''Back'' is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

created by

Simon Blackwell Simon John Blackwell (born 27 May 1966) is an English comedy writer and producer. He is best known for his work on ''The Thick of It'', ''In The Loop'' and ''Veep'', and for his collaborations with Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain on ''Peep Show'', ...

and starring David Mitchell and

Robert Webb Robert Patrick Webb (born 29 September 1972) is an English comedian, actor and writer. He rose to prominence alongside David Mitchell as part of the comedy duo Mitchell and Webb. Mitchell and Webb starred in the Channel 4 sitcom '' Peep Show' ...

. It was broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

and ran for two series from 6 September 2017 to 25 February 2021. The programme was filmed and is set in and around

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. A second series of six episodes was announced in November 2017; filming was scheduled to begin in October 2019. On 19 September 2020, Webb announced that filming of the second series was complete. The first episode was broadcast on 21 January 2021 on Channel 4. The first series premiered on Sundance Now in December 2017 before premiering on

Sundance TV 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 ...

in the US in September 2018. The second series premiered on 31 March 2021 on sister network IFC in the US a week later after it premiered in full on Sundance Now on March 24.

Plot

After the death of his father, Laurie, 42-year-old Stephen is set to take over the family business, the John Barleycorn pub, in

, Gloucestershire. His plans are interrupted when Andrew, a former foster child briefly raised by Stephen's parents, returns to his life eager to renew his relationship with the family. While Andrew quickly charms the rest of Stephen's family – including his mother Ellen, sister Cass, and uncle Geoff – Stephen resents Andrew and views him as "a glib, dangerous

sociopath Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to st ...

who's about to steal his family, his business and his life". Andrew fondly remembers the time he spent living with the family as happy, whereas Stephen remembers the same time as miserable.

Cast

Episodes

Series 1 (2017)

Series 2 (2021)

Reception

''Back'' received critical acclaim. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the first series has a score of 100% rating based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Intriguing, intelligent, and dripping with searing social satire, ''Back'' proves a welcome return for collaborators David Mitchell and Robert Webb." The second series received a score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "After a long hiatus, ''Back'' returns as sharp and irreverent as ever." The review aggregator website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

reported a combined score for both series of 85 out of 100, based on reviews from 12 critics.

References

External links

*
Back
' at

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Back (Tv Series) 2017 British television series debuts 2021 British television series endings 2010s British sitcoms 2010s British workplace comedy television series 2020s British sitcoms 2020s British workplace comedy television series Channel 4 sitcoms British English-language television shows Stroud Television shows about suicide Television series about dysfunctional families Television series about siblings Television series by Big Talk Productions Television shows set in Gloucestershire