Cunk on Earth
British mockumentary television series
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Cunk on Earth is a British mockumentary television series produced by Charlie Brooker for the BBC and Netflix. The series stars Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, an ill-informed investigative reporter, a character who previously starred on Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe and Cunk on Britain.[1] The series was acclaimed by critics, with many praising Morgan's deadpan delivery. It premiered in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 20 September 2022, and was released in the United States on Netflix on 31 January 2023.[2]
- Charlie Brooker
- Ben Caudell
- Michael Odewale
- Eli Goldstone
- Joel Morris
- Diane Morgan
- Jason Hazeley
- Sam Ward
- Tom Baker
| Cunk on Earth | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Mockumentary |
| Created by | Charlie Brooker |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Christian Watt |
| Starring | Diane Morgan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Charlie Brooker, Sam Ward |
| Running time | 28–29 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 20 September 2022 |
For her performance in the series, Morgan was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.[3]
Premise
Philomena Cunk (/ˌfɪləˈmiːnə ˈkʌŋk/;[4] Diane Morgan) travels around the world, interviewing (real-world) experts such as Paul Bahn, Martin Kemp, Nigel Spivey, and Shirley Thompson about world history.[5] The series introduces subjects such as the development of agriculture and early civilization, the rise of Christianity and Islam, the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, the First and Second World Wars, the Cold War and the Space Race. With an eye to the future, Cunk concludes the series with a speculative comment on the possibility of artificial intelligence takeover.[6]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "In the Beginnings" | Christian Watt | 20 September 2022 |
| 2 | "Faith/Off" | Christian Watt | 20 September 2022 |
| 3 | "The Renaissance Will Not Be Televised" | Christian Watt | 20 September 2022 |
| 4 | "Rise of the Machines" | Christian Watt | 20 September 2022 |
| 5 | "War(s) of the World(s)?" | Christian Watt | 20 September 2022 |
Experts
Throughout the series, Diane Morgan in character as Philomena Cunk poses absurdist questions to real-life historians, archaeologists, theologians, composers, and other subject-area experts in one-on-one interviews. The experts include:[7]
- Jim Al-Khalili
- Laura Ashe
- Paul Bahn
- Kathleen Burk
- Gus Casely-Hayford
- Kate Cooper
- Patricia Fara
- Jonathan Ferguson
- Irving Finkel
- Myrto Hatzimichali
- Ashley Jackson
- Martin Kemp
- Brian Klaas
- Aleksander Kolkowski
- John Man
- Anu Ojha
- Eleanor Robson
- Catriona Seth
- Rupert Sheldrake
- Nigel Spivey
- Shirley J. Thompson
- Joyce Tyldesley
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an approval rating of 100% based on 23 reviews and an average rating of 7.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Diane Morgan feigns dopiness with ingenious comedic timing in Cunk on Earth, a gut-busting sendup of anthropological documentaries."[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on 8 critics.[2]
David Bianculli of NPR gave the series a positive review, stating that it has "cult classic potential".[1] The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg called it a "consistently droll, frequently delightful series that mixes high and low comedy at a breakneck pace."[9] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian praised Morgan's performance, calling her character "so well-written it's easy to forget she's not real."[10] Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald described the show as "magnificent, brutal, and absurd".[11]
Filming
Release
The first episode of Cunk on Earth was originally scheduled to air on 19 September 2022 in the UK (BBC Two), but was postponed due to conflicting with the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.[14][15] The series aired on 20 September 2022 in the UK, and was released internationally on Netflix on 31 January 2023.[16]
Awards and nominations
At the 2023 British Academy Television Awards, Diane Morgan was nominated for Best Female Comedy Performance for her performance as Philomena Cunk.[17]
