Rev. (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Rev. is a British television sitcom produced by Big Talk Productions
. The show premiered on BBC Two
on 28 June 2010. The show's working titles were The City Vicar and Handle With Prayer. The series revolves around a Church of England
priest who becomes the vicar of an inner-city London church after leaving a small rural Suffolk
parish.
Tom Hollander said,"[w]e wanted to define ourselves in opposition to the cliché of a country vicar, partly because we wanted to depict England as it is now, rather than having a sort of bucolic-y, over the hills and far away, bird-tweeting England – we wanted the complications of the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic inner-city, where everything is much harder." The first two series each consisted of six episodes.
Adam Smallbone is an Anglican priest who has recently moved from a small rural parish to the "socially disunited" St Saviour in the Marshes in East London
. Unable to turn anyone away from his pastoral care, Smallbone is faced with a collection of moral challenges as he balances the needs of genuine believers, people on the streets, and drug addicts, as well as the demands of social climbers using the church to get their children into the best schools.
Adam has an impossibly difficult job being a modern city vicar. His wife, Alex, who has her own career as a solicitor to worry about, provides fantastic support for him, seeing through his life as a priest, whilst not being involved with his work. He is also supported by lay reader
Nigel, who believes he should be running the church. In supervision is Archdeacon
Robert, who puts pressure on Adam to increase the congregation and church income.
Parishioners include Colin, a heavy drinking, unemployable lost soul who is Adam's most devoted parishioner, and Adoha, well known for her romantic intentions towards the clergy.
for BBC Two
. The show was created by Tom Hollander
and James Wood. The church scenes were filmed at St Leonard's
in Shoreditch
, east London
. The BBC2 comedy was renewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation
in September 2010 and filming began again in the middle months of 2011, with the second series premiering on 10 November 2011.
In 2011, Rev. won the South Bank Award
for best comedy and was nominated for the Royal Television Society Programme Awards
for best scripted comedy and best comedy performance (Hollander). The series also won best sitcom at the 2011 British Academy Television Awards
.
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...
. The show premiered on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
on 28 June 2010. The show's working titles were The City Vicar and Handle With Prayer. The series revolves around a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
priest who becomes the vicar of an inner-city London church after leaving a small rural Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
parish.
Tom Hollander said,"[w]e wanted to define ourselves in opposition to the cliché of a country vicar, partly because we wanted to depict England as it is now, rather than having a sort of bucolic-y, over the hills and far away, bird-tweeting England – we wanted the complications of the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic inner-city, where everything is much harder." The first two series each consisted of six episodes.
Plot
The ReverendThe Reverend
The Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
Adam Smallbone is an Anglican priest who has recently moved from a small rural parish to the "socially disunited" St Saviour in the Marshes in East London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. Unable to turn anyone away from his pastoral care, Smallbone is faced with a collection of moral challenges as he balances the needs of genuine believers, people on the streets, and drug addicts, as well as the demands of social climbers using the church to get their children into the best schools.
Adam has an impossibly difficult job being a modern city vicar. His wife, Alex, who has her own career as a solicitor to worry about, provides fantastic support for him, seeing through his life as a priest, whilst not being involved with his work. He is also supported by lay reader
Lay Reader
A lay reader is a layperson authorized by a bishop of the Anglican Church to read some parts of a service of worship. They are members of the congregation called to preach or lead services, but not called to full-time ministry.Anglican lay readers are licensed by the bishop to a particular parish...
Nigel, who believes he should be running the church. In supervision is Archdeacon
Archdeacon
An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in Anglicanism, Syrian Malabar Nasrani, Chaldean Catholic, and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church...
Robert, who puts pressure on Adam to increase the congregation and church income.
Parishioners include Colin, a heavy drinking, unemployable lost soul who is Adam's most devoted parishioner, and Adoha, well known for her romantic intentions towards the clergy.
Cast and characters
Main
- Tom HollanderTom HollanderThomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
as Adam Smallbone - Olivia ColmanOlivia ColmanOlivia Colman is an English actress, best known for her supporting roles in various comedy shows, such as Sophie Chapman in Peep Show and Harriet Schulenburg in Green Wing. She trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and has appeared in radio, television and theatre.-Personal life:Colman...
as Alex Smallbone - Steve EvetsSteve EvetsSteve Evets is an English actor and musician, who found fame in the leading role in the 2009 film Looking for Eric.-Personal life:...
as Colin Lambert - Miles JuppMiles JuppMiles Jupp is a British actor and comedian, probably best known as Archie in the children's television series Balamory....
as Nigel McCall - Simon McBurneySimon McBurneySimon Montagu McBurney, OBE is an English actor, writer and director. He is the founder and artistic director of Théâtre de Complicité in England, now called Complicite.-Early life:...
as Archdeacon Robert - Ellen ThomasEllen Thomas (actress)Ellen Thomas is an English actress who has appeared in many different television and film roles, but is perhaps best known for her recurring role in the Channel 4 Bristol-based comedy, Teachers or as Grace Olubunmi in EastEnders.-Career:...
as Adoha Onyeka
Recurring
- Lucy LiemannLucy LiemannLucy Liemann is a British actress. Liemann was born in Middlesex, UK. After graduation she was spotted at a supermarket by a voice scout who urged her to become a voice artist. Liemann then went on to study acting at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts...
as Ellie Pattman - Ben WillbondBen WillbondBen Willbond is an English comedian and actor with credits on television, radio and film, including from 2005-2007 Deep Trouble on BBC Radio 4 with actor and writer Jim Field Smith. He was formerly part of the comedy duo "Ben & Arn", who won "Best Newcomer" at the Perrier Award in 1999...
as Steve Warwick - Jimmy AkingbolaJimmy AkingbolaJimmy Akingbola is a British television, theatre and film actor. Born in 1978 in Plaistow, London to Nigerian parents, he was the youngest of four children...
as Mick
Production
Six episodes were produced for the first series by Big Talk ProductionsBig 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...
for BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
. The show was created by Tom Hollander
Tom Hollander
Thomas Anthony "Tom" Hollander is a British actor who has appeared in productions such as Enigma, Gosford Park, Cambridge Spies, Pride and Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, In the Loop, Valkyrie and Hanna.-Early life:Tom Hollander was born in Bristol and raised in Oxford, Oxfordshire, the son...
and James Wood. The church scenes were filmed at St Leonard's
St Leonard's, Shoreditch
St Leonard's, Shoreditch is the ancient parish church of Shoreditch, often known simply as Shoreditch Church. It is located at the intersection of Shoreditch High Street with Hackney Road, within the London Borough of Hackney. The current building dates from about 1740...
in Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
, east London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. The BBC2 comedy was renewed by the British Broadcasting Corporation
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
in September 2010 and filming began again in the middle months of 2011, with the second series premiering on 10 November 2011.
Series 1 (2010)
| Episode # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Series 2 (2011)
| Episode # | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original airdate | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reception
The series was commended by The Independent as intelligent comedy, with Hollander "as good as ever" and a strong support cast.In 2011, Rev. won the South Bank Award
The South Bank Show
The South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
for best comedy and was nominated for the Royal Television Society Programme Awards
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
for best scripted comedy and best comedy performance (Hollander). The series also won best sitcom at the 2011 British Academy Television Awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
.