The Persuasionists

The Persuasionists is a sitcom broadcast on BBC Two set in the world of advertising starring Iain Lee, Simon Farnaby, Adam Buxton, Jarred Christmas and Daisy Haggard, and featuring Natalie Gumede (amongst others). It was the sitcom writing debut for Jonathan Thake, best known until then for ‘the slag of all snacks’ campaign for Pot Noodle. The Persuasionists premiered on Wednesday 13 January 2010.

The Persuasionists
GenreSitcom
Created byJonathan Thake
Directed byTristram Shapeero
StarringIain Lee
Simon Farnaby
Adam Buxton
Jarred Christmas
Daisy Haggard
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producersIain Morris
Damon Beesley
Running time30 minutes
Production companyBwark Productions
Release
Original networkBBC Two
Original release13 January (2010-01-13) –
17 February 2010 (2010-02-17)

Bwark Productions (creators of The Inbetweeners) produced the series, Iain Morris and Damon Beesley were the executive producers and Tristram Shapeero directed. Andrew Collins acted as script editor.

Synopsis

The sitcom focuses on the lives of five overpaid and underworked employees at fictional advertising agency HHH&H.

Reception

The first episode received generally negative critical reviews from the press with critics suggesting that while the cast showed promise, they were let down by a poor script, bad direction and poor characterisations.[1][2][3] Some held out hope that future episodes might improve; however, even after further airings, critical response remained negative, with heavy editing and excessive use of canned laughter blamed in part for the show 'not working'.[4]

Half-way through the series, the show was moved to a "graveyard" slot at 11.20pm, due to below-average ratings and poor reviews from the press and bloggers.[5] It was not renewed for a second series.

The Scum Also Rises

The project began in 2007 as a pilot for BBC Three called "The Scum Also Rises", which starred Chris Barrie and Kevin Bishop. A second unbroadcast pilot was produced in 2008. The show had been through many changes by the time that the full series aired in 2010, including an almost complete re-cast.[6]

Sources
  1. Times review http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6976644.ece
  2. Guardian review http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2010/jan/13/american-idol-horizon-the-persuasionists
  3. "The Persuasionists - The hard sell as soft option". The Independent. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  4. How these brutal edits are ruining comedy http://www.chortle.co.uk/correspondents/2010/01/15/10343/how_the_bbcs_brutal_edits_are_ruining_comed
  5. "The Persuasionists moved to 'graveyard' slot". British Comedy Guide. 3 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  6. Comedy Accessed 2010
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