

and directed by Simon Delaney. It was first broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

on 30 June 2010.

Plot

Eight years after sharing a flat together while students at university, six friends reunite.BBC Press Office (17 June 2010).
Network TV BBC Week 26: Wednesday 30 June 2010
. Press release. Retrieved 27 June 2010.

Production

''Reunited'' is the first screenplay written by

for the BBC since his comedy drama ''

Sunburn Sunburn is a form of radiation burn that affects living tissue, such as skin, that results from an overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, usually from the Sun. Common symptoms in humans and animals include: red or reddish skin that is h ...

'' (1999–2000). The idea came to him after an Australian friend of his met up with a group of people with whom he had shared a house. Although Bullen had emigrated to Australia in 2002, he returned to the UK for the five months ''Reunited'' was in production, as he had only faxed in the scripts for his last British series, ''All About George''. ''Reunited'' was filmed on location in London in March 2010. Some scenes were filmed at Sam's Bar & Brasserie in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and F ...

, London. Ed Byrne's character was originally called "Ed" but was changed to "Rob" after Byrne was concerned that viewers would attribute "Ed"'s negative characteristics to him in real life.

Reception

''Reunited'' was first broadcast on

on 30 June 2010. Overnight ratings data gave an average of 3.3 million viewers, with a 15.3% audience share during its timeslot; it was beaten by a repeat of ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British crime drama television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the '' Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series (created by Caroline Graham), and broadcast on two channels of ...

'' on ITV. The programme was selected as "Pick of the Day" in ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', where critic John Dugdale wrote, "There's been so much bittersweet fiction since ike_Bullen's_''Cold_Feet''_debuted_in_1997.html" ;"title="Cold_Feet.html" ;"title="ike Bullen's ''Cold Feet">ike Bullen's ''Cold Feet'' debuted in 1997">Cold_Feet.html" ;"title="ike Bullen's ''Cold Feet">ike Bullen's ''Cold Feet'' debuted in 1997 and as this is about pals in their thirties, novelty is impossible and clichés inevitable. This opener has the familiar genre failing, too, of being neither comic nor involvingly dramatic – it is hard to care who Hannah ends up with, and a glimpse of Byrne's chest provides the funniest moment. Still, the cast is terrific, and Bullen hasn't lost his gift for memorable individual scenes." The ''Liverpool Echo'' also selected as a highlight for Wednesday evening. In a positive preview, ''The Guardian''s John Robinson compared it to the ''This Life (1996 TV series), This Life'' reunion episode '. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''s Ceri Radford called it "a grown-up ''

Coupling A coupling is a device used to connect two shafts together at their ends for the purpose of transmitting power. The primary purpose of couplings is to join two pieces of rotating equipment while permitting some degree of misalignment or end mov ...

''" and concluded her preview by writing, "It's a funny, touching portrayal of a group of friends who are old enough to be disappointed with life but young enough to try fixing things with tequila slammers and casual sex." The BBC did not commission a series, though Ed Byrne has discussed other projects with Mike Bullen.Laws, Roz (20 February 2011).
Ed Byrne talks about expensive whisky and dad dancing
. ''Sunday Mercury''. This has not been released on DVD yet.

References

External links

* * {{Mike Bullen 2010 British television episodes BBC Television shows Television episodes written by Mike Bullen Television pilots not picked up as a series Television shows set in London