''The Split'' is a British

legal drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice play ...

television series, written and created by

Abi Morgan Abigail Louise Morgan (born 1968) is a Welsh playwright and screenwriter known for her works for television, such as ''Sex Traffic'' and '' The Hour'', and the films ''Brick Lane'', '' The Iron Lady'', '' Shame'' and '' Suffragette''. Early l ...

, that first broadcast in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

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 24 April 2018. The first series, commissioned in August 2016, follows the lives of the Defoe family, who all work in divorce law for the family firm, aside from eldest sister Hannah (

Nicola Walker Nicola Jane Walker (born 15 May 1970) is an English actress, known for her starring roles in various British television programmes from the 1990s onwards, including that of Ruth Evershed in the spy drama '' Spooks'' (2003–2006 and 2009–201 ...

), who works for rival family law firm Noble & Hale and youngest daughter who is a nanny. The series co-stars Stephen Mangan,

Fiona Button Fiona Button is an English actress. She is best known for playing Rose Defoe in '' The Split''. Early years and education Button was born in Lausanne, Switzerland. She grew up in Newbury, Berkshire where she attended Park House School and the ...

Annabel Scholey Annabel Scholey (born 10 January 1984) is an English actress. She played Lauren Drake in the BBC supernatural drama '' Being Human'' (2009) and the leading role of 'Maddie' in the musical feature film '' Walking on Sunshine'' (2014). Scholey p ...

and

Barry Atsma Barry Atsma (born 29 December 1972) is a Dutch actor. He became known in the Netherlands through his role in the TV series ''Rozengeur & Wodka Lime'' (2001–2005) and the movie ''The Black Book''. He is a recipient of both a Golden Calf and a ...

. Series 2 saw the return of the Defoe family at newly merged law firm Noble Hale Defoe, with most of the original cast confirmed. The third and final series premiered on 4 April 2022. For her performance in the final series, Walker received a TV Choice Award nomination for Best Actress and a National Television Award nomination for Drama Performance while ''The Split'' was nominated for Returning Drama.

Cast

Main

as Hannah Stern, a divorce lawyer working for Noble & Hale * Stephen Mangan as Nathan Stern, Hannah's husband, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

as Rose Defoe, Hannah's youngest sister *

as Nina Defoe, Hannah's younger sister, a fellow divorce lawyer for Defoe's, the family practice *

as Christie Carmichael, Hannah's former boyfriend who also works for Noble & Hale *

Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in ''Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in '' Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in '' Ballykissangel'' (1996– ...

as Davey McKenzie, a millionaire divorcing his wife (series 1) *

Meera Syal Meera Syal FRSL (born Feroza Syal; 27 June 1961) is a English comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created '' Goodness Gracious Me'' and portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, ...

as Goldie McKenzie, Davey's wife and his company's secretary (series 1, 3) *

Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, w ...

as Oscar Defoe, Hannah's long lost father (series 1) *

Deborah Findlay Deborah Findlay (born 23 December 1947) is an English actress. She joined a theatre company while studying English at the University of Leeds. Career Findlay has worked primarily on stage and appeared in numerous productions, including the origi ...

as Ruth Defoe, Hannah's mother, the director of the family firm * Rudi Dharmalingam as James Cutler, Rose's fiancé, later husband *

Chukwudi Iwuji Chukwudi Iwuji (; born 15 October 1975) is a Nigerian-British actor. He is an Associate Artist for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Early life and education Iwuji is one of five Nigerian siblings born to diplomat parents. When Iwuji was age 10, ...

as Alexander 'Zander' Hale, director of Noble Hale Defoe * Donna Air as Fi Hansen, a famous presenter divorcing her husband (series 2) *

Ben Bailey Smith Benjamin Harvey Bailey Smith (born 21 September 1977), also known by the stage name Doc Brown, is an English actor, comedian, rapper, screenwriter, songwriter, and voiceover artist. He portrayed DS Joe Hawkins in the television series '' Law & ...

as Richie Hansen, Fi's husband (series 2) *

Damien Molony Damien Molony (born 21 February 1984) is an Irish actor. He is best known for his television roles as Hal Yorke in BBC Three's '' Being Human'', DC Albert Flight in the BBC's ''Ripper Street'', DS Jack Weston in Channel 5's '' Suspects'', Jon ...

as Tyler Donaghue, Zander's fiancé, later husband (series 2-3) * Ian McElhinney as Prof Ronnie, a friend and later love interest of Ruth Defoe (series 2-3) *

Lara Pulver Lara Pulver (born 1 September 1980) is an English actress. She has played Erin Watts in the BBC spy drama '' Spooks'' and Irene Adler on BBC's TV adaptation '' Sherlock''. She won the 2016 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical i ...

as Kate Pencastle, a child psychologist and Nathan's new partner (series 3)

Supporting

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith Kobna Kuttah Holdbrook-Smith (born 23 August 1977) is a Ghanaian-British actor known for his film, television, theatre and voice work. Early life Holdbrook-Smith was born in Accra, Ghana. He grew up in Frimley, Surrey, England, where he liv ...

as Glen Peters, the

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

performing Rose and James' wedding ceremony (series 1, 3) *

Maggie O'Neill Margaret "Maggie" O'Neill (born 15 November 1962) is an English actress. She is known for her television roles in ''Peak Practice'' (2000–2002), '' Shameless'' (2004–2007) and ''EastEnders'' (2008). In 1986 she appeared in the music video f ...

as Yvonne Duchy, Goldie's best friend, who is having an affair with her husband (series 1) * Josette Simon as Maya, Oscar Defoe's second partner (series 1) *

Mathew Baynton Mathew John Baynton (born 18 November 1980) is an English actor, writer, comedian, singer, and musician best known as a member of the British Horrible Histories troupe in which he starred in the TV series '' Horrible Histories''; as well as an a ...

as Rex Pope, a stand-up comedian (series 1-2) * Elizabeth Roberts as Liv Stern, Hannah and Nathan's elder daughter * Mollie Cowen as Tilly Stern, Hannah and Nathan's younger daughter * Toby Oliver as Vinnie Stern, Hannah and Nathan's son * Ellora Torchia as Maggie Lavelle, a junior solicitor at Noble & Hale (series 1-2) * Amaka Okafor as Chloe, a junior associate working with Nathan (series 2) * Brenock O'Connor as Sasha, Liv Stern's boyfriend (series 1) * Kerry Fox as Judge Joyce Aspen (series 1) *

Anna Chancellor Anna Theodora Chancellor (born 27 April 1965) is a British actress who has received nominations for BAFTA and Olivier Awards. Background and early life Chancellor was born in Richmond, England to barrister John Paget Chancellor, eldest son of ...

as Melanie Aickman, a family lawyer (series 2-3) * Karen Bryson as Leonora 'Lennie' Hale, Zander's sister who is seeking to divorce her husband (series 3) * Clarence Smith as Felix Sanderson, Leonora's husband (series 3) * Alex Guersman as Gael, Liv's Argentinian fiancé (series 3) *

Lindsay Duncan Lindsay Vere Duncan (born 7 November 1950) is a Scottish actress. On stage, she has won two Olivier Awards (for ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' and ''Private Lives'') and a Tony Award (for ''Private Lives''). She has starred in several plays by Ha ...

as Caroline, the ex-wife of a deceased earl (series 3) *

Jemima Rooper Jemima Rooper (born 24 October 1981) is a British actress. Having started as a child actress in television series, she has appeared in numerous film and theatre roles. Background Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journ ...

as India, the young widow of the late earl (series 3) * Radhika Aggarwal as Prisha, wife of the recipient of James's heart (series 3) *

Gerald Kyd Gerald Kyd (born Gerasimos Avvakoumides in 1973 in Pretoria, South Africa) is a half-Greek, half-Scottish actor. Kyd starred as Sean Maddox in the BBC medical drama ''Casualty'' from 1998 until 2000. He later reprised the role for a few episo ...

as J. J. Johnson, a family lawyer (series 3)

Production

Production for the first series began in July 2017 in London. On 13 January 2017,

SundanceTV Sundance TV (formerly known as Sundance Channel) is an American pay television channel owned by AMC Networks that launched on February 1, 1996. The channel is named after Robert Redford's character in ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' and, w ...

announced that it would be partnering with the BBC to produce the series. SundanceTV will thus hold exclusive rights for broadcast in the United States. Series 1 was released on DVD on 4 June 2018. A second series was commissioned in May 2018 with production beginning in March 2019. Donna Air and

joined the cast for the second series as high-profile clients for the law firm and

as the character Tyler Donaghue. The first episode of series 2 aired in the UK on BBC One on 11 February 2020 and in the United States on Sundance TV beginning on 15 May 2020. During filming Series 2, production visited Maidstone TV Studios to film a studio show segment. Series 3 premiered on BBC One on 4 April 2022. All six episodes were released on

BBC iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

on the same day. Season three premiered on AMC+ and Sundance Now in the US on 23 June 2022 in full a week ahead of its linear broadcast premiere, with the show moving from SundanceTV to sister network

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary seri ...

, starting 27 June, with each episode airing weekly. It is unknown if season 3 will air in simulcast on both networks or not.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2018)

Season 2 (2020)

Season 3 (2022)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Split (TV series), The 2018 British television series debuts 2022 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2010s British legal television series 2020s British drama television series 2020s British legal television series BBC television dramas English-language television shows Television series about marriage Television series about sisters