# State of the Union (British TV series)

State of the Union is a British comedy television series that aired on BBC and Sundance TV. It is written by Nick Hornby and directed by Stephen Frears.
The second season premiered in February 2022.

## Premise

Season 1 of State of the Union follows "Louise and Tom, played by Pike and O’Dowd, who meet in a pub immediately before their weekly marital therapy session. Each episode pieces together how their lives were, what drew them together, and what has started to pull them apart."

## Cast and characters
### Season 1

* Rosamund Pike as Louise
* Chris O'Dowd as Tom

### Season 2

* Brendan Gleeson as Scott
* Patricia Clarkson as Ellen
* Esco Jouley as Jay

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Series | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Series | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 10 | 10 | 6 May 2019 (2019-05-6) | 17 May 2019 (2019-05-17) |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | 14 February 2022 (2022-02-14) | 23 February 2022 (2022-02-23) |

### Season 1 (2019)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | US viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Marathon" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 6 May 2019 (2019-05-6) | N/A |
| 2 | 2 | "Antique Globes" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 6 May 2019 (2019-05-6) (Sundance Now) 7 May 2019 (2019-05-7) (Sundance TV) | N/A |
| 3 | 3 | "Syria" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 7 May 2019 (2019-05-7) (Sundance Now) 8 May 2019 (2019-05-8) (Sundance TV) | N/A |
| 4 | 4 | "Plaster Cast" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 7 May 2019 (2019-05-7) (Sundance Now) 9 May 2019 (2019-05-9) (Sundance TV) | N/A |
| 5 | 5 | "Normal Slope" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 8 May 2019 (2019-05-8) (Sundance Now) 10 May 2019 (2019-05-10) (Sundance TV) | N/A |
| 6 | 6 | "Nigel and Naomi" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 8 May 2019 (2019-05-8) (Sundance Now) 13 May 2019 (2019-05-13) (Sundance TV) | N/A |
| 7 | 7 | "Call the Midwife" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 9 May 2019 (2019-05-9) (Sundance Now) 14 May 2019 (2019-05-14) (Sundance TV) | N/A |
| 8 | 8 | "Dolphins" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 9 May 2019 (2019-05-9) (Sundance Now) 15 May 2019 (2019-05-15) (Sundance TV) | N/A |
| 9 | 9 | "Prison Sex" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 10 May 2019 (2019-05-10) (Sundance Now) 16 May 2019 (2019-05-16) (Sundance TV) | N/A |
| 10 | 10 | "Another Drink" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 10 May 2019 (2019-05-10) (Sundance Now) 17 May 2019 (2019-05-17) (Sundance TV) | N/A |

### Season 2 (2022)

| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | US viewers (millions) |
| 11 | 1 | "The Laws of Grammar" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 14 February 2022 (2022-02-14) | N/A |
| 12 | 2 | "Why Quake?" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 15 February 2022 (2022-02-15) | N/A |
| 13 | 3 | "Big Mustard" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 16 February 2022 (2022-02-16) | N/A |
| 14 | 4 | "Prison Thoughts" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 17 February 2022 (2022-02-17) | N/A |
| 15 | 5 | "Led Zeppelin's Accountant" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 18 February 2022 (2022-02-18) | N/A |
| 16 | 6 | "Intimacy Kit" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 19 February 2022 (2022-02-19) | N/A |
| 17 | 7 | "The Road Most Travelled" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 20 February 2022 (2022-02-20) | N/A |
| 18 | 8 | "Facetime TV" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 21 February 2022 (2022-02-21) | N/A |
| 19 | 9 | "Kopi Luwak" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 22 February 2022 (2022-02-22) | N/A |
| 20 | 10 | "The Last Box" | Stephen Frears | Nick Hornby | 23 February 2022 (2022-02-23) | N/A |

## Production
### Development

On 13 July 2018, it was announced that Sundance TV had given the production a series order consisting of ten episodes running around ten minutes each. The series was expected to be written by Nick Hornby and directed by Stephen Frears, both of whom were set to be executive producers. Production companies involved with the series included See-Saw Films.

### Series 1
#### Casting

Alongside the series order announcement, it was confirmed that Rosamund Pike and Chris O'Dowd had been cast in the series' lead roles for season 1.

#### Filming

Principal photography for the series was scheduled to begin in the summer of 2018 in London, England. The pub used for the series was the Thatched House in Hammersmith, London W6.

#### Soundtrack

Roger Eno scored the soundtrack, which was performed by jazz musicians Jack Pinter, Sebastian Rochford (drums) and Steve Watts on saxophone and recorded at AIR Studios in London, according to the trailer.

### Series 2

On 25 January 2021 the series was renewed for a second season, starring Brendan Gleeson, Patricia Clarkson and Esco Jouléy.

## Release

On 10 October 2018, a "first-look" image from the series was released. On 28 January 2019, the series received its world premiere during the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
In the UK, the first series aired on BBC Two in September 2019, and the second series followed in May 2022.

## Reception

In a positive review, Variety's Daniel D'Addario praised the series saying, "State of the Union pulls off a neat trick; given both its short running time and its fleetness of dialogue, we never get tired of hearing this couple's arguments, which could in other contexts be tiresome and circular." In another encouraging criticism, The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg described the series as a "clever and beautifully acted piece" and declared that "Stephen Frears and Nick Hornby's perceptive two-hander is still well worth seeing."

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series | Nick Hornby, Stephen Frears, Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman | Won |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series | Chris O'Dowd | Won |
| 2019 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series | Rosamund Pike | Won |
| 2022 | Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Short Form Live-Action Series | State of the Union | Nominated |
| 2022 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series | Brendan Gleeson | Nominated |
| 2022 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series | Patricia Clarkson | Won |
| 2022 | Artios Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Short Form Series | Kathleen Chopin, John Ort | Won |