Brassic (TV series)
Brassic is a British comedy-drama television series which premiered on Sky One on 22 August 2019 and became Sky's most successful comedy in seven years. The series follows the lives of Vinnie O'Neill (Joe Gilgun) and his friends in the fictional town of Hawley. The first series consists of six episodes, which concluded on 19 September 2019, receiving positive reviews. Other primary cast members include Michelle Keegan, Damien Molony, Tom Hanson, Aaron Heffernan, Ryan Sampson, Parth Thakerar and Dominic West. Before the first episode had even aired, it was announced that "Brassic" had been renewed  for a second series, which premiered on 7 May 2020. The show was renewed for an expanded third series of eight episodes; which premiered on 6 October 2021 on Sky Max. In August 2021, prior to the airing of the third series, a fourth began filming. The title "Brassic" is the colloquial pronunciation of "Boracic" as in "Boracic lint", a medical dressing, the name of which is Cockney rhyming slang for "skint" (i.e., insolvent). Plot. "Brassic" follows the lives of Vinnie O'Neill and his five friends as they live their lives in the fictional northern English town of Hawley. The  working class group commit various crimes to keep money in their pockets, but as they get older some of them start to wonder if there's more to life away from the town. Production. Development. Joseph Gilgun and Danny Brocklehurst devised a new comedy television series for Sky One, entitled "Brassic", in which Gilgun would portray the lead role whereas Brocklehurst would write the episodes' stories and scripts. It began broadcasting in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2019, with the first series consisting of six episodes, broadcast on a weekly basis. Prior to the first episode being aired, the  programme was automatically recommissioned for a second series, with producers optimistic that it would be critically reviewed in a positive manner. They were correct, with many critics praising the series for its comedic and dramatic tone; the first series ended its run on 19 September. On 24 April 2020, Sky released the second series' trailer, confirming that it would begin broadcasting on 7 May that year. It was confirmed that it would also broadcast six episodes with all of them becoming available to be streamed through NOW TV from its premiere date, though would officially be broadcast on a weekly  basis through Sky. Prior to series 2 commencing its broadcast, Sky recommissioned the series for an expanded third series, consisting of eight episodes; a projected release date was not disclosed. Casting. After Gilgun was announced as the series lead, Michelle Keegan, Damien Molony, Tom Hanson, Aaron Heffernan, Ryan Sampson and Parth Thakerar joined the cast in fellow main character roles. The characters include Vincent "Vinnie" O'Neill (Gilgun), Erin Croft (Keegan), Dylan (Molony), "Cardi" (Hanson), Ash (Heffernan), Tommo (Sampson) and JJ (Thakerar), whereas Dominic West and Bronagh Gallagher also portrayed assisting roles throughout the series, starring as Doctor Chris Cox and  Carol, respectively. For series 2, Claude Scott-Mitchell joined the cast in the role of Sara, a new romance for Maloney's character. All series 1 cast members reprised their roles, with "Cold Feet" star John Thomson and Bill Paterson also joining the cast as newcomers. West also reprised his role, now portraying a more regular character. Filming. The programme is set in the fictional town of Hawley, which is inspired by Gilgun's experience of growing up in Chorley.<ref name="filming/location"></ref> Regarding the setting, location manager Jonathan Davies stated, "We were given the scripts and a few of  us had a meeting with Joe [Gilgun] to talk through the feel and look of the show and to talk about which direction to go in. It's a very collaborative process to build a world that fits with the story and script. People want to feel like they're being transported into that real world of "Brassic"." The first two series of "Brassic" were filmed in the Lancashire town of Bacup. Filming of the first series began in September 2018, with a fan tweeting, "As if Michelle Keegan is filming in Bacup, love her". The filming location surprised locals , as not many were informed about the programme filming there and who the cast members were, with one local stating, "There were quite a few people including myself watching and it was causing a few traffic problems as people kept stopping. Michelle Keegan was there surrounded by security guards and there was a Mercedes van ready to take her away when she was done". Further filming locations included some scenes being filmed in Bolton, the Crows Nest pub scenes are filmed in The Star and Garter public house near Manchester Piccadilly station whereas the inaugural episode's notable car-chase  opening scene was shot in West Yorkshire. On the day of the programme's premiere, Gilgun revealed that filming for the second series had already begun prior to the first series airing, with them supposedly having a previously confidential agreement with Sky weeks before. Filming continued through the entire autumn of 2019, with all previous filming locations from series 1 continuing, and locations also expanding across the North West of England. Gilgun revealed in an interview that the cast and crew had caused controversy during filming, when they were "kicked out" of a circus after a single day of filming , which resulted in the crew having to film the remaining scenes in a car park; Gilgun later stated that the circus were unaware of the amount of cast and crew that the production team were going to bring. Marketing. The first series' trailer was released by Sky One on 13 August 2019, which included minor clips containing comedic scenes from a variety of episodes and confirmed its release date of 22 August; this trailer was continuously shown on all Sky platforms in the days prior to its premiere. On 24 April 2020, Sky began to screen the second series' trailer , once again briefly showing clips for the new series and confirming its premiere date of 7 May. Release. Broadcast. "Brassic" made its television debut in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2019; all episodes were available to be streamed on demand from the premiere date though was broadcast on a weekly basis by Sky One. Internationally, the programme has been aired in France, from 16 September; Spain, from 24 September through internet streaming; Germany, from 1 January 2020 through internet streaming; Australia from 25 February 2020, Canada, Russia and the United States. In Russia, it is titled as "Голяк". A  third series began filming in late 2020 in and around Manchester. Home media. All episodes are available to be viewed through the Sky Go and Amazon Video apps. The entire boxset is also available on NOW TV and Virgin Media in the United Kingdom. On 31 July 2020 all episodes became available in the U.S. via Hulu. On 27 August 2019, it was announced that the complete first series would release to DVD on 30 September. Reception. Critical response. Lucy Mangan of "The Guardian", reviewing the series, gave it four out of five stars, saying: "It is a hilarious, warm , brutal melange that works because it has heart without sentimentality and authenticity without strain." Creator and lead actor Joseph Gilgun has been praised for his performance as Vinnie O'Neill, with review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes commenting, "Joseph Gilgun is wonderfully expressive as Vinnie, his volatile features continually scrunching together and apart like the top of a drawstring bag."