7.6 /10 1 Votes
76% Metacritic Created by Keren Margalit Directed by Peter Cattaneo Country of origin United Kingdom Network BBC One Written by Peter Bowker | 7.6/10 IMDb 75% Rotten Tomatoes Developed by Peter Bowker Composer(s) Rob Lane First episode date 22 March 2016 Director Peter Cattaneo Genre Drama | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Starring Morven Christie
Lee Ingleby
Greg McHugh
Vinette Robinson
Max Vento
Molly Wright
Christopher Eccleston Similar Doctor Foster, The Leftovers, Animal Kingdom, From There to Here, The Affair Profiles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The A Word is a BBC drama television series based on Yellow Peppers by Keren Margalit. The series follows a 5-year-old boy and how his dysfunctional family cope with the revelation that he has autism. Following filming in the Lake District from October 2015, a six-part series began airing on 22 March 2016.
Contents
On 26 May 2016, the BBC announced that a second series of The A Word had been commissioned.
The a word trailer bbc one
Synopsis
Five-year-old Joe Hughes displays clear signs of communication problems and consistently isolates himself by playing rock music, mostly to himself, through large blue headphones. He has encyclopedic knowledge of the songs he listens to and accurately sings along with the lyrics. His parents, Alison and Paul, seem oblivious to the disorder and wonder why Joe is ostracised by other children of the same age. However it is later discovered by Joe's grandfather Maurice that Alison and Paul have been taking him to hospital for his communication problems. Other family members know there is a problem however their attempts to intervene are met with obstruction from Joe's parents. After originally believing Joe had hearing problems, their otolaryngologist refers Joe to a specialist who diagnoses him with autism. The story then follows how the dysfunctional family, including Rebecca (who feels invisible), Eddie and Nicola (who are coping with their own relationship problems) and tactless granddad Maurice, cope with Joe's situation and their own apparent social disorders.
Production
Writer Peter Bowker was approached by Keshet who produced Yellow Peppers who wanted him to remake the Israeli series but with an original story line. Bowker drew on his own experiences and observations as a teacher and with his family to write The A Word.
Filming took place from October 2015 at locations in the Lake District, including Keswick, Broughton-in-Furness, Coniston and Thirlmere Reservoir, and at The Space Project studios in Manchester
Broadcast and reception
BBC One began airing the first six-part series in a Tuesday 9 pm slot, replacing Happy Valley, starting from 22 March 2016. SundanceTV acquired rights for broadcasting the show in America, and it premiered there on July 13, 2016.
Overnight figures revealed the first episode was watched by 4.7 million viewers and had a 23% share of the audience. BARB later reported a consolidated figure of 5.91 million. Reaction to the first episode was mostly positive among viewers. Many people have praised the show on social media, partly for the quality of the acting but also for the way it dealt with the subject of autism.
Home media
A DVD featuring all episodes from the series, was released on 19 September 2016, with a short behind the scenes documentary as an extra.