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The Larkins (2021 TV series)

The Larkins is an English comedy drama television series, produced by Objective Fiction and Genial Productions. The series is the most recent adaptation of H. E. Bates novel The Darling Buds of May.[2]

Both the novel and the series are set in rural 1950s Kent. The series stars Bradley Walsh as "Pop" Larkin and Joanna Scanlan as "Ma" Larkin. They have six children. The eldest daughter, Mariette, is played by Sabrina Bartlett (series 1) and Joelle Rae (series 2), while Tok Stephen plays accountant Cedric "Charley" Charlton.[3]

In February 2023 the British tabloid press speculated that the series had been cancelled due to poor ratings, although there was no official statement from ITV.[4] In a television interview, Walsh suggested that although there might be no new series in 2023 due to his own unavailability, the possibility of a feature-length special was being explored.[5][6]

Characters

Episodes

Series overview

Series 1 (2021)

Christmas Special (2021)

Series 2 (2022)

  1. ^ This episode did not make it into the top 50 most viewed programmes of the week and therefore full figures are not available.

Filming locations

Various locations throughout the south east of England have been used during filming to stand in for the fictional setting of Littlechurch including the villages of West Peckham and Underriver in Kent.[15] Romshed Farm near Sevenoaks served as the Larkins farm and home.[16] According to the Kent Film office[17] some of the other key locations for series 1 are:

New locations featured in the 2021 Christmas Special included Underriver Village Hall, a private residence in Underriver and a private cottage in Chiddingstone.[18]

Reception

Reviews

The first episode of The Larkins received generally positive reviews.

James Jackson of The Times wrote that "The jollity of the voracious Larkin family is undeniable, bursting with enough warmth to power an entire country village", with the publication awarding it four stars out of five.[19] The Radio Times also awarded the episode four stars out of five, particularly praising Bradley Walsh as Pop, and wrote that "The Larkins isn't necessarily anything revolutionary [...] But what it is is a joyous, comforting and homely show which feels like you're getting a big old hug."[20]

Benjie Goodhart, writing for Saga Magazine, wrote that despite his reservations, he "loved it" and praised the cast as "excellent".[21] The Telegraph's Vicki Power remarked that "the dialogue fizzes with playful wit" and summarized their review by saying, "Shot in lush golden hues, this is an entertaining hour of warm-bath telly, the perfick autumn antidote".[22]

In contrast, The Telegraph's Anita Singh gave the episode two stars out of five, criticizing the acting and the racial diversity of the cast they felt was not representative of the time period and setting.[23] However with some of these shortcomings removed she revised her opinion for episode 1 of series two, awarding it four stars and writing "the show is playing to its strengths: broad comedy and sweet romance. It also serves as a nice hour of escapism".[24]

Sean O'Grady of The Independent described the episode as "an abomination" and "opioid atavistic tosh", panning the portrayal of the setting as "cloyingly class-ridden [...] and bewilderingly archaic to modern eyes".[25]

Viewership

The opening episode was the third most-watched show of the week and second most-watched show of the day. It averaged just over 5.3 million people (including those watching on British television network ITV's +1 channel) and was watched by 35.3% of the audience over the hour. Following a seven-day catch-up period, the figure aggregated to 6.58 million people.[26]

Broadcast

Internationally, the series was acquired in New Zealand by the TVNZ network and premiered on 31 October 2021.[27] It began its first series run in Belgium and The Netherlands on 15 November 2021 via the BBC First channel.[28] In Australia the series was picked up by ABC and broadcast in the prime time Saturday evening slot starting on 27 November 2021.[29] First broadcast rights in the US and Canada have been acquired by the AMC-owned Acorn TV streaming service with the first two episodes available to stream on 13 December 2021.[30] In Spain the series was released on 4 January 2022 on Filmin. While the second season was released on 27 December 2022.[31]

Home media

References

  1. ^ "ITV commissions a new adaptation of H.E. Bates' novel, The Darling Buds of May, entitled The Larkins". ITV. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. ^ Archer, Katie (18 August 2021). "The Larkins: Bradley Walsh heads cast as Darling Buds of May stories return to ITV". BT.com. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  3. ^ Craig, David (22 July 2021). "ITV's The Larkins debuts first look at Bradley Walsh and Joanna Scanlan in Darling Buds of May reboot". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  4. ^ Darvill, Josh (12 February 2023). "The Larkins 'axed' by ITV after two series". TellyMix. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Bradley Walsh says 'The Larkins' ISN'T axed - but won't be back for a while". British Period Dramas. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Bradley Walsh denies reports The Larkins has been cancelled by ITV". The Independent. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  7. ^ "BARB – Weekly Top 10 Programmes (28 day period)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  8. ^ "BARB – Weekly Top 10 Programmes (28 day period)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  9. ^ "BARB – Weekly Top 10 Programmes (28 day period)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  10. ^ "BARB – Weekly Top 10 Programmes (28 day period)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  11. ^ "BARB – Weekly Top 10 Programmes (28 day period)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  12. ^ "BARB – Weekly Top 10 Programmes (28 day period)". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  13. ^ "The Larkins". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  14. ^ "The Larkins". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
  15. ^ jaymi-mccann (10 October 2021). "Filming locations in Kent for the new Darling Buds of May drama The Larkins on ITV". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  16. ^ Fogarty, Paul (11 October 2021). "Where is the house in The Larkins? Central filming location explored". HITC. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Objective Fiction - Kent Film Office". kentfilmoffice.co.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Objective Fiction - Kent Film Office". kentfilmoffice.co.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  19. ^ Midgley, Carol. "The Larkins review — Darling Buds of May reboot is a warm comfort pudding". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  20. ^ "The Larkins review: Bradley Walsh is a perfick Pop in ITV's Darling Buds of May reboot". Radio Times. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  21. ^ "TV review: The Larkins and A Year in Provence with Carol Drinkwater - Saga". www.saga.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  22. ^ Reporters, Telegraph (7 February 2020). "What's on TV tonight: The Larkins, Angela Black, Tom Parker, and more". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 10 October 2021.
  23. ^ Singh, Anita (10 October 2021). "The Larkins episode 1, review: there's nothing 'perfick' about this clumsy remake". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  24. ^ Singh, Anita (16 October 2022). "The Larkins, episode 1 review: a charming escape into HE Bates's bucolic fantasy". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  25. ^ "The Larkins is a Brexit Television abomination – review". The Independent. 10 October 2021. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  26. ^ "Top programmes report". thinkbox. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  27. ^ "The Larkins". www.tvnz.co.nz. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  28. ^ "The Larkins | BBC First | BBC Benelux". www.bbcbenelux.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  29. ^ "The Larkins". ABC iview. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  30. ^ "AMC NETWORKS ANNOUNCES DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS FOR TARGETED STREAMING SERVICES". 19 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  31. ^ "'Los Larkin': Fecha de estreno, Trama, Reparto, Tráiler y más" (in European Spanish). 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.

External links