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Cunk on Earth

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Cunk on Earth
GenreMockumentary
Created byCharlie Brooker
Written by
Directed byChristian Watt
StarringDiane Morgan
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes5
Production
ProducersCharlie Brooker, Sam Ward
Running time28–29 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release20 September 2022 (2022-09-20)

Cunk on Earth is a British mockumentary television series produced by Charlie Brooker. 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]

For her performance in the series, Morgan was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Female Comedy Performance.[3]

Premise

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Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) travels around the world, interviewing (real-world) experts such as Paul Bahn, Martin Kemp, Nigel Spivey, and Shirley Thompson about world history.[4] 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 AI takeover.[5]

Episodes

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List of Cunk on Earth episodes
No.TitleDirected byOriginal release date
1"In the Beginnings"Christian Watt20 September 2022 (2022-09-20)
2"Faith/Off"Christian Watt20 September 2022 (2022-09-20)
3"The Renaissance Will Not Be Televised"Christian Watt20 September 2022 (2022-09-20)
4"Rise of the Machines"Christian Watt20 September 2022 (2022-09-20)
5"War(s) of the World(s)?"Christian Watt20 September 2022 (2022-09-20)

Experts

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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:[6]

Reception

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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."[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 82 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[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."[8] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian praised Morgan's performance, calling her character "so well-written it's easy to forget she's not real."[9] Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald described the show as "magnificent, brutal, and absurd".[10]

Filming

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Filming took place in late 2021. It aired on 20 September 2022 in the UK (BBC Two) and was released on Netflix US on 31 January 2023.

Awards and nominations

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At the 2023 British Academy Television Awards, Diane Morgan was nominated for Best Female Comedy Performance for her performance as Philomena Cunk.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bianculli, David (3 February 2023). "Clunky title aside, 'Cunk on Earth' is a mockumentary with cult classic potential". NPR. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Cunk on Earth: Season 1". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  3. ^ "BAFTA Television 2023: The Nominations". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  4. ^ Ibekwe, Desiree (2 February 2023). "Philomena Cunk Is Weird Enough to Take on the World". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  5. ^ Cunk on Earth. 2022.
  6. ^ "Cunk on Earth". IMDb. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Cunk on Earth". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  8. ^ Fienberg, Daniel (31 January 2023). "'Cunk on Earth' Review: Charlie Brooker's Netflix Mockumentary Is a Droll Delight". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  9. ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (20 September 2022). "Cunk on Earth review – Diane Morgan's character is so well-written it's easy to forget she's not real". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  10. ^ Idato, Michael (8 February 2023). "Magnificent, brutal and absurd: Is Cunk on Earth the funniest show on TV?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  11. ^ "Bafta TV awards 2023: full list of nominations". The Guardian. 22 March 2023. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
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