How soon is too soon for a COVID-centric miniseries? For Sky Atlantic, not soon enough, as their series on Boris Johnson and the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, “This England,” hits small screens this Fall.
Kenneth Branagh stars as the blonde, mop-headed Prime Minister in the five-episode series. And as you can see in the teaser, Branagh is unrecognizable as Johnson. It’s an uncanny resemblance, which kind of draws attention away from how uncouth it may be to dramatically serialize events from a pandemic that isn’t even over yet.
The show follows Johnson from his first term as Prime Minister through the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic when Johnson had to be hospitalized for the disease. Ophelia Lovibond plays Johnson’s wife, Carrie Symonds, while Simon Paisley Day plays Dominic Cummings, Johnson’s Chief Advisor.
Michael Winterbottom shares directing duties on “This England” with Brit TV veteran Julian Jarrold. Winterbottom also co-writes with Kieron Quirke. Of course, we’d rather see Winterbottom tackle another sequel to “The Trip” than this, but whatever.
“This England,” initially titled “This Sceptred Isle,” hits TV sometime this Fall. Watch the teaser below.