Free Agents
Encyclopedia
Free Agents is a romantic
black comedy
starring Stephen Mangan
, Sharon Horgan
and Anthony Head
. Originally a pilot for Channel 4
in November 2007, the series began on 13 February 2009. It spawned a short lived US remake
, which was cancelled after just 4 episodes aired.
along with Plus One
and The Kevin Bishop Show
, both of which were given their own series. The show was originally entitled Bitter and Twisted. The series started on the 13th of February and ended on the 20th of March. Shortly before the final episode aired, Mangan told a reporter that he and the rest of the cast were hoping to make a second series.
ordered a pilot of a remake for a US audience, starring Hank Azaria
(The Simpsons
, Run Fatboy Run
) as Alex, Kathryn Hahn
(Hung
) as Helen, Anthony Head
reprising the role of Stephen and Joe Lo Truglio
(Paul
, Superbad) as security guard, Gregg, a new character. The pilot was produced by Big Talk Productions
, Dark Toy Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.
In May 2011, a thirteen episode season was picked up
by NBC to be shown as part of its fall schedule. Chris Niel, writer of the original, co-wrote the pilot, and will produce the season with Big Talk's Joint CEO's and Managing Director, Kenton Allen
& Nira Park
and Matthew Justice, respectively. The latter two of the three produced the original UK series.
Known differences between the pilot and the full season are that the character, Gregg, has been renamed Walter and will still be portrayed by Joe Lo Truglio, but a different character named Gregg will still appear in the show.
In October 2011, the series was canceled after the fourth episode aired (six episodes being produced) due to poor ratings.
said, "There is a good deal of snappy banter between the two (Mangan and Horgan), but Anthony Head as their boss steals the show as a pervy old goat out of whose mouth pours an unending stream of uncensored filth. It’s like being confronted by an erection on screen – more amazing than shocking."
Gareth McLean in The Guardian
said, "There's little funnier than other people's emotional damage and the consequent mess they make of things, so Chris Niel's tale of two colleagues - he an estranged dad, she lately availed of a dead fiance - who have casual sex and have to deal with the aftermath is very funny indeed."
When the series was first broadcast, the Sunday Express
attacked the show because of bad language, claiming that the word "cunt
" was used three times and "fuck
" 22 times. John Beyer from Mediawatch said: "The obscene language in this programme is appalling by any standard. It shows a disregard of public concern that is completely unacceptable from a public service broadcaster."
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
starring Stephen Mangan
Stephen Mangan
Stephen Mangan is an English actor, best known for his roles as Guy Secretan in the television series Green Wing, Dan Moody in I'm Alan Partridge and as Holistic Detective Dirk Gently in the 2010 BBC adaptation of Douglas Adams' book Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, as well as Sean Lincoln...
, Sharon Horgan
Sharon Horgan
Sharon Horgan is an Irish actress, writer and comedienne.Horgan was born in London and moved to Dublin at age seven. She grew up in Bellewstown, Co. Meath, Ireland. She went to school in the Sacred Heart Secondary School in Drogheda. Later she went on to an English degree at Brunel University...
and Anthony Head
Anthony Head
Anthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
. Originally a pilot for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in November 2007, the series began on 13 February 2009. It spawned a short lived US remake
Free Agents (U.S. TV series)
Free Agents is an American re-make of a British workplace sitcom that premiered on NBC September 14, 2011, in the 10:30 pm Eastern/9:30 pm Central time slot, before assuming its regular time slot on September 21, 2011, where it aired at 8:30 pm Eastern/7:30 pm Central on Wednesday nights...
, which was cancelled after just 4 episodes aired.
Plot
Alex (Mangan) works for CMA, a successful talent agency. Whilst he is grateful for his job, he is currently going through a messy divorce, causing him to become depressed. His boss however, Stephen (Head), is sex-obsessed, cocksure and roguish. Alex later meets Helen (Horgan), a co-worker who is more successful and herself recovering from a messy relationship, after her boyfriend died months before her wedding.Production
The series is produced by Big Talk Productions and Bwark Productions and is written by Chris Niel. It was formed as part of Channel 4's 2007 Comedy ShowcaseComedy Showcase
Comedy Showcase is a series of one-off comedy specials featuring some of Britain's fledgling comedy talent. Its format is reminiscent of the much earlier Comedy Playhouse....
along with Plus One
Plus One (TV series)
Plus One is a British sitcom written and created by Tim Allsop & Stewart Williams and made by Kudos for Channel 4. A pilot was originally transmitted in 2007 as part of Channel 4's Comedy Showcase, while a full series of 5 episodes began transmitting in January 2009;The programme centres itself...
and The Kevin Bishop Show
The Kevin Bishop Show
The Kevin Bishop Show is a sketch comedy written by and starring English comedian Kevin Bishop, part of the Star Stories team. The show was commissioned by Channel 4 for a six part series starting 25 July 2008 at 10pm...
, both of which were given their own series. The show was originally entitled Bitter and Twisted. The series started on the 13th of February and ended on the 20th of March. Shortly before the final episode aired, Mangan told a reporter that he and the rest of the cast were hoping to make a second series.
US remake
In January 2011, NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
ordered a pilot of a remake for a US audience, starring Hank Azaria
Hank Azaria
Henry Albert "Hank" Azaria is an American film, television and stage actor, director, voice actor, and comedian. He is noted for being one of the principal voice actors on the animated television series The Simpsons , on which he performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief...
(The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Run Fatboy Run
Run Fatboy Run
Run Fatboy Run is a 2007 British comedy film directed by David Schwimmer, written by Michael Ian Black and Simon Pegg, and starring Pegg, Dylan Moran, Thandie Newton, Harish Patel, India de Beaufort, and Hank Azaria...
) as Alex, Kathryn Hahn
Kathryn Hahn
Kathryn Hahn is an American actress best known for her role as Lily Lebowski on the television series Crossing Jordan.-Personal life:...
(Hung
Hung (TV series)
Hung is a comedy-drama series, which premiered on HBO on June 28, 2009. The series was created by Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson and stars Thomas Jane as Ray Drecker, a struggling suburban Detroit high school baseball coach who resorts to male prostitution. The second season premiered on June 27,...
) as Helen, Anthony Head
Anthony Head
Anthony Stewart Head , usually credited as Anthony Head, is an English actor and musician. He rose to fame in the UK following his role in television advertisements for Nescafé Gold Blend , and is known for his roles as Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and as Uther Pendragon in...
reprising the role of Stephen and Joe Lo Truglio
Joe Lo Truglio
Joseph "Joe" Lo Truglio is an American actor, writer and comedian best known for his work as a cast member on the cult MTV sketch comedy series The State...
(Paul
Paul (film)
Paul is a 2011 science fiction comedy film directed by Greg Mottola, written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It stars Pegg, Frost, and the voice of Seth Rogen as the title character...
, Superbad) as security guard, Gregg, a new character. The pilot was produced by Big Talk Productions
Big Talk Productions
Big Talk Productions Ltd. is an English film and television production company established in 1995 by Nira Park. The company, located in London, has produced films such as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz; it is also known for its British sitcoms such as Spaced and Free Agents...
, Dark Toy Entertainment and Universal Media Studios.
In May 2011, a thirteen episode season was picked up
Free Agents (U.S. TV series)
Free Agents is an American re-make of a British workplace sitcom that premiered on NBC September 14, 2011, in the 10:30 pm Eastern/9:30 pm Central time slot, before assuming its regular time slot on September 21, 2011, where it aired at 8:30 pm Eastern/7:30 pm Central on Wednesday nights...
by NBC to be shown as part of its fall schedule. Chris Niel, writer of the original, co-wrote the pilot, and will produce the season with Big Talk's Joint CEO's and Managing Director, Kenton Allen
Kenton Allen
Kenton Allen is Chief Executive of Big Talk Productions. He is a multi-award–winning programme maker with programmes such as the BAFTA Award–winning The Royle Family and the Oscar Award–winning film Six Shooter ....
& Nira Park
Nira Park
Nira Park is a British television and film producer.Park worked at The Comic Strip from 1989 to 1995. In June 1995, she founded Big Talk Productions, which employs twenty-five people. Under this production company, she has produced comedies such as Black Books and Spaced...
and Matthew Justice, respectively. The latter two of the three produced the original UK series.
Known differences between the pilot and the full season are that the character, Gregg, has been renamed Walter and will still be portrayed by Joe Lo Truglio, but a different character named Gregg will still appear in the show.
In October 2011, the series was canceled after the fourth episode aired (six episodes being produced) due to poor ratings.
Episodes
| | # | | Title | | Original airdate |
|---|
Reception
The pilot attracted positive reviews. David Chater in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
said, "There is a good deal of snappy banter between the two (Mangan and Horgan), but Anthony Head as their boss steals the show as a pervy old goat out of whose mouth pours an unending stream of uncensored filth. It’s like being confronted by an erection on screen – more amazing than shocking."
Gareth McLean in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
said, "There's little funnier than other people's emotional damage and the consequent mess they make of things, so Chris Niel's tale of two colleagues - he an estranged dad, she lately availed of a dead fiance - who have casual sex and have to deal with the aftermath is very funny indeed."
When the series was first broadcast, the Sunday Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
attacked the show because of bad language, claiming that the word "cunt
Cunt
Cunt is a vulgarism, primarily referring to the female genitalia, specifically the vulva, and including the cleft of Venus. The earliest citation of this usage in the 1972 Oxford English Dictionary, c 1230, refers to the London street known as Gropecunt Lane...
" was used three times and "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
" 22 times. John Beyer from Mediawatch said: "The obscene language in this programme is appalling by any standard. It shows a disregard of public concern that is completely unacceptable from a public service broadcaster."
International broadcasts
| Country | TV Network(s) | Date of Premiere |
|---|---|---|
| Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel... (Original Channel) |
13 February 2009 | |
| HOT3 | 9 December 2009 | |
| ZDFneo ZDFneo ZDFneo is a German digital terrestrial television channel, programmed for an audience aged 18 to 45 to counter the primarily older-skewing main programmes of public broadcasters ZDF and ARD. It replaced ZDF's documentary channel, "ZDFdokukanal", on November 1, 2009.-Name:Although the channel's logo... |
7 January 2010 | |
| Comedy Central Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated.... |
25 July 2010 | |
| BBC America BBC America BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and... |
8 October 2011 |