Feature-length Detectorists special commissioned
- Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook are reuniting in a new Detectorists special
- The one-off programme will be feature-length at 75 minutes
- It promises to "bring viewers up to date with the lives of Andy, Lance, Becky and the Danebury Metal Detecting Club"
BBC Four's acclaimed comedy Detectorists is coming back to screens for a new special.
The feature-length, 75 minute episode is to air later this year, updating fans of the cult hit series on the lives of its characters, five years since the end of Series 3.
Debuting in 2014, nineteen episodes of the programme have aired to date, focusing on best friends and metal detecting enthusiasts Andy (Mackenzie Crook), Lance (Toby Jones), and their fellow local metal detecting club members in the small town of Danebury.
The last episode concluded with Andy and Lance stumbling across a stash of gold coins, having very narrowly missed the hidden trove of ancient treasure for the previous two series.
Written and directed by Crook, like his recent new television incarnation of Worzel Gummidge, the series is noted for its mix of light drama, whimsical humour, and beautiful rural setting and scenery.
Production on the new special of the triple BAFTA-winner is understood to begin shortly, made by Treasure Trove Productions, Channel X North and Lola TV.
Crook says: "It was 2017 when we were last in Danebury and I miss my old friends in the DMDC [Danebury Metal Detecting Club]. I've had a story percolating for a while and I thought it was worth getting Lance, Andy and the rest of the band back together for. The affection expressed for Detectorists over the years has been incredible and I hope fans of the show will enjoy this new, extended episode."
Producer Gill Isles said: "It's absolutely thrilling to be spending the summer back in Danebury with Mackenzie and the team. There is so much love for the show that I can't wait for everyone to see what Mackenzie has in store in this next chapter."
The news was announced by Jon Petrie, the BBC's new Director of Comedy, in a speech at the BBC Comedy Festival in which he revealed the corporation is set to invest extra £10 million into comedy over the next two years. A number of other commissions were announced today, including new series of Bad Education. Full story
Detectorists - Complete Series One To Three & Christmas Special
Featuring all three series along with the Christmas Special, Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones are Andy and Lance, two friends who find common ground as part of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club. Their dream is to find a buried treasure that will change their lives. But while they search for the past, they must also deal with the present.
Series One finds Andy trying to keep his head above water while his partner Becky (Rachael Stirling), while Lance tries to win back his ex-wife from the local take-away pizza manager. Both of them face an invasion of their turf by rival detectorists the Antiquisearchers.
Series Two takes place a year down the road from where we last left Andy and Lance, both of whom are still tripping over emotional molehills in search of the great 'find'; and the DMDC are on a mission to track down a long-lost WW2 bomber - followed closely by 'Simon and Garfunkel.'
Series Three sees Andy and Becky moved temporarily into the house of her mother (Diana Rigg) while Lance is trying to kick-start his relationship with a new girlfriend - not helped by the re-appearance of his ex-wife. Meanwhile the friends' search for gold continues as they face challenges old and new.
First released: Monday 18th December 2017
DVD- Distributor: Acorn Media
- Region: 2
- Discs: 3
- Minutes: 570
- Subtitles: English
- Catalogue: AV3413
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Landscapes Of Detectorists
Landscapes Of Detectorists considers the programme's engagement with landscape, its ecological resonances, and its attention to place and identity.
The book offers four distinct geographical readings of Detectorists - Innes M. Keighren attends to the sensory, technological, and emotional interpretation of landscape; Isla Forsyth examines the relationship between objects, memory, and place; the significance of verticality, the aerial, and groundedness is discussed by Andrew Harris; and Joanne Norcup considers the contested interconnections of gender, expertise, and knowledge making.
The collection is bookended by reflections on the creative processes and decisions that supported the journey of Detectorists from script to screen: in a foreword written by its writer-director, Mackenzie Crook, and in an afterword written by its originating producer, Adam Tandy.
First published: Friday 19th June 2020
- Publisher: Uniformbooks
- Pages: 112
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