Mr Selfridge


Mr Selfridge is a British period drama television series about Harry Gordon Selfridge and his department store, Selfridge & Co, in London, set from 1908 to 1929. It was co-produced by ITV Studios and Masterpiece/WGBH for broadcast on ITV. The series began broadcasting on ITV on 6 January 2013 and 30 March 2016 on PBS in the United States.
In the series, Selfridge has successfully modernized the department store Marshall Field's in Chicago before deciding to open the finest department store in the world in London's Oxford Street. The socialite Lady Mae Loxley is among his first allies. The series depicts a number of historical figures who have interactions with Selfridge or his staff over the following decades, including the French aviator Louis Blériot, the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, the detective fiction writer and spiritualist Arthur Conan Doyle, the Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton, and the British monarch Edward VII. By the end of the series in the late 1920s, Selfridge is forced to step down from his leadership position after acquiring the store William Whiteley Limited and unwittingly inheriting its debts to unpaid suppliers.

Production

Development and production

It was announced on 24 May 2011 that ITV was in discussions with ITV Studios about developing an adaptation of Lindy Woodhead's biography Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge. Andrew Davies was confirmed to be working on the script. Beginning in London in 1908, during a time period when women were enjoying an ever-increasing amount of freedom, it tells the story of Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridges department store and includes members of his family, particularly his wife Rose Selfridge.
It was originally planned to be screened in late 2012, and it is claimed that ITV was forced to postpone airing the drama to January 2013 due to rival BBC airing a similarly themed drama series The Paradise which was broadcast on 25 September 2012.
A set to the north of London was built to house a replica of the 1909 Selfridge's store interior. The exterior of the store was recreated in The Historic Dockyard Chatham, in Kent.
The disused Aldwych tube station was used to film Rose Selfridge travelling on the London Underground and scenes in the first episode.
On 8 February 2013, ITV announced Mr Selfridge had been commissioned for a second series of ten episodes, to start on 19 January 2014. Anthony Byrne, who directed three episodes of series one, returned to direct some of the new episodes. On 22 July 2013, PBS also purchased a second series that aired in 2014 as part of its Masterpiece Classic. The second series is set in 1914 and portrays the consequence of World War I to the store and staff. On 21 February 2014, it was announced that Mr. Selfridge had been renewed for a third series, to air in 2015. On 13 March 2015, ITV announced Mr Selfridge had been commissioned for a new 10-part fourth and final series.
On 11 March 2016, Mr Selfridge aired its final episode after the conclusion of the fourth series and a total of 40 episodes were produced.

Casting

An American casting director was employed to find an actor suitable to play Harry Selfridge. Jeremy Piven's agent informed him of the role. Producer Chrissy Skinns and director Jon Jones met Piven in Los Angeles and were impressed by his understanding of the character. Executive producer Kate Lewis was "thrilled to attract" Frances O'Connor to the role of Rose Selfridge because she had long been a fan of the actress. Former Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly signed up to play Lady Mae Loxley and returned for Series 2 and Series 4. The casting of the trio was announced in March 2012 alongside Grégory Fitoussi, Aisling Loftus, Zoe Tapper and Trystan Gravelle.

Cast and characters


Series overview


Shop staff

Accessories

  • Josie Mardle, Head of Department
  • Grace Calthorpe, Shop assistant / Head of Department
  • Agnes Towler, Senior shop assistant
  • Doris Millar, Shop assistant
  • Kitty Hawkins, Shop assistant

    Beauty

  • Kitty Hawkins, Head of Department
  • Jessie Pertree, Shop assistant

    Fashion

  • Flora Bunting, Head of Department
  • Irene Ravilious, Head of Department
  • Mr Thackery, Head of Department
  • Josie Mardle, Head of Department
  • Connie Hawkins, Shop assistant / Head of Department
  • Agnes Towler, Shop assistant
  • Gordon Selfridge, Shop assistant
  • Meryl Grove, Shop assistant

    Loading Bay

  • George Towler, Assistant / Head of Department
  • Gordon Selfridge, Assistant
  • Sam, Assistant
  • Alf, Assistant
  • Ed, Assistant
  • Dave, Assistant
  • Sarah Ellis, Assistant

    Offices

  • Harry Selfridge, General Manager
  • Henri Leclair, Deputy Manager
  • Gordon Selfridge, Deputy Manager / Provincial Stores Manager
  • Roger Grove,, Chief of Staff / Deputy Manager
  • Josie Mardle, Deputy Manager
  • Arthur Crabb, Finance
  • Miss Blenkinsopp, Secretary
  • Miss Plunket, Secretary

    Design

  • Henri Leclair, Head of Display
  • Agnes Towler, Head of Display
  • Pierre Longchamp, Head of Display
  • Freddy Lyons, Head of Display

    The Palm Court

  • Mr Perez, Head of Department
  • Victor Colleano,, Waiter / Head of Department
  • Franco Colleano, Waiter

    Sewing Room

  • Mae Rennard, Designer
  • Sarah Ellis, Head of Department
  • Matilda Brockless, Machinist / Head of Department
  • Prue, Machinist
  • Joyce, Machinist

    Other departments

  • Gordon Selfridge, Tea
  • George Towler, Head of Security
  • Miss Blenkinsop, Head of Information Bureau

    Episodes

Series 1 (2013)

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Series 2 (2014)

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Series 3 (2015)

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Series 4 (2016)

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Reception

In a poll hosted by MSN more than 80% of readers said they would continue watching the show following the first episode. Phil Hogan writing for The Guardian bemoaned the story development. He observed that there is "so much crisis with so little drama". Ross Sweeney from Cultbox said that the show had direction but lacked "actual substance and any real surprises". He praised the costume designers for their "astonishing attention to detail". Susanna Lazarus of the Radio Times opined that the character's earnestness detracted from the realism of the story. She added the female cast created the "plot tension" needed to maintain viewership. Gabriel Tate of Time Out branded it an unsubtle, daft series with glorious production values but felt it was "ideal escapism for a Sunday night". He also stated that the character of Agnes Towler was "the heart of the show". Benjamin Secher from The Daily Telegraph said that Mr Selfridge is a "less cosy, more charismatic" production of The Paradise. A "sumptuous, frothy drama" and "entertaining spectacle", but ultimately Secher did not believe the story. MSN critic Dan Owen branded it "sumptuous Sunday evening viewing". He thought the "wonderful" sets and costumes were better than those featured in fellow period drama Downton Abbey.

International broadcasts

The programme has been distributed internationally by ITV Studios' Global Entertainment brand. ITV sold the series to a number of countries at the 2012 Mipcom event. In addition they have pre-sold the show to Australia's Seven Network and the satellite television provider, Yes, in Israel. In the Netherlands, Series 1 was aired starting August, 2013 and series 2 was aired from July 2014. In Sweden "Mr Selfridge" was aired at the public service network SVT. The last two episodes of season 4 were aired as a double on 25 June 2016 on SVT1. The series began broadcasting on 31 March 2013 on PBS drama anthology program, Masterpiece in the United States.