Years and Years (TV series)
Years and Years is a dystopian science fiction drama television miniseries written by Russell T Davies. Taking place between 2019 and 2034, the six-part series follows the lives of the Lyons family, who witness increasingly tumultuous global affairs and the rise to power of Vivienne Rook, an outspoken British celebrity businesswoman turned populist politician whose controversial opinions divide the nation. The series was a co-production between the BBC and HBO, and premiered on BBC One on 14 May 2019 and on HBO on 24 June 2019. Years and Years stars Emma Thompson as Rook, alongside Russell Tovey, Rory Kinnear, T'Nia Miller, Ruth Madeley, Anne Reid, and Jessica Hynes as the Lyons family.
The series was directed by Simon Cellan Jones and Lisa Mulcahy, with Davies, Cellan Jones, Michaela Fereday, Lucy Richer, and Nicola Shindler serving as executive producers. It received praise for its writing, characterisation, and exploration of modern political anxieties in a dystopian future. The show received three nominations at the 10th Critics' Choice Television Awards, in the categories of Best Limited Series, Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries, and Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries.
Synopsis
The six-part series follows the Manchester-based Lyons family: housing officer Daniel is married to Ralph, married couple Stephen and Celeste worry about their two children, single mother Rosie is looking for a new partner, and sister Edith is engaged in one humanitarian cause after another. Presiding over them all is their grandmother, the imperious Muriel. All their lives converge on one crucial night in 2019, and the story accelerates into the future, following the lives and loves of the Lyons over the next fifteen years as Britain is rocked by political upheavals, economic instability and technological advances.Cast and characters
Main
- The Lyons siblings:
- * Rory Kinnear as Stephen Lyons, the oldest Lyons sibling, a financial advisor who lives in London with his wife, Celeste, and their two daughters.
- * Jessica Hynes as Edith Lyons, a political activist
- * Russell Tovey as Daniel Lyons, a housing officer based in Manchester
- * Ruth Madeley as Rosie Lyons, the youngest of the Lyons siblings, who has spina bifida. She is a single mother, has two sons, Lee and Lincoln, and works in a school cafeteria.
- T'Nia Miller as Celeste Bisme-Lyons, an accountant and Stephen's wife
- Anne Reid as Muriel Deacon, the Lyons siblings' grandmother
- Emma Thompson as The Rt Hon Vivienne Rook MP, a charismatic and controversial businesswoman turned politician
Recurring
- Dino Fetscher as Ralph Cousins, Daniel's ex-husband, who is a primary school teacher.
- Maxim Baldry as Viktor Goraya, a Ukrainian refugee, who forms a romantic relationship with Daniel.
- Lydia West as Bethany Bisme-Lyons, Stephen and Celeste's older daughter, who identifies as transhuman, wishing to turn herself into data.
- Jade Alleyne as Ruby Bisme-Lyons, Stephen and Celeste's younger daughter
- Sharon Duncan-Brewster as Fran Baxter, a storyteller and activist who is Daniel's friend. She later becomes Edith's partner.
Production
In June 2018, the BBC announced that Russell T Davies would write Years and Years, which was described as "an epic drama following a family over 15 years of unstable political, economical and technological advances". Davies noted that he had been aiming to write the drama series for almost two decades.In October 2018, it was announced that Emma Thompson had joined the cast as Vivienne Rook, alongside Rory Kinnear, T'Nia Miller, Russell Tovey, Jessica Hynes, Lydia West, Ruth Madeley, and Anne Reid. Years and Years was cast by Andy Pryor. It was also announced that the series would be directed by Simon Cellan Jones.
Filming began in Manchester on 22 October 2018 and was completed on 17 March 2019. Locations included Trafford Park for the refugee camp and Altcar Training Camp, Liverpool for the "Erstwhile" site.
In order to cement the idea that the series was looking forward from the present day, the first episode was edited on the day it aired to include a radio news broadcast referencing the death of Doris Day, which had occurred the day prior.
Broadcast
The series was broadcast on BBC One in the UK, BBC First in The Netherlands and Belgium, HBO in the US, Mexico, Latin America, Poland, and Spain, SBS in Australia, Soho in New Zealand, Canal+ in France, and ZDFneo in Germany.In 2020, the series aired on M-Net in South Africa.