Almost Royal

Almost Royal
GenreComedy
Written by
Directed byChris Faith/Marcus Liversedge
StarringEd Gamble, Amy Hoggart
Narrated byGemma Whelan
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
Production
Executive producerClive Tulloh
ProducerSeamus Murphy-Mitchell
Original release
NetworkBBC America
ReleaseJune 21, 2014 (2014-06-21) –
February 8, 2016 (2016-02-08)

Almost Royal is a British-American faux-reality television comedy series on the BBC America network. It is their first original first-run comedy series. It follows the lives of two clueless British aristocrat siblings—Georgie and Poppy Carlton—visiting the United States for the first time. The series stars Ed Gamble and Amy Hoggart as Georgie and Poppy, respectively. It is produced by Burning Bright Productions and premiered on June 21, 2014.[1] Although Georgie and Poppy are both portrayed by actors, the Americans with whom they interact are not aware of this.[2] On December 4, 2014, the show was renewed for an eight-episode second season, which started airing on January 18, 2016.[3]

Plot

The series begins after Georgie and Poppy's father suffers a fatal accident. His dying wish was for his children to travel to the United States, a country he loved. Thus, Georgie and Poppy travel across the Atlantic, first to Los Angeles, then to Boston, and other well-known American cities.[4] Georgie hopes to become more manly from learning about the United States, while Poppy hopes to procure a job that does not require very much work, such as acting.[5] Georgie and Poppy often try out new things they deem "American" such as shooting guns, meeting a barista, making a Twitter account, and working at a car repair shop. Usually, Poppy takes the spotlight even in areas she is bad at, and Georgie compliments Poppy no matter her skill level.[6] In the introduction to every episode their ranking in line to inherit the throne changes, always 50 or more places away.

Episodes

Season 1

# Title Order for Throne
1 Los Angeles 50th 51st
2 Boston 83rd 84th
3 Texas 74th 75th
4 New York 78th 79th
5 Detroit 98th 99th
6 Washington DC 69th 70th
7 Nashville 50th 51st

Season 2

# Title Order for Throne Airdate
1 Beauty 60th 61st 18 January 2016
2 Great Outdoors 68th 69th 18 January 2016
3 Sports 78th 79th 25 January 2016
4 Romance 80th 81st 25 January 2016
5 Future 58th 59th 1 February 2016
6 Law and Order 59th 60th 1 February 2016
7 Work 70th 71st 8 February 2016
8 Holidays 63rd 64th 8 February 2016

Critical reception

According to review aggregator website Metacritic, Almost Royal has a score of 71%, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7] One favorable review was written by Brian Lowry for Variety, who praised the show for its "...mix of deft writing and [Amy and Ed]'s deadpan improvisational skills."[8] On Rotten Tomatoes, Almost Royal's season 1 has an aggregate score of 75% based on 9 positive and 3 negative critic reviews. The website's consensus reads: "Almost Royal refreshingly lampoons both American and British cultures without abjection and benefits from Gamble and Hoggart's keen improvisational skills."[9]

International airings

Almost Royal began airing on E4 in the UK on August 9, 2014[10] and on The Comedy Channel in Australia on November 23, 2015.[11]

References

  1. ^ "BBC AMERICA's Commissions First Original Comedy Series Almost Royal". BBC America. March 25, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  2. ^ "Almost Royal: What's E4's new show about?". Digital Spy. 10 August 2014.
  3. ^ Petski, Denise (4 December 2014). "'Almost Royal' Renewed For Second Season By BBC America".
  4. ^ Framke, Caroline (June 19, 2014). "Almost Royal takes down the posh and the patriotic". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  5. ^ Wiegand, David (June 15, 2014). "'Almost Royal' review: Silly slice of BBC America nobility". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  6. ^ "About the Show - BBC America".
  7. ^ "Almost Royal". Metacritic.
  8. ^ Lowry, Brian (19 June 2014). "TV Review: 'Almost Royal'". Variety. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Almost Royal". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  10. ^ Jones, Ellen E. (10 August 2014). "BBC America's Almost Royal: This Borat-style royal spoof isn't quite out of the top drawer". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  11. ^ Purcell, Charles (19 November 2015). "New This Week (Nov 23): A Place To Call Home finale, American Music Awards, F1 and more". The Green Room. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.