''Save Me'' is a British drama television series, written, created by, and starring

Lennie James Lennie Michael James is a British actor. He is best known for portraying Morgan Jones in the AMC series '' The Walking Dead'' and in its spin-off, ''Fear the Walking Dead'', and starring as DCI Tony Gates in ''Line of Duty'' series one. Among ...

. It was first broadcast on

Sky Atlantic Sky Atlantic is a British pay television channel owned by Sky Group, Sky Group Limited that launched in 2011 and broadcasts in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The channel airs original British-produced dramas like ''Fortitude (TV series), F ...

on 28 February 2018, with all six episodes being released via

Sky Box Sets Sky Box Sets is a television channel owned and operated by New Zealand's Sky. It was launched on 1 August 2017 on Sky Channel 9 in 1080i high-definition. The channel screens an entire season of a television series at 7:30pm every evening. The ...

and

Now TV Now (formerly Now TV and often stylised as NOW) is a subscription over-the-top streaming television service launched in the United Kingdom in 2012. It is operated by Sky Group in Europe, and Xfinity in the US; both owned by the American media ...

on the same day. Series two, entitled ''Save Me Too'', was released in the same fashion on 1 April 2020. The series stars Lennie James as Nelson "Nelly" Rowe, a down-and-out whose life is turned upside down when Jody, the estranged daughter he fathered thirteen years ago, mysteriously disappears. He begins a determined quest to get to the bottom of things and find his daughter, lying, begging favours and stretching his friendships to the limit in the process.

Suranne Jones Sarah Ann Akers (née Jones; born 27 August 1978), known professionally as Suranne Jones, is an English actress and producer. Known for her numerous collaborations with screenwriter Sally Wainwright, she rose to prominence playing Karen McDonal ...

stars as Claire McGory, Jody's mother. Aside from James and Jones,

Stephen Graham Stephen Graham (born 3 August 1973) is an English actor and film producer. He began his career in 1990, with early notable roles in '' Snatch'' (2000) and ''Gangs of New York'' (2002), before his breakthrough role as Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne ...

and

Jason Flemyng Jason Iain Flemyng''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 25 September 1966) is an English actor. He is known for his work with British filmmakers Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn appearing in ...

as friends Melon and Tam are also credited as principal members of the cast. The series was green-lit in January 2017, under the original working title of ''Gone''. James reunited with

World Productions World Productions Limited is a British television production company, founded on 20 March 1990 by producer Tony Garnett, and owned by ITV plc following a takeover in 2017. History The company's first major series was the police drama '' Betwe ...

for the series, with whom he previously worked on the first series of ''

Line of Duty ''Line of Duty'' is a British police procedural and serial drama television programme created by Jed Mercurio and produced by World Productions for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It began broadcasting on BBC Two on 26 June 2012. ...

''. Following strong critical reception for the first series, a second series was released in 2020, with the altered title ''Save Me Too''. A DVD of the first series was released via Acorn Media on 7 May 2018. It won the 2021

BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series The British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series is one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs), the primary awards ceremony of the British television industry. The category is described on the official ...

Sky Vision Sky Vision was a production and distribution company founded by Carl Hall in 2002 as Parthenon Media Group and was acquired and rebranded by Sky in 2012 as Sky Vision. The business had investments in nine production businesses in the UK and US: ...

distributed the first series worldwide, but the distribution rights for the second series were picked up by Sky's sister company

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

Cast

Main cast

as Nelson "Nelly" Rowe, a down-and-out, sofa-surfing womaniser *

as Claire McGory, Nelly's former lover and mother of Jody *

as Fabio "Melon" Melonzola, Nelly's best friend, a computer expert and convicted sex offender *

as Tam, a friend of Nelly's, a cross-dresser and strip club bartender *

Adrian Edmondson Adrian Charles Edmondson (born 24 January 1957) is an English actor, comedian, musician, writer and television presenter. Part of the alternative comedy boom in the early 1980s, he and his comedy partner Rik Mayall starred in the television sitc ...

as Gideon Charles, a major figure in the paedophile ring *

Lesley Manville Lesley Ann Manville (born 12 March 1956) is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including two Laurence Olivier Awards and nominations for an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, four British Academy Television ...

as Jennifer Charles, the wife of Gideon (season 2)

Recurring cast

Susan Lynch Susan Lynch (born 1971) is an actress from Northern Ireland. She is known for her role in the 2003 film '' 16 Years of Alcohol''. Her other film appearances include '' Waking Ned Devine'' (1998), '' Nora'' (2000), '' Beautiful Creatures'' (200 ...

as Stace, a childhood friend of Nelly's and landlady of The Palm Tree, his local pub *

Kerry Godliman Kerry Anna Godliman (born 17 November 1973) is an English actress and comedian. She has appeared in TV roles in ''Derek (TV series), Derek'', ''Bad Move'', and ''After Life (TV series), After Life''. Early life Godliman was born born 17 Novem ...

as Martine "Teens" Betts, Nelly's girlfriend at the start of the series, whom he remains friends with afterwards *

Olivia Gray Olive Grant (born 3 December 1994), known professionally as Olive Gray, is a British actor. They first gained prominence through their role in the CBBC series '' Half-Moon Investigations'' (2009). They have since starred in the Paramount+ series ...

as Grace, trafficked teen whom Nelly saves and who resembles his missing daughter *

Nadine Marshall Nadine Marshall is an English television, stage, and radio actress. She became known for her performance as Sally in the British television sitcom ''The Smoking Room'' (2004–2005). Early life and education Nadine Marshall studied at Rose Bru ...

as Detective Sergeant Shola O'Halloran, DCI Thorpe's deputy * Barry Ward as Barry McGory, Claire's husband and Jody's adoptive father, an apparently wealthy club owner * Alan McKenna as Detective Chief Inspector Ian Thorpe, senior investigating officer into Jody's disappearance * Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness as Jody McGory, Nelly and Claire's thirteen-year-old daughter and Barry's adopted daughter *

Phil Dunster Philip James Dunster is an English actor. He is known for his roles in the Sky One drama '' Strike Back'' (2017–2018), the Channel 4 science fiction series ''Humans'' (2018), the ITV comedy-drama '' The Trouble with Maggie Cole'' (2020), the ...

as BJ McGory, Barry's son and Claire's stepson * Thomas Coombes as Goz, a drug dealer and friend of Nelly's * Alice Feetham as Bernie Melonzola, Melon's wife, whom he was convicted of having sex with when she was fifteen *

Camilla Beeput Camilla Marie Beeput (born 9 September 1981) is an English stage, television and film actress and singer. Winner of the Next Generation, Voice of a Woman Award (2015), Beeput was first discovered on ''Fame Academy'' in 2002 and has gone on to r ...

as Zita, Nelly's occasional girlfriend, a stripper * Nicholas Croucher as Dylan, Jody's best friend and next-door neighbour *

Struan Rodger Struan Rodger (born 18 September 1946) is a British actor who has appeared widely in a range of supporting roles. He appeared briefly in '' Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?'' in 1978 but his first major film role was as Eric Liddell's ...

as Richard, owner of an illicit paedophile bar and brothel * Ryan McKen as DC Leo Rainsford, a detective working on Jody's case * Alexander Arnold as Luke, a student and regular at The Palm Tree * Ragevan Vasan as Gavin, a student and regular at The Palm Tree, Luke's friend and flatmate * Remmie Milner as Daisy, Goz's girlfriend and mother of his child * Jimmy Walker as Marky Betts, Teens' son, a strip club doorman * Mia Austen as PC Helen Long, the McGorys' family liaison officer

Other cast

* Rob Horrocks as Plain Clothes Police Officer

Episodes

Series 1 (2018)

Airdates listed as per the

broadcast. All episodes of this series were available to download from

and

from 28 February 2018.

Series 2 (2020)

All episodes of this series were available to download from Sky Box Sets and Now TV from 1 April 2020.

Reception

On review aggregator

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 ...

, 100% of 16 critics gave the first season a positive review, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Save Me'' will rescue viewers' evening with outstanding performances and an absorbing mystery that never ceases to dazzle with its revelations." For the second season, 100% of 15 critics reviewed it positively, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "''Save Me'''s second season overcomes the shortcomings of its first, deepening its characters and even finding a little levity in its harrowing tale.

References

External links

* * * * {{Sky Atlantic 2018 British television series debuts 2020 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series 2020s British drama television series Kidnapping in television Cross-dressing in television British English-language television shows Television shows about infidelity British television shows about prostitution Sky Atlantic original programming Television series about dysfunctional families Television series about missing people Television shows set in London Works about sex trafficking Television series by ITV Studios Television series by World Productions