Shane Meadows Returns With THIS IS ENGLAND 88 On December 13th
Beginning December 13th for three consecutive nights, the new series episodes will be based around Christmas 1988.
Acclaimed British director Shane Meadows (Dead Mans Shoes, A Room for Romeo Brass) is set to follow up his critically acclaimed Channel 4 miniseries This is England 1986 with a 1988 based miniseries airing over three nights in December. We were originally introduced to the characters, Shaun, Woody and Lol in Shanes 2006 film This is England which was set in 1983. The original film showed the bleak reality of life in Thatchers England following the Falklands War and focused on a group of teenagers coming of age alongside the rise of Skinheads and mass unemployment. The first miniseries, This is England 86 which aired in September 2010 on Channel 4 focused on the mod revival scene rather than the skinhead scene and was set three years after the film in 1986, during the World Cup. It dealt with similar themes as the film but also expanded to cover sexual abuse and the recession. Like the film, This Is England '86 starred Thomas Turgoose as Shaun, Woody (Joe Gilgun) and Lol (Vicky McClure), who won a Bafta for her performance. This is England 88, which airs on Channel 4 on December the 13th, 14th and 15th and will be three hour long episodes based around the Christmas 1988. Once again we see Thomas Turgoose, Joe Gilgun and Vicky McClure return with Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne (Skins & The Fades) scripting the miniseries. Shane has said that it is "kind of like a very brutal Nativity play... I just remember Christmas being shit... I wanted to make a sort of broken Nativity play, but there's a real positive outcome, I hope." Here is the trailer below... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZIQNyYfl9w Shane plans to follow up 88 with This is England 90 next year which will focus on the early days of the rave scene and the affect it has Shaun, Woody and Lol. This too is also due to be shown on Channel 4.