''Screw'' is a British prison drama series starring

Nina Sosanya Oluwakemi Nina Sosanya (born 6 June 1969) is an English stage, television, film, and radio actress, and narrator. She is most notable for her roles in ''Teachers'', '' W1A'', and '' Last Tango in Halifax''. Early life and education Oluwakemi N ...

and Jamie-Lee O'Donnell. The series was produced by STV Studios and first 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 ...

on 6 January 2022. The second series was released on 30 August 2023. On 4 February 2024, it was announced by Ben Tavassoli that Channel 4 had cancelled the series.

Plot

Series 1 follows two prison officers and their colleagues, working in C-Wing of men's prison, Long Marsh. Leigh Henry struggles to maintain control of her wing. New recruit Rose Gill arrives and is soon caught up in a gun smuggling operation in order to save her brother from a ruthless gang to whom he owes a drug debt. Series 2 continues in the aftermath of the dramatic events at the end of the first series. Officer Henry learns that an undercover police officer has been placed on the wing. But who is it? And why are they there?

Cast

* Jamie-Lee O'Donnell as Rose Gill *

as Leigh Henry * Faraz Ayub as Ali Shah *

Laura Checkley Laura Checkley (born 18 July 1980) is an English actress and comedian known for playing the regular character Louise throughout three series of ''Detectorists'' on BBC Four, Monica in '' Action Team'' on ITV2, Terri King in the BBC One sitcom '' K ...

as Jackie Stokes * Stephen Wight as Gary Campbell * Ron Donachie as Don Carpenter *Bill Blackwood as Tony Tanner * Mark Newsome as Streaky * Jake Davies as Stephen Childs * Nicholas Lumley as Larry * Ben Tavassoli as Louis Costa * Jorden Myrie as Raheem Bennett * Jack McMullen as Connor Joyce

Production

The series was inspired by creator Rob Williams's work with prisons. Kelvin Hall film studio, Glasgow and Peterhead Prison in Scotland were used as the filming locations.

Episodes

Series 1 (2022)

Series 2 (2023)

Release

''Screw'' was first broadcast on

on 6 January 2022. The second series went to air on 30 August 2023.

Reception

Rebecca Nicholson for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave it four out of five and said: "(''Screw'') settles somewhere between

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

and Sunday night blockbuster, and I mean that as a compliment. This is broad and warm and welcoming, with enough of a sharp side to make it worth sticking with." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' also gave it four out of five and praised the use of humour.

References

External links

''Screw''
on

All 4 Channel 4 (previously 4oD and All 4) is a video on demand service from Channel Four Television Corporation, free of charge for most content and funded by advertising. The service is available in the UK and Ireland; viewers are not required to ...

*{{IMDb title, tt14708510 2022 British television series debuts 2020s British drama television series 2023 British television series endings 2020s prison television series Channel 4 television dramas British English-language television shows Television series by STV Studios