''Cuckoo'' 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 ...

that began airing on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

on 25 September 2012, repeating on

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

, and in 2016 began airing worldwide on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. Written by Robin French and Kieron Quirke, ''Cuckoo'' stars Andy Samberg, Taylor Lautner, Andie MacDowell, Greg Davies, Tamla Kari, Esther Smith, Tyger Drew-Honey, Helen Baxendale, Matt Lacey and Kenneth Collard. The series launch became BBC Three's most-watched comedy launch, beating the record set by '' Bad Education'', which debuted the previous month. Greg Davies was nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. At the British Comedy Awards, ''Cuckoo'' was nominated for Best New Comedy Programme and Greg Davies was nominated for Best TV Comedy Actor.

Production

Following the success of series one, the

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 ...

ordered a second series, but it looked uncertain due to Samberg's busy schedule. In February 2014, it was announced that Samberg would not return for the second series, with Taylor Lautner replacing him as Cuckoo's long-lost lovechild Dale. The second series began on 7 August 2014. On 4 April 2016, ''Cuckoo'' was commissioned for two more series. Series 4 wrapped up production on 18 March 2018, confirmed by Lautner via social media. It was released on 2 August 2018. A

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

for America's NBC television network was under consideration in May 2015. The show is filmed in the town of

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

(including the historic 'old town' area), and the adjoining village of Chesham Bois in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. Some of the outside scenes are also filmed in and around

Chesham Chesham ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and part of the London metropolitan area, London ...

, Chartridge,

Farnham Farnham is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tributary of the ...

, and Thame,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

Plot

Series 1

''Cuckoo'' is set in

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, (external scenes are mostly filmed in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, and

, all approximately 100 miles south of Lichfield), home to the Thompson family. When Ken ( Davies) and Lorna ( Baxendale) collect their daughter Rachel ( Kari) from the airport, they learn that she has returned from her

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is a period of time when students take a break from their studies, usually after completing high school or before beginning graduate school. During this time, students engage in a variety of educatio ...

before medical school having married Dale "Cuckoo" Ashbrick ( Samberg), an eccentric American

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

with an exuberantly loving attitude who does not have a job and loves to take drugs.

Series 2

Two years have passed and Cuckoo has gone missing in a climbing accident in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

, Dylan ( Drew-Honey) is planning to attend university, and Rachel (now played by Esther Smith) is moving in with new boyfriend Ben ( Lacey). Dale ( Lautner), a bearded young American arrives, claiming to be Cuckoo's son and searching for his father whom he has never met. Taking pity, Ken and Lorna ask him to stay.

Series 3

Six months after Dale's dramatic departure at the end of the Christmas special of Series 2, Rachel is still heartbroken and missing Dale, but she has managed to salvage a certain friendship with her jilted former fiancé Ben ( Lacey). Just as life looks like it is about to return to normal in the Thompson household, a transformed Dale returns to shake things up all over again after having spent some time working for a Chinese 'businessman' in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

. Meanwhile, Ken and Lorna are preparing for the birth of their unplanned new baby, and their son Dylan ( Drew-Honey) is getting ready to leave for university. In the first episode, Lorna gives birth to their baby son Sidney.

Series 4

Dale and Steve work towards opening a bar called 'All Steve's Pals'. Rachel gets offered a job in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. Series 4 was released, in full, online on BBC Three on 2 August 2018 with the opening episode titled "Lawyer of the Year".

Series 5

Series 5 introduces a new character, Ivy ( Andie MacDowell), who comes to the UK from America with a slightly sinister plan. Dale ( Taylor Lautner) does not appear in Series 5. His absence is not explained, with Rachel just telling Sid that "Dale is gone". After meeting a strange lady in a pub, Ken decides to run for Lichfield MP. Series 5 was released in full, online on BBC Three on 4 January 2019 with the opening episode titled "Ivy Arrives".

Cast and characters

;Key : = Main cast (actor receives "Starring" credit that series) : = Recurring cast (actor appears in two or more episodes that series) : = Guest (actor who has appeared in another series of ''Cuckoo'' but only made 1 appearance in this series) ''Notes:'' * Only named characters appear in the table above. * Only characters that have appeared in more than two episodes in a single series appear in the table above.

Episodes

Series 1 (2012)

Series 2 (2014)

Series 3 (2016)

Series 4 (2018)

Series 5 (2019)

premiered series 1 and 2 for streaming audiences on 7 March 2016. Series 3 was subsequently added on 16 February 2017. Series 4 was subsequently added on 14 December 2018. Series 5 was subsequently added on 19 April 2019. All five series were removed from Netflix in April 2023.

DVD release

Soundtracks

;Series 1 In the episode "Family Meeting", family and friends are dancing to "Second Hand News" by

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

. In the episode "Ken on E", Cuckoo sits reading a book whilst listening to "Shake Break Bounce" by

The Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture. Originally known as The Dust Brothers, th ...

. In the same episode, various songs by

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

are featured. Also "Bonkers" by Dizzee Rascal. The song playing over the last scene and credits of the episode "The Wedding", is "Ho Hey" by The Lumineers. On Netflix it is "Stay Right Here" by Huckvale. ;Series 2 In the episode "Potato Party", " Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)" by N.E.R.D and " Mishto" by Gogol Bordello are featured during the party. Rachel is listening to "Silver Lining" by

First Aid Kit A first aid kit or medical kit is a collection of supplies and equipment used to give First aid, immediate medical treatment, primarily to treat injuries and other mild or moderate medical conditions. There is a wide variation in the contents o ...

in the episode "Tribunal". ;Series 3 The final episode, "The Holiday", ends with Rusted Root singing " Send Me on My Way". On Netflix this song is replaced due to BBC licensing agreements. ;Series 4 In "Lawyer of the Year", " Think I'm in Love" by

Eddie Money Edward Joseph Money ( Mahoney; March 21, 1949September 13, 2019) was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including " Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Paradise", " Think I'm in Love", " Shakin' ...

play's during the opening dance number. In "Opening Night", " Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds plays in All Steve's Pals while Lorna tells Dale about Rachel's plans to move to Sierra Leone. The final scene has " Modern Love" by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

playing. Dale mixes cocktails to WOR by Django Django. In "Trapped", a section from " The Number One Song in Heaven" by Sparks when Dale reveals to Rachel that he found out about her "pregnancy". Lorna and Connie listen to " Insane in the Brain" by

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

after Lorna tells Connie that Ken cheated on her with an

air hostess A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...

U.S. version

In May 2015, NBC announced a US

of ''Cuckoo'', starring Michael Chiklis, Cheryl Hines, and Flula Borg, was to be produced. UK writers Robin French and Kieron Quirke, who created the BBC series, wrote the adaptation with ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' veteran Tim Long. The project was not picked up as a series.

References

External links

* * *{{Epguides, Cuckoo 2012 British television series debuts 2019 British television series endings 2010s British sitcoms BBC television sitcoms British English-language television shows Lichfield Television series about dysfunctional families Television series about marriage Television series about siblings Television series about widowhood Television shows set in Staffordshire