This Country requested over 52 million times on iPlayer
- This Country's three series have been requested more than 52 million times on iPlayer
- The sitcom has also performed "incredibly well" on BBC One, reaching another 1.8 million viewers
- Since its finale, the BBC says: "Filling the gap left by This Country is not going to be easy"
The BBC has revealed that This Country has been requested more than 50 million times on iPlayer, making it one of the biggest BBC Three comedies since the channel went online in 2016.
The channel says: "Last week, we waved goodbye to some beloved characters as the 'Kurtan' closed on the third and final series of This Country.
"Daisy May and Charlie Cooper's note perfect depiction of life in rural Britain has been a hit with the critics and it has been recognised with multiple awards wins including BAFTA Best Scripted Comedy and RTS Scripted Comedy, but did it have an audience? Despite Kerry Mucklowe's proclamation that 'I've never watched this', we looked into it to find out who did and it turns out, it's quite a lot."
Episodes from the three series of the comedy have, combined, now been streamed in excess of 52 million times on BBC iPlayer, the broadcaster's statistics reveal, putting it on a similar footing to internationally acclaimed comedy Fleabag.
The BBC explains: "At present, Series 1 has over 23 million requests, Series 2 nearly over 20 million and Series 3 over 8 million, with over half the requests for Series 3 amongst the 16-34 year old age group."
The corporation also notes: "Since Series 3 launched on 17th February 2020, just over half of total requests have come from previous episodes of This Country, which illustrates the value of long term availability for audiences of scripted content in iPlayer."
Schedulers say the comedy has performed "incredibly well" in its Monday night run on BBC One, averaging 1.8 million viewers in its post-10:30pm timeslot. Consolidated viewing figures show the finale was seen by 2.19 million viewers on BBC One.
Stars and creators Daisy May and Charlie Cooper have confirmed they have no plans to make another series.
Fiona Campbell, controller BBC Three, says: "Filling the gap left by This Country is not going to be easy, it was a truly unique comedy and these numbers are a rich reward for the whole team involved in the show. Additionally, it once again proves that there aren't many places better than BBC Three for growing new comedy and bringing it to wide audiences."
Commissioner Shane Allen comments: "This Country has gone from very humble cult origins with two unknown writer performers to a modern classic sitcom over the course of its run. We're forever grateful to Charlie and Daisy for their intimate, affectionate and hilarious portrait of an over-looked part of rural Britain. BBC Three's track record in bringing brand new talent to national prominence is second to none."
The producers recently released some outtakes from the sitcom:
This Country - The Complete Collection
Includes Series 1-3 of the BAFTA-winning comedy, plus The Aftermath special.
Praised as one of the best British comedies in years, this mockumentary hit has catapulted its young writer-performers - Charlie and Daisy May Cooper - to instant star status.
Feckless cousins Kerry and Lee 'Kurtan' Mucklowe live in the picturesque, but depressingly dull, village of in the Cotswolds. As they fritter away their days in the most pointless ways possible, they push their friendship to breaking point by constantly winding each other up. But, whether suffering the indignity of Kerry's house being pelted with plums, or celebrating the death of their old woodwork teacher with a bottle of cheap fizzy booze, these two miscreants always manage to stay loyal to each other.
First released: Monday 30th March 2020
DVD- Distributor: BBC Studios
- Region: 2 & 4
- Discs: 3
- Subtitles: English
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