Friday Night Dinner

Friday Night Dinner
Main title screen
Genre
Created byRobert Popper
Written byRobert Popper
Directed by
Starring
Theme music composerMiike Snow
Opening theme"Animal" (Punks Jump Up Remix)
Composers
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series6
No. of episodes37 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducerRobert Popper
Production locationLondon
EditorsLucien Clayton
Pete Drinkwater
Paul Machliss
Running time21–25 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkChannel 4
Release25 February 2011 (2011-02-25) –
25 May 2020 (2020-05-25)

Friday Night Dinner is a British television sitcom written by Robert Popper and starring Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird, Tom Rosenthal, and Mark Heap.[1] The comedy is focused on the regular dinner experience of the middle-class British Jewish Goodman family every Friday night. The series aired from 2011 to 2020 on Channel 4. Following the conclusion of the sixth series and Paul Ritter's death in 2021, it was announced that the show would not return.[2][3]

The show received two BAFTA nominations in 2012. The first series was nominated for Best Situation Comedy, while Greig was nominated for Best Female Comedy Performance.[4] In 2021, for his performance in the final series of the show, Ritter received a posthumous BAFTA nomination for Best Male Comedy Performance.[5]

Premise

Friday Night Dinner depicts Shabbat dinner in the middle-class secular Jewish Goodman family, reflecting writer and producer Robert Popper's own secular Jewish upbringing.[6] It is set in suburban North London,[7] and filmed there, in Mill Hill.[8]

The family consists of mother Jackie (Tamsin Greig), father Martin (Paul Ritter), elder son and musician Adam (Simon Bird), and younger son and estate agent Jonny (Tom Rosenthal). The episodes follow the family as the sons arrive at the family home and proceed to their dinner, which is often interrupted by numerous things. Although some episodes are centred around Jackie’s eccentricities, she is usually the straight character who tries to run a normal household, but is disrupted by the rest of the family. Most frequently, dinner is disrupted by Adam and Jonny playing practical jokes on each other, for example by putting salt in each other's drinking glasses, or Martin's strange habits – including walking around the house shirtless or eating out-of-date food[9] and his catchphrase "shit on it".[10] They are frequently interrupted by their strange but good-hearted neighbour Jim Bell (Mark Heap), who is attracted to Jackie and visits them due to his loneliness, in most cases accompanied by his dog, Wilson, of whom he is afraid. After Wilson's death at the end of series 5, Jim adopts a new dog who he names Milson.

Jackie's neurotic best friend, Valerie Lewis (Tracy-Ann Oberman), known as "Auntie Val" to Adam and Jonny, is a frequent visitor, as was Jackie's mother, Nellie "Grandma" Buller (Frances Cuka). Occasional guest appearances were made by Martin's mother, Cynthia Goodman (Rosalind Knight), referred to by the boys as "Horrible Grandma" due to her cruel and condescending treatment of the Goodmans. Other guest appearances featured Nellie's suitor Mr. Morris (Harry Landis) who appeared in three episodes while Val's husband, Larry (Steve Furst) briefly appears in two episodes.

Cast

Main

Cast Role
Tamsin Greig Jackie Goodman
Paul Ritter Martin Goodman
Simon Bird Adam Goodman
Tom Rosenthal Jonny Goodman
Mark Heap Jim Bell

Recurring

Cast Role
Tracy-Ann Oberman Valerie Lewis ("Auntie Val")
Frances Cuka Nellie Buller ("Grandma")

Guest

Cast Role
Rosalind Knight Cynthia Goodman ("Horrible Grandma")
Harry Landis Lou Anthony Morris ("Mr Morris")
Steve Furst Larry (Val's husband)
Frances Barber Sheila Bloom (Mercedes owner)

Wilson

Episode list

Main article: List of Friday Night Dinner episodes
SeriesEpisodesOriginally airedAverage UK viewers
(millions)
First airedLast aired
1625 February 2011 (2011-02-25)8 April 2011 (2011-04-08)—
267 October 2012 (2012-10-07)11 November 2012 (2012-11-11)—
Special24 December 2012 (2012-12-24)1.54
3620 June 2014 (2014-06-20)25 July 2014 (2014-07-25)1.45
4622 July 2016 (2016-07-22)26 August 2016 (2016-08-26)1.66
564 May 2018 (2018-05-04)8 June 2018 (2018-06-08)2.09
6627 March 2020 (2020-03-27)1 May 2020 (2020-05-01)4.70

Legacy

For the 10th anniversary of the show, a special 90-minute documentary episode aired on Channel 4 on 28 May 2021, entitled Friday Night Dinner: Ten Years and A Lovely Bit of Squirrel.[11] The documentary was dedicated to Paul Ritter, who had died seven weeks earlier.[12]

American version

In September 2011, Deadline Hollywood announced that Greg Daniels, who had adapted The Office for American television, would spearhead an American remake of the series for the broadcast network NBC.[13] The remake was picked up for a pilot, written by Daniels and directed by Ken Kwapis[14] and starring Allison Janney, Tony Shalhoub as the parents[15] and Gary Anthony Williams as Jim (Now renamed Mark). The pilot did not go to series.

In 2014, CBS bought an adaptation of the British show for the American market, as a "put pilot".[16]

In 2016, a third attempt at an American remake was under development by CBS, with the title Sunday Night Dinner.[17][18]

In 2022, Amazon Freevee ordered an American remake, with the title Dinner with The Parents.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ Plunkett, John (12 February 2010). "Tamsin Greig and Pulling's Paul Ritter to star in Channel 4 comedy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 May 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Friday Night Dinner documentary dedicated to Paul Ritter". The List. 8 April 2021. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Season Six Of Friday Night Dinner Was The Last One, Creator Robert Popper Confirms". Lad Bible. 25 May 2021. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Television Awards Winners in 2012". BAFTA. 24 April 2012. Archived from the original on 22 January 2015. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  5. ^ "BAFTA TV 2021: The Winners and Nominations for the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards and British Academy Television Craft Awards". BAFTA. 28 April 2021. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ^ Saner, Emine (4 March 2011). "Tamsin Greig: 'I always think I'll never work again'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Friday Night Dinner. House, Cast and why we won't get another series. • Dailytap". Dailytap. 19 June 2021. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Friday Night Dinner stars Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal talk returning to the show". Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Top 10 Underrated British Shows You May Not Have Heard Of". Collider. 26 May 2022. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  10. ^ Levine, Nick (6 April 2021). ""Shit on it!": Paul Ritter's funniest moments on 'Friday Night Dinner'". NME. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  11. ^ "'Friday Night Dinner' anniversary documentary to air this spring". NME. 13 January 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  12. ^ West, Amy (7 April 2021). "Friday Night Dinner documentary to be dedicated to late star Paul Ritter". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (6 September 2011). "Greg Daniels To Adapt British Comedy 'Friday Night Dinner' For NBC". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  14. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (3 February 2012). "Ken Kwapis Set To Direct NBC Pilot 'Friday Night Dinner', Reunites With Greg Daniels". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 8 April 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (7 February 2012). "Allison Janney & Tony Shalhoub To Star in Greg Daniels' NBC Pilot 'Friday Night Dinner'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2012.
  16. ^ Nellie Andreeva (21 August 2014). "CBS Buys Adaptation Of British Comedy 'Friday Night Dinner' As Put Pilot". Deadline. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  17. ^ Nellie Andreeva (30 August 2016). "CBS Developing New Adaptation Of UK Comedy Series 'Friday Night Dinner'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  18. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (31 August 2016). "They're remaking Friday Night Dinner for the US – again". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  19. ^ White, Peter (13 July 2022). "Amazon Freevee Hands Straight-To-Series Order To U.S. Remake Of British Comedy 'Friday Night Dinner'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.

External links