''Wanderlust'' is a

British television Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection ...

drama miniseries written by

Nick Payne Nick Payne (born 1984) is a British playwright and screenwriter. Early life and education Payne studied at the University of York and subsequently at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He is also a graduate of the Royal Court Young Write ...

and directed by

Luke Snellin Luke Snellin (born 9 March 1986) is an English screenwriter and director working in film, television, music videos and commercials. According to Idol Magazine, he is known for his distinctive use of cinematography and music as well as often emp ...

and Lucy Tcherniak. The series is a co-production between

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, ...

and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

, with BBC One airing the first episode on 4 September 2018 in the United Kingdom, and

streaming the show outside the UK. It began airing on 19 October 2018 on Netflix. The miniseries consists of six episodes.

Plot

Joy Richards, a therapist, is injured in a traffic accident. The accident was caused in part by distraction upon her sighting a former patient of hers, Emily. Emily's husband, Josh (who was also a patient in couples therapy), committed suicide during the treatment. Joy's injuries and her recovery from them exacerbate the marital difficulties she is having with her husband, Alan. Joy meets Marvin at physical therapy, and they have a fling. Alan confesses an affair with a colleague, Claire. Rather than become mutually acrimonious, Joy suggests an open marriage as a solution to their difficulties. Joy's affair with Marvin ends but she rekindles romance with her (now married) former boyfriend Lawrence. Alan detests Lawrence because Joy had cheated on Alan previously with Lawrence. Episode 5 consists mainly of a long session with Joy's own therapist (Angela), during which Joy comes to realize her self-destructive promiscuity is a sublimation to avoid the real issues in her life: bereavement from her mother's death and guilt over the suicide of her patient, Josh.

Cast

Toni Collette Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, inclu ...

as Joy Richards, a therapist, married to Alan. * Steven Mackintosh as Alan Richards, an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

teacher and Joy's husband. *

Zawe Ashton Zawedde Emma "Zawe" Ashton (; born 25 July 1984) is a British actress, playwright and narrator. She is best known for her roles in the comedy dramas '' Fresh Meat'' and ''Not Safe for Work'', the Netflix horror thriller film ''Velvet Buzzsaw'' ...

as Claire Pascal, a fellow English teacher at Alan's school. * Joe Hurst as Tom Richards, a 16-year-old student and youngest child of Joy and Alan. *

Emma D'Arcy Emma Zia D'Arcy (born 27 June 1992) is an English actor. They are known for their roles in the BBC drama ''Wanderlust'' (2018), the Amazon Prime series ''Truth Seekers'' (2020), and the HBO fantasy series ''House of the Dragon'' (2022–), the ...

as Naomi Richards, Alan and Joy's 18-year-old daughter. *

Celeste Dring Celeste Dring is an English comedy writer and actress, best known for her roles as Lauren Richards in the BBC TV series ''Wanderlust'' and as Princess Eugenie in Channel 4's ''The Windsors''. Early life Celeste Dring is from Wolverhampton, E ...

as Laura Richards, Joy and Alan's 25-year-old daughter. *

Royce Pierreson Royce Pierreson (born 1 April 1989) is a British actor and narrator. Royce is best known for his roles as DC Jamie Desford in the fourth series of ''Line of Duty'' and as Reece in ''Murdered by My Boyfriend.'' He has since appeared as Dr Jam ...

as Jason Hales, a patient of Joy's. * William Ash as Marvin Walters, a police officer who begins a sexual relationship with Joy. * Isis Hainsworth as Michelle McCullen, a friend of Tom who is in love with him. * Jeremy Swift as Neil Bellows, Rita's husband and a neighbour of Joy's. *

Anastasia Hille Anastasia Hille (born 1965) is an English film, television and theatre actress, and ceramicist. Born in London, she was a student at London's Drama Centre and won second prize at the Ian Charleson Awards in 1994 (the first prize was awarded to ...

as Rita Bellows, Joy's neighbour. After her marriage to Neil breaks down, she begins to explore her sexuality with Naomi. * Sophie Okonedo as Angela Bowden, Joy's therapist. * Paul Kaye as Lawrence, a former husband of Joy for whom she still has some affection. * Dylan Edwards as Marc, a young man who Joy dates occasionally. *

Anya Chalotra Anya Chalotra is a British actress primarily known for her role as Yennefer of Vengerberg in the Netflix original series ''The Witcher''. She is also known for appearing in ''Wanderlust''. Early life Chalotra was born in Wolverhampton, Englan ...

as Jennifer Ashman, an older pupil at Tom's school. *

Kate O'Flynn Kate O'Flynn is a British actress. She is known for her performance in National Theatre's production of ''Port'' for which she received a Critics' Circle Theatre Award in 2013, as well as starring roles in plays ''A Taste of Honey'' in 2014, a ...

as Emily Riley, a former patient of Joy who attended couples therapy with her husband Josh. * Simon Tcherniak as Josh Riley, Emily's husband who also attended couples therapy and called Joy before committing suicide. * Megan Richards as Mimi Brooks, a friend of Tom and Michelle. * Jordan Adene as Sam Morton, also a friend of Tom and Michelle. *

Ashley McGuire Ashley McGuire is a British actress, known for her roles as Big Mandy in the BBC comedy series '' This Country'' and Vicky Houghton in the BBC One series '' This Is Going to Hurt''. Life and career McGuire attended Rose Bruford College of Spee ...

as Janet Malherbe

Reviews

The series was described by the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' as a "meandering

polyamory Polyamory () is the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. People who identify as polyamorous may believe in open relationships wi ...

drama".

Episodes

Soundtrack

*Recurring:

Regulate Regulate may refer to: * Regulation * '' Regulate...G Funk Era'', an album from rapper Warren G ** Regulate (song), title song from the album See also * * * Regulator (disambiguation) Regulator may refer to: Technology * Regulator (automat ...

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and ...

and

Nate Dogg Nathaniel Dwayne Hale (August 19, 1969 – March 15, 2011), known professionally as Nate Dogg, was an American singer and rapper. He gained recognition for providing guest vocals for a multitude of hit rap songs between 1992 and 2007, earning the ...

*Episode 5:

The Ship Song "The Ship Song" is a song written by Nick Cave (lyrics and music), originally performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds on their 1990 '' The Good Son'' album. It was released by Mute Records as the first single from the album on 12 March 1990, as ...

, written by

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, ...

and performed by

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and pre ...

*Episode 6:

Song to the Siren "Song to the Siren" is a song written by Tim Buckley to a poem by his writing partner Larry Beckett, released by Buckley on his 1970 album '' Starsailor''. It was also later released on '' Morning Glory: The Tim Buckley Anthology'', the album fe ...

performed by This Mortal Coil featuring

Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963), is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician. Hailing from Grangemouth, Scotland, she is best known as the vocalist for the pioneering dream pop band Cocteau Twins who achieved international s ...

and Robin Guthrie. Sour Soul by BadBadNotGood.

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, 7608238 2018 British television series debuts 2018 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2010s British television miniseries BBC television dramas English-language Netflix original programming Television series about marriage