Cuckoo (TV series)

Cuckoo
Created by	Robin French Kieron Quirke
Written by	Robin French Kieron Quirke
Directed by	Ben Taylor
Starring	Andy Samberg Greg Davies Helen Baxendale Tamla Kari Tyger Drew-Honey Taylor Lautner Esther Smith
Composer(s)	Oli Julian
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	20
Production
Producer(s)	Dan Hine
Running time	30 minutes
Production company(s)	Roughcut Television
Release
Original network	BBC Three
Original release	25 September 2012 (2012-09-25) – Present (Present)
External links
Website

Cuckoo is a British sitcom that began airing on BBC Three on 25 September 2012, repeating on BBC One, and in 2016 began airing worldwide on Netflix.

Written by Robin French and Kieron Quirke, Cuckoo stars Taylor Lautner, Greg Davies, Tamla Kari and Helen Baxendale. The series launch became BBC Three's most-watched comedy launch, beating the record set by Bad Education, which debuted the previous month. Greg Davies was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Male Performance in a Comedy Programme. At the British Comedy Awards, Cuckoo was nominated for Best New Comedy Programme and Greg Davies was nominated for Best TV Comedy Actor.

Production

Following the success of series one, BBC ordered a second series, but it looked uncertain due to Samberg's busy schedule. In February 2014, it was announced that Samberg would not return for the second series, with Taylor Lautner replacing him as Cuckoo's long-lost lovechild Dale. The second series began on 7 August 2014. On 4 April 2016, Cuckoo was commissioned for two more series.^[1]

A U.S. version of the series has filmed a pilot for America's NBC television network.

Plot

Series 1

Cuckoo is set in Lichfield, Staffordshire, (external scenes are mostly filmed in Slough, Berkshire, and Amersham, Buckinghamshire), home to the Thompson family. When Ken (Davies) and Lorna (Baxendale) collect their daughter Rachel (Kari) from the airport, they learn that she has returned from her gap year before medical school having married Dale "Cuckoo" Ashbrick (Samberg), an eccentric American hippie with an exuberantly loving attitude who does not have a job and loves to take drugs.

Series 2

Two years have passed and we learn that Cuckoo (Samberg) went missing in a climbing accident in the Himalayas, Dylan (Drew-Honey) is planning to attend university, and Rachel (Smith) is moving in with new boyfriend Ben (Lacey). Dale (Lautner), a hirsute young American, arrives, claiming to be Cuckoo's son and searching for his father whom he has never met. Taking pity, Ken and Lorna ask him to stay.

Series 3

Six months after Dale's dramatic departure at the end of the Christmas special of Series 2, Rachel is still heartbroken and missing Dale, but she has managed to salvage a certain friendship with her jilted former fiancé Ben (Lacey). Just as life looks like it's about to return to normal in the Thompson household a transformed Dale returns to shake things up all over again. Meanwhile, Ken and Lorna are preparing for the birth of their unplanned new baby, and their son Dylan (Drew Honey) is getting ready to leave for university. In the first episode Lorna gives birth to baby son Sidney. ^[2]

Cast and characters

Main cast and characters

• Andy Samberg as Dale Ashbrick, Sr., "Cuckoo" (Series one)
• Greg Davies as Ken Thompson
• Helen Baxendale as Lorna Thompson
• Tyger Drew-Honey as Dylan Thompson
• Tamla Kari as Rachel Thompson (series one)
• Taylor Lautner as Dale Ashbrick, Jr. (series two onwards)
• Esther Smith as Rachel Thompson (series two onwards)
• Matt Lacey as Ben (series two and three)

Recurring cast and characters

Ratings

Official ratings from BARB.^[3]

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Cuckoo episodes are streamed on BBC iPlayer. Viewing numbers displayed above are for the first 72 hours online, and are estimates only. Repeats are shown on TV.

Netflix premiered Seasons 1 and 2 for streaming audiences on March 7, 2016.^[4]

DVD release

The first series of Cuckoo was released on DVD on 1 September 2014.^[5]

The second series of Cuckoo was released on DVD on 4 January 2016.^[6]

Soundtracks

Series 1

In the episode "Family Meeting", family and friends are dancing to "Second Hand News" by Fleetwood Mac.

In the episode "Ken on E" in which Cuckoo sits reading a book whilst listening to "Shake Break Bounce" by The Chemical Brothers. In the same episode, various songs by Dexys Midnight Runners are featured.

The song playing over the last scene and credits of the episode "The Wedding", is "Stay Right Here" by Andy Huckvale.

Series 2

In the episode "Potato Party", "Everyone Nose (All the Girls Standing in the Line for the Bathroom)" by N.E.R.D and "Mishto" by Gogol Bordello are featured during the party.

Rachel is listening to "Silver Lining" by First Aid Kit in the episode "Tribunal".

Series 3

Episode 7 ("The Holiday") ends with Rusted Root singing " Send me on my way".

U.S. version

In spring 2015, NBC made a US pilot of Cuckoo, starring Michael Chiklis, Cheryl Hines and Flula Borg.^[7] UK writers Robin French and Kieron Quirke, who created the BBC series, wrote the adaptation with The Simpsons veteran Tim Long, who served as showrunner.

References

External links

• Cuckoo at BBC Programmes
  
• Cuckoo at the Internet Movie Database