Everybody is talking about the new comedy-thriller genre-straddling series Am I Being Unreasonable? starring Daisy May Cooper, Selin Hizli plus Lenny Rush in a stand-out role as eight-year-old Ollie. Here executive producer Jack Thorne, no slouch in the writing department himself, talks about his involvement in the series.
Am I Being Unreasonable? Fridays on BBC One and all available now on iPlayer.
Read an interview with Daisy May Cooper here.
How did you become involved in the series?
My role in the industry is mostly as a writer, almost exclusively as a writer, I do exec produce my own shows but I don’t really get involved in other people’s shows. When they were talking about this show, a) I loved the sound of it and b) the way that they were planning on attacking it in terms of having a script and also having an improvisation process. I’ve been through that with Shane Meadows, so when they said will you come and talk to Daisy and Selin and make sure they are as well armed as possible for the shoot, I thought this could be really interesting.
Give us an overview of the story
The thing that I find most moving about the show is that it’s also a show about parenthood. Watching how Daisy and Lenny are working together and seeing that dynamic and seeing what her lies might have done to him and what he needs in order to be strong in order to solve his own problems is really an interesting thing. They love each other and it was the thing that was one of the hardest things to get right in the script.
These two do love each other, they are a mum and son who do love each other, she’s casual with him, she’s careless with him at times, but she loves him. I think that the revelation that happens through the show is where she sees he needs help. There’s things going wrong with him in that he can’t quite explain because he’s a kid and kids can’t quite explain these things. He needs help and maybe what he needs more than anything else is truth from her about what happened and the slow way that unfurls and changes is really moving.
What makes this series stand out?
As a writer I’m always in awe of other writers and I do think that you sit and look at other writers and you go: I don’t understand how you do what you do and I don’t understand how you work and how your brain works. There is something very delicious about the writing team of Daisy and Selin. I’ve always known Daisy through Charlie so it’s always been Daisy and Charlie and now you’ve got Daisy and Selin and it’s completely different.
This new partnership has created a completely different voice and the way that they’ve married a very unusual tone hopping between comedy and something very serious is remarkable. I’ve been a huge fan of Jonny Campbell for years and I think the way Jonny has steered Daisy and Selin has been absolutely superb and seeing the way everything has come together to tell this very complicated, very strange world has been absolutely sensational to watch.
What are some funny moments that the audience should watch out for?
Any scene with Daisy and Lenny in I think is gold! Dustin, I think, is a very naughty man and he brings that naughty energy to the show. That family is just full of three of my favourite comedians and so anytime those three are on screen together, I’m very very happy.
Why should the audience watch the series?
I think you should watch the series because you will never know what is going to happen next. These are deceptive characters in a deceptive story and you'll be continually surprised by the choices they make. And I love it and I hope other people love it too.
Interview supplied by BBC
