# Flowers (TV series)

Flowers is a British black comedy drama series created, written and directed by Will Sharpe and starring Olivia Colman and Julian Barratt. It was commissioned by the British broadcaster Channel 4, in association with the American TV streaming service Seeso. The first series premiered in the UK with two episodes on 25 April 2016 and was broadcast daily during the week, ending on 29 April. In the United States, all 6 episodes were released online on 5 May 2016. The series concluded with a second series following the same pattern, premiering with two episodes on 11 June 2018, in the UK, followed by an episode daily during that week.

## Synopsis

The series follows the Flowers family, consisting of depressed father and children's author Maurice (Barratt); music teacher wife Deborah (Colman), their 25-year-old twin children: inventor son Donald (Daniel Rigby) and musician daughter Amy (Sophia Di Martino); Maurice's senile mother Hattie (Leila Hoffman); and Maurice's Japanese illustrator Shun (Sharpe).

## Cast

* Olivia Colman as Deborah Flowers
* Julian Barratt as Maurice Flowers
* Will Sharpe as Shun
* Colin Hurley as Barry
* Daniel Rigby as Donald Flowers
* Sophia Di Martino as Amy Flowers
* Leila Hoffman as Hattie Flowers
* Georgina Campbell as Abigail (series 1)
* Angus Wright as George (series 1)
* Harriet Walter as Hylda (series 2)

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 6 | 6 | April 25, 2016 (2016-04-25) | April 29, 2016 (2016-04-29) |
| 2 | 6 | 6 | June 11, 2018 (2018-06-11) | June 15, 2018 (2018-06-15) |

### Series 1 (2016)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | US air date | UK viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | 25 April 2016 (2016-04-25) | 5 May 2016 | 1.26 |
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | 25 April 2016 (2016-04-25) | 5 May 2016 | 1.26 |
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | 26 April 2016 (2016-04-26) | 5 May 2016 | 0.94 |
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | 27 April 2016 (2016-04-27) | 5 May 2016 | N/A |
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | 28 April 2016 (2016-04-28) | 5 May 2016 | N/A |
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | 29 April 2016 (2016-04-29) | 5 May 2016 | 0.86 |

### Series 2 (2018)

In May 2018, Channel 4 released a trailer for the second series of the show. It began broadcasting with two episodes on 11 June 2018.
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | UK viewers (millions) |
| 7 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | June 11, 2018 (2018-06-11) | N/A |
| 8 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | June 11, 2018 (2018-06-11) | N/A |
| 9 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | June 12, 2018 (2018-06-12) | N/A |
| 10 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | June 13, 2018 (2018-06-13) | N/A |
| 11 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | June 14, 2018 (2018-06-14) | N/A |
| 12 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Will Sharpe | Will Sharpe | June 15, 2018 (2018-06-15) | N/A |

## DVD

The complete series 1 was released on DVD in June 2016 by Dazzler Media, while the complete second series was released on DVD in September 2018.

## Reception

Reviews for the series were positive. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes rated it 100% "fresh" based on 10 reviews. The Guardian praised the series and called it "a gloriously dark sitcom about depression and rage". The New York Times also reviewed it positively saying, "Flowers isn't really about any particular story. It's a portrait – a weird, Edward Gorey-like portrait of a family with loves, suspicions and insecurities, perhaps not all that different from yours, after all."
Reception of the second series was similarly positive, once again garnering a 100% "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 9 reviews. Writing for The Guardian, Sam Wollaston awarded four stars out of five, stating: "The second series of Will Sharpe’s deeply imaginative comedy drama has been serious and sensitive in its handling of difficult issues, and hilarious to boot."

### Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2016 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Editing - Entertainment and Comedy | Selina MacArthur | Won |
| 2016 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Music - Original Score | Arthur Sharpe | Won |
| 2016 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Production Design - Drama | Luana Hanson | Nominated |
| 2017 | British Academy Television Awards | Best Scripted Comedy | Will Sharpe, Naomi de Pear, Diederick Santer, Jane Featherstone | Nominated |
| 2017 | Diversity in Media Awards | Programme of the Year | Flowers | Nominated |
| 2018 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Picture Enhancement | Dan Coles | Nominated |
| 2018 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Make Up Design - Drama | Sjaan Gillings | Nominated |
| 2019 | Ivor Novello Awards | Best Television Soundtrack | Arthur Sharpe | Nominated |