Friday Night Dinner
| Friday Night Dinner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Sitcom Cringe comedy Slapstick Farce |
| Created by | Robert Popper |
| Written by | Robert Popper |
| Directed by | Steve Bendelack Martin Dennis |
| Starring | Tamsin Greig Paul Ritter Simon Bird Tom Rosenthal Mark Heap |
| Opening theme | "Animal" (Punks Jump Up Remix) by Miike Snow |
| Composer(s) | "Meddle" by Little Boots "Fot i hose" by Casiokids "1901" by Phoenix "Believe E.S.P." by Deerhoof "Walk The Line" (Original Mix) by Dani Siciliano |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 31 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Nira Park Caroline Leddy Kenton Allen |
| Producer(s) | Robert Popper |
| Running time | 21–25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Popper Pictures Big Talk Productions |
| Distributor | BBC Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | Channel 4 |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 25 February 2011 – present |
Friday Night Dinner is a British television sitcom written by Robert Popper and starring Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, and Mark Heap.[1] The comedy is focused on the regular dinner experience of the British Jewish Goodman family every Friday night. It began airing on 25 February 2011 on Channel 4. The fifth series concluded on 8 June 2018. On 13 May 2019, Channel 4 confirmed that Friday Night Dinner would return for a new series, which would be filmed later in the year ready for broadcast in 2020.
Contents
Premise[edit]
Friday Night Dinner depicts Shabbat dinner in the middle-class secular Jewish Goodman family, reflecting writer and producer Robert Popper's own secular Jewish upbringing.[2] It is set in suburban North London, and filmed there, in Mill Hill.[3] The family consists of father Martin (Paul Ritter), mother Jacqueline "Jackie" (Tamsin Greig), elder son and musician Adam (Simon Bird), and younger son and estate agent Jonathan "Jonny" (Tom Rosenthal). The stories follow the family as they have their dinner, which is often interrupted by Adam and Jonny pranking each other and by their strange, lonely, friendless next-door neighbour James "Jim" Bell (Mark Heap), who is attracted to Jackie and terrified of his own dog Wilson. Jackie's best friend, Valerie "Val" Lewis (Tracy-Ann Oberman), is also a frequent visitor, as is Jackie's mother, Eleanor "Nelly" Buller (Frances Cuka). Martin's mother, Cynthia Goodman (Rosalind Knight), referred to as "Horrible Grandma", is an occasional guest to the Goodman family.
Cast and characters[edit]
Main characters[edit]
The following is a list of series regulars from Friday Night Dinner, with actors credited in order that they were first credited in the series.
| Character | Actor | Series | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Adam Goodman | Simon Bird | Main | ||||
| Jonathan "Jonny" Goodman | Tom Rosenthal | Main | ||||
| Jacqueline "Jackie" Goodman | Tamsin Greig | Main | ||||
| Martin Goodman | Paul Ritter | Main | ||||
| James "Jim" Bell | Mark Heap | Main | ||||
| Valerie "Val" Lewis | Tracy-Ann Oberman | Guest | Recurring | |||
| Eleanor "Nelly" Buller | Frances Cuka | Recurring | Guest | |||
| Cynthia Goodman | Rosalind Knight | Guest | Guest | |||
| Lou Morris | Harry Landis | Guest | Recurring | |||
Episode lists[edit]
| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series premiere | Series finale | |||
| 1 | 6 | 25 February 2011 | 8 April 2011 | |
| 2 | 6 | 7 October 2012 | 11 November 2012 | |
| Special | 24 December 2012 | |||
| 3 | 6 | 20 June 2014 | 25 July 2014 | |
| 4 | 6 | 22 July 2016 | 26 August 2016 | |
| 5 | 6 | 4 May 2018 | 8 June 2018 | |
| 6 | 6 | 2020 | 2020 | |
American remake[edit]
In September 2011, Deadline Hollywood announced that Greg Daniels, who had adapted The Office for American television, would spearhead an American remake of the series for the broadcast network NBC.[4] The remake was picked up for a pilot, written by Daniels and directed by Ken Kwapis[5] and starring Allison Janney and Tony Shalhoub as the mother and father.[6] The pilot did not go to series.
References[edit]
- ^ Plunkett, John (12 February 2010). "Tamsin Greig and Pulling's Paul Ritter to star in Channel 4 comedy". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
- ^ Saner, Emine (4 March 2011). "Tamsin Greig: 'I always think I'll never work again'". The Guardian.
- ^ Friday Night Dinner stars Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal talk returning to the show
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (6 September 2011). "Greg Daniels To Adapt British Comedy 'Friday Night Dinner' For NBC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (3 February 2012). "Ken Kwapis Set To Direct NBC Pilot 'Friday Night Dinner', Reunites With Greg Daniels". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (7 February 2012). "Allison Janney & Tony Shalhoub To Star in Greg Daniels' NBC Pilot 'Friday Night Dinner'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
External links[edit]
- 2011 British television programme debuts
- 2010s British sitcoms
- Channel 4 sitcoms
- Comedy in London
- English-language television programs
- Jewish comedy and humor
- Jewish-related television programs
- Television series about brothers
- Television series about marriage
- Television series about suburbia
- Television series by Big Talk Productions
- Television shows set in London
