# Staged > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Staged > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Staged.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staged > Source revision: 1345999343 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) UK television comedy series Staged Genre Sitcom Created by Simon Evans Phin Glynn[1] Written by Simon Evans Directed by Simon Evans Starring David Tennant Michael Sheen Simon Evans Georgia Tennant Anna Lundberg Lucy Eaton Composer Alex Baranowski Country of origin United Kingdom Original language English No. of series 3 No. of episodes 21 Production Executive producers Michael Sheen David Tennant Axel Kuschevatzky Cindy Teperman Geoff Iles Producers Phin Glynn Victor Glynn Georgia Tennant Editor Dan Gage Running time 15–20 minutes Production company Infinity Hill – GCB Films Original release Network BBC One Release 10 June 2020 (2020-06-10) – 26 January 2021 (2021-01-26) Network Britbox Release 31 December 2021 (2021-12-31) – 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) ***Staged*** is a British television comedy series. Set and filmed during the [COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom](/source/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_United_Kingdom), primarily using [video-conferencing](/source/Video-conferencing) technology, the series stars actors [Michael Sheen](/source/Michael_Sheen) and [David Tennant](/source/David_Tennant) as fictionalised versions of themselves. [Simon Evans](/source/Simon_Evans_(director)), [Georgia Tennant](/source/Georgia_Tennant), [Anna Lundberg](/source/Anna_Lundberg), and Lucy Eaton also star. The first series premiered 10 June 2020 on [BBC One](/source/BBC_One), and the second series premiered 4 January 2021 on BBC One. A [Comic Relief](/source/Comic_Relief) New Year Special was uploaded to the [BritBox](/source/BritBox) [YouTube](/source/YouTube) page on 31 December 2021. A third series, ***BackStaged***, premiered on 24 November 2022 on BritBox. ## Premise In the first series, Michael Sheen and David Tennant play fictionalised versions of themselves, trying to rehearse a performance of [Luigi Pirandello](/source/Luigi_Pirandello)'s *[Six Characters in Search of an Author](/source/Six_Characters_in_Search_of_an_Author)* during [lockdown](/source/COVID-19_lockdowns#United_Kingdom) via videoconference,[2] while the underconfident director, Simon, struggles to keep control of the production.[3][4] The second series follows the "real" Michael and David following the success of the first series of *Staged*. Simon begins work on an American [remake](/source/Remake) of the first series but Michael and David are not asked to reprise their roles. The third series starts with Simon trying to get Michael and David to agree to a Christmas staged version of *[Six Characters in Search of an Author](/source/Six_Characters_in_Search_of_an_Author)*, and later *[A Christmas Carol](/source/A_Christmas_Carol)*, before becoming a [metafictional](/source/Metafiction) behind the scenes documentary of the show entitled *Backstaged*. ## Cast and characters ### Main - [David Tennant](/source/David_Tennant) - [Michael Sheen](/source/Michael_Sheen) ### Co-starring - [Georgia Tennant](/source/Georgia_Tennant), David's wife - [Anna Lundberg](/source/Anna_Lundberg), Michael's girlfriend - Lucy Eaton, Simon's sister - [Simon Evans](/source/Simon_Evans_(director)), the director of the play and of *Staged*. Evans' acting role in the series is uncredited. ### Guest Guest stars play themselves unless otherwise noted. #### Series 1 - [Nina Sosanya](/source/Nina_Sosanya) as Jo, financier of the play - Rebecca Gage as Janine, assistant to Jo (voice only) - [Samuel L. Jackson](/source/Samuel_L._Jackson) - [Adrian Lester](/source/Adrian_Lester) - [Judi Dench](/source/Judi_Dench) #### Series 2 - [Nina Sosanya](/source/Nina_Sosanya) - [Whoopi Goldberg](/source/Whoopi_Goldberg) as Mary, agent to Michael and David - [Ben Schwartz](/source/Ben_Schwartz) as Tom, assistant to Mary - [Romesh Ranganathan](/source/Romesh_Ranganathan) - [Michael Palin](/source/Michael_Palin) - [Nick Frost](/source/Nick_Frost) - [Simon Pegg](/source/Simon_Pegg) - [Christoph Waltz](/source/Christoph_Waltz) - [Ewan McGregor](/source/Ewan_McGregor) - [Hugh Bonneville](/source/Hugh_Bonneville) - [Ken Jeong](/source/Ken_Jeong) - [Jim Parsons](/source/Jim_Parsons) - [Josh Gad](/source/Josh_Gad) - [Phoebe Waller-Bridge](/source/Phoebe_Waller-Bridge) - [Cate Blanchett](/source/Cate_Blanchett) #### Series 3: *BackStaged* - [Neil Gaiman](/source/Neil_Gaiman) - [Peter De Jersey](/source/Peter_De_Jersey) as Dominic/himself - [Jim Broadbent](/source/Jim_Broadbent) - Ebony Aboagye as Charlie, documentarian - [Ty Tennant](/source/Ty_Tennant) - [Ben Schwartz](/source/Ben_Schwartz) - [Adrian Lester](/source/Adrian_Lester) - [Nina Sosanya](/source/Nina_Sosanya) - [Lily Mo Sheen](/source/Lily_Mo_Sheen) - [Olivia Colman](/source/Olivia_Colman) - Hari Mackinnon ## Episodes Series Episodes Originally released First released Last released Network 1 6 10 June 2020 (2020-06-10) 24 June 2020 (2020-06-24) BBC One 2 8 4 January 2021 (2021-01-04) 26 January 2021 (2021-01-26) Special 31 December 2021 (2021-12-31) Britbox 3 6 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) ### Series 1 (2020) No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original release date 1 1 "Cachu Hwch" Simon Evans Simon Evans 10 June 2020 (2020-06-10) 2 2 "Up to No Good" Simon Evans Simon Evans 10 June 2020 (2020-06-10) 3 3 "Who the F#!k Is Michael Sheen?" Simon Evans Simon Evans 17 June 2020 (2020-06-17) 4 4 "Bara Brith" Simon Evans Simon Evans 17 June 2020 (2020-06-17) 5 5 "Ulysses" Simon Evans Simon Evans 24 June 2020 (2020-06-24) 6 6 "The Cookie Jar" Simon Evans Simon Evans 24 June 2020 (2020-06-24) ### Series 2 (2021) No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original release date 7 1 "Saddle Up Sheen" Simon Evans Simon Evans 4 January 2021 (2021-01-04) 8 2 "Long Time, No See" Simon Evans Simon Evans 5 January 2021 (2021-01-05) 9 3 "The Dirty Mochyns" Simon Evans Simon Evans 11 January 2021 (2021-01-11) 10 4 "Woofty Doofty, David" Simon Evans Simon Evans 12 January 2021 (2021-01-12) 11 5 "The Warthog and the Mongoose, Part 1" Simon Evans Simon Evans 18 January 2021 (2021-01-18) 12 6 "The Warthog and the Mongoose, Part 2" Simon Evans Simon Evans 19 January 2021 (2021-01-19) 13 7 "The Loo Recluse" Simon Evans Simon Evans 25 January 2021 (2021-01-25) 14 8 "Until They Get Home" Simon Evans Simon Evans 26 January 2021 (2021-01-26) ### Special (2021) No. overall Title Directed by Written by Original release date 15 "Happy New Year from David Tennant & Michael Sheen" Simon Evans Simon Evans 31 December 2021 (2021-12-31) ### Series 3: *BackStaged* (2022) No. overall No. in series Title Directed by Written by Original release date 16 1 "Is There a Version?" Simon Evans Simon Evans 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) 17 2 "Who's Playing Who?" Simon Evans Simon Evans 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) 18 3 "Past" Simon Evans Simon Evans 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) 19 4 "Present" Simon Evans Simon Evans 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) 20 5 "Future" Simon Evans Simon Evans 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) 21 6 "Knock, Knock" Simon Evans Simon Evans 24 November 2022 (2022-11-24) ## Release and reception The series premiered on 10 June 2020 on [BBC One](/source/BBC_One).[5] On 22 October 2020, it was announced that a second series had been commissioned.[6] The second series premiered on 4 January 2021 on BBC One, and all eight episodes were added to [BBC iPlayer](/source/BBC_iPlayer) on the same day.[7] A New Year Special was uploaded to [BritBox](/source/BritBox) [YouTube](/source/YouTube) page on 31 December 2021, with Michael, David, Simon, Georgia, Anna & Lucy all reprising their roles.[8] The first series was released in the U.S. via streaming service [Hulu](/source/Hulu) on 16 September 2020.[9] A third series of six episodes premiered on 24 November 2022 on BritBox UK.[10][11] ### Critical response The first series was well received by critics. Louis Chilton, in a four-starred review for *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*, described *Staged* as "a welcome distraction, an eminently watchable portrait of two artists as petulant, egotistical children".[12] Anna Leszkiewicz, for the *[New Statesman](/source/New_Statesman)*, said it was "charming: absurdly silly in a quiet, understated way".[3] Rupert Hawksley, in the *[i](/source/I_(newspaper))*, described it as "compelling 'lockdown' television".[4] Gabriel Tate, reviewing *Staged* for *[Metro](/source/Metro_(British_newspaper))*, said "Sheen and Tennant shared a warmth and willingness to take the mickey out of each other that felt entirely unforced."[13] Fergus Morgan, writing in *[The Stage](/source/The_Stage)*, gave the production five stars and said: "Tennant and Sheen are excellent, perennially, even when performing as themselves to their own laptops. Here, joined by Evans and by their real-life spouses – the actors Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg – they are on top form, crackling with snide chemistry. The whole thing is a treat."[14] The second series received more mixed reviews. Rupert Hawksley of *The Independent* called the first episode "stale and indulgent [...] Perhaps *Staged* was always this smug and we just didn’t notice, so grateful were we to have something new to watch, but the tone is now horribly out of step with the national mood." Writing for [*The Telegraph*](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph), Anita Singh criticised the meta aspects of the second series, saying "*Staged* is at its best when the duo are being funny, rather than debating whether or not they’re funny." ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Viacom International Studios Signs First-Look Deal With Infinity Hill (Exclusive)"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/viacom-international-studios-infinity-hill-first-look-deal-1280104). *The Hollywood Reporter*. 20 February 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2021. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (28 May 2020). ["When is Staged on TV? Everything you need to know about David Tennant and Michael Sheen's lockdown comedy"](https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-05-28/staged-release-date-comedy/). *[Radio Times](/source/Radio_Times)*. Retrieved 21 June 2020. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Leszkiewicz_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Leszkiewicz_3-1) Leszkiewicz, Anna (17 June 2020). ["The charming silliness of lockdown comedy Staged"](https://www.newstatesman.com/staged-review-michael-sheen-david-tennant-bbc-one). *[New Statesman](/source/New_Statesman)*. Retrieved 21 June 2020. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Hawksley_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Hawksley_4-1) Hawksley, Rupert (10 June 2020). ["Staged, BBC One, review: David Tennant and Michael Sheen's Zoom comedy is better than The Trip"](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/staged-bbc-one-review-david-tennant-michael-sheen-442985). *[i](/source/I_(newspaper))*. Retrieved 21 June 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Finnis_5-0)** Finnis, Alex (11 June 2020). ["Staged cast: who stars with David Tennant and Michael Sheen in Simon Evans' comedy series, and when it's on BBC One"](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/staged-cast-david-tennant-michael-sheen-simon-evenas-bbc-one-comedy-series-episodes-443489). *[i](/source/I_(newspaper))*. Retrieved 22 June 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Kanter, Jake (22 October 2020). ["'Staged': BBC Renews David Tennant & Michael Sheen Lockdown Comedy; Ben Schwartz Joins Cast"](https://deadline.com/2020/10/staged-bbc-renews-david-tennant-ben-schwartz-joins-cast-1234601724/). *Deadline*. Retrieved 6 December 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Wright, Minnie (10 December 2020). ["Staged teaser sees Michael Sheen planning "slow and decisive revenge" as season 2 release date confirmed"](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/staged-teaser-david-tennant-michael-sheen-season-2/). *RadioTimes*. Retrieved 4 January 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [*Happy New Year from David Tennant & Michael Sheen | Staged*](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqXoGgP2l3U), 31 December 2021, retrieved 3 January 2022 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["STAGED (HULU)"](http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/staged/). *[The Futon Critic](/source/The_Futon_Critic)*. Retrieved 31 October 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["David Tennant and Michael Sheen to return for Staged season 3"](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/staged-season-3-britbox-tennant-sheen-newsupdate/). *Radio Times*. Retrieved 24 November 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["David Tennant and Michael Sheen's Staged reveals season 3 return date"](https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a41977672/staged-season-3-return-date/). *Digital Spy*. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Chilton_12-0)** Chilton, Louis (10 June 2020). ["Staged, review: BBC One's thespian comedy nails the quirks of life under lockdown"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/staged-bbc1-david-tennant-michael-sheen-review-a9557211.html). *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)*. [Archived](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/reviews/staged-bbc1-david-tennant-michael-sheen-review-a9557211.html) from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Tate_13-0)** Tate, Gabriel (10 June 2020). ["Review: Staged"](https://www.metro.news/tv-review-staged/2040841/). *[Metro](/source/Metro_(British_newspaper))*. Retrieved 21 June 2020. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Morgan_14-0)** Morgan, Fergus (11 June 2020). ["Staged"](https://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/staged). *[The Stage](/source/The_Stage)*. Retrieved 21 June 2020. ## External links - [*Staged*](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08dnl67) at [BBC Online](/source/BBC_Online) - [*Staged*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12369754/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) - [*Staged*](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/staged/) at [British Comedy Guide](/source/British_Comedy_Guide) - [*Staged*](https://epguides.com/Staged/) at [epguides.com](/source/Epguides) v t e Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author (1921) Adaptations Six Characters in Search of an Author (1959 opera) Six Characters in Search of an Author (1963 TV play) Related "Six Charlies in Search of an Author" (1956 radio episode) "Five Characters in Search of an Exit" (1961 TV episode) Staged (2020–2022 TV series) Strangeness (2022 film) v t e COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories History Statistics Timeline 2020 January–June July–December 2021 January–June July–December 2022 January–June July–December 2023 2024 Locations United Kingdom England London Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Crown Dependencies Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Overseas Territories Akrotiri and Dhekelia Anguilla Bermuda British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Turks and Caicos Islands Impact Economy Cost-of-living crisis Education Exam grading controversy Society Clap for Our Carers Protests Thank You NHS The 2.6 Challenge National Day of Reflection Politics Beergate COVID Recovery Group Dominic Cummings scandal Greensill scandal Impact on Brexit Northern Research Group Partygate Privileges Committee investigation Public inquiry Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry Virtual House of Commons Science and healthcare Antiviral Taskforce Cancer Monitoring Project COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium COVID Symptom Study COVID passports RECOVERY Trial PANORAMIC trial AGILE Temporary hospitals England Birmingham Harrogate London Manchester Washington Glasgow Cardiff Gibraltar Jersey Testing programme NHS COVID-19 app NHS Test and Trace (England) Test, Trace, Protect (Wales) Operation Moonshot Test to Release UK Rapid Test Consortium Vaccination programme Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine European Commission–AstraZeneca dispute Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre Taskforce Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Legislation Current Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 2020 budget Contingencies Fund Act 2020 Contingencies Fund Act 2021 Coronavirus mini-budget Winter Economy Plan Stamp Duty Land Tax (Temporary Relief) Act 2020 Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 Business and Planning Act 2020 Nightingale Court Culture Recovery Fund 2021 budget Revoked Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 Health Protection (Coronavirus, Business Closure) (England) Regulations 2020 Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 COVID-19 local lockdown regulations in England First COVID-19 tier regulations in England Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 Coronavirus, Restrictions (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 Coronavirus, International Travel (England) Regulations 2020 Face Coverings on Public Transport (England) Regulations 2020 Face Coverings in a Relevant Place (England) Regulations 2020 Coronavirus, Restrictions (Steps) (England) Regulations 2021 Coronavirus, Restrictions (Local Authority Enforcement...) (England) Regulations 2020 Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 3) Regulations 2020 Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Self-Isolation) (England) Regulations 2020 Coronavirus, International Travel and Operator Liability (England) Regulations 2021 Coronavirus Act 2020 Expired or spent Coronavirus, Restrictions (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020 Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (England) Regulations 2021 Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Entry to Venues and Events) (England) Regulations 2021 Coronavirus, Restrictions (All Tiers and Self-Isolation) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Responses Government Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Contract controversies Lockdown Eat Out to Help Out Everyone In Global Travel Taskforce National Tutoring Programme Pick for Britain Project Birch Can you look them in the eyes? Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery (Scotland) Pre-pandemic exercises Exercise Cygnus Coughs and sneezes spread diseases Catch It, Bin It, Kill It Military United Kingdom Overseas territories Timelines England January–June 2020 July–December 2020 2021 2022 Northern Ireland 2020 2021 2022 Scotland 2020 2021 2022 Wales 2020 2021 2022 Advisory bodies Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team Independent SAGE Joint Biosecurity Centre Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies Key people Kevin Fenton Neil Ferguson Matt Hancock Dido Harding Jenny Harries Sajid Javid Boris Johnson Wei Shen Lim Phil Prosser June Raine Rishi Sunak Maggie Throup Patrick Vallance Jonathan Van-Tam Chris Whitty Nadhim Zahawi England Stephen Powis Amanda Pritchard Simon Stevens Northern Ireland Arlene Foster Paul Givan Charlotte McArdle Michael McBride Michelle O'Neill Robin Swann Scotland Catherine Calderwood Joe FitzPatrick Jeane Freeman Jason Leitch Gregor Smith Devi Sridhar Nicola Sturgeon John Swinney Humza Yousaf Wales Frank Atherton Mark Drakeford Vaughan Gething Eluned Morgan Media depictions "Can You Hear Me" (Doctors) Casualty (series 35) Emergency State Failures of State Grayson's Art Club Help Hold Still: A Portrait of Our Nation in 2020 Isolation Stories Locked Down Lockdown Files Pandemic Diaries Partygate Preventable Staged This England See also Captain Tom Moore Coronavirus Tech Handbook COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Death of Belly Mujinga EveryDoctor Notable deaths London Blossom Garden Lineage B.1.1.7 National Covid Memorial Wall The Big Night In COVID-19 portal --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Staged](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staged) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staged?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.