The Durrells (known in North America as The Durrells in Corfu) is a British comedy-drama television series loosely based on Gerald Durrell's trilogy of memoirs about his family's four years (1935–1939) on the Greek island of Corfu. It aired on ITV from 3 April 2016 to 12 May 2019. The series is written by Simon Nye, directed by Steve Barron and Roger Goldby, and produced by Christopher Hall. Lee Durrell, Gerald Durrell's widow and director of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, acted as consultant. The series was partly filmed on location in Corfu, as well as at Ealing Studios and Twickenham Studios in London.
Premise The series begins in 1935, when Louisa Durrell suddenly announces that she and her four children will move from Bournemouth to the Greek island of Corfu. Her husband died some years earlier and the family is experiencing financial problems. A struggle ensues as the family adapts to life on the island and a shortage of money. Despite a lack of electricity and of modern sewage systems, Corfu proves to be a cheap and earthly paradise.
Cast and characters Character Portrayed by Series 1 Series 2 Series 3 Series 4 Duration # appearances Louisa Durrell Keeley Hawes colspan="4" 2016–2019 26 Gerry Durrell Milo Parker colspan="4" 2016–2019 26 Larry Durrell Josh O'Connor colspan="4" 2016–2019 26 Margo Durrell Daisy Waterstone colspan="4" 2016–2019 26 Leslie Durrell Callum Woodhouse colspan="4" 2016–2019 26 Spiros Halikiopoulos Alexis Georgoulis colspan="4" 2016–2019 26 Lugaretzia Anna Savva colspan="4" 2016–2019 26 Theo Stephanides Yorgos Karamihos colspan="4" 2016–2019 26 Florence Petrides Lucy Black colspan="4" 2016–2019 21 Dr. Petrides Alexis Conran colspan="4" 2016–2019 9 Sven Lundblad Ulric von der Esch colspan="4" 2016–2019 11 Pavlos Nikos Orestis Chaniotakis colspan="2" 2016–2019 6 Countess Mavrodaki Leslie Caron colspan="2" 2016–2019 6 Aunt Hermione Barbara Flynn colspan="2" 2016–2018 5 Max Maximilian Befort colspan="2" 2016–2017 3 Donald Ben Hall colspan="2" 2016–2017 7 Captain Creech James Cosmo colspan="2" 2016–2019 4 Prudence Felicity Montagu 2016–2019 4 Geoffrey Jeff Rawle 2016–2019 4 Nancy Lizzy Watts 2016 3 Alexia Hara-Joy Ermidi 2016 3 Dennis Jeremy Swift 2016 4 Angel Jamie Ward 2016 3 Hugh Jarvis Daniel Lapaine 2017 6 Vasilia Prifona Errika Bigiou 2017 5 Zoltan Merch Husey 2017–2019 7 Henry Miller Trevor White 2018 2 Daphne Likourgou Elli Tringou colspan="2" 2018–2019 8 Galini Olivia Lebedeva-Alexopoulou colspan="2" 2018–2019 6 Basil Miles Jupp 2018–2019 8 Countess De Torro Sarah Crowden 2019 2 Lazaros Vangelatos Constantin Symsiris 2019 1
Episodes
Series 1 (2016) 1935
Series 2 (2017) 1936
Series 3 (2018) 1937
A third series was confirmed to be in production by writer Simon Nye at the BFI and Radio Times Television Festival on 8 April 2017. He described the third series as having "some exotic new animals", and that production would begin in three weeks' time, upon Keeley Hawes's arrival in Corfu for filming. It is set in 1937.
Series 4 (2019) 1939
Reception Critical reception Reception to the first episode was positive, with Gerard O'Donovan (The Telegraph) calling it "a series that's not only sun-drenched and liberating, but also catches its source material's high good humour without labouring it and weaves an authentic sense of the innocent exoticism of the original", before awarding it four stars.
Viewership The opening episode averaged just under 6.4 million people and was watched by 29% of the audience over the hour, including those watching on British television network ITV's +1 channel, and was the biggest drama launch of any channel so far in 2016 and the most-watched show of the day (including +1). Following a seven-day catch-up period, the figure aggregated to just under 8.2 million people. Citing the show as its "best rating new drama of the year and its highest rating new show since September 2014", ITV recommissioned the show for a second series on 15 April 2016. Over the course of the first series, ratings averaged out at 6.9 million viewers.
Awards and nominations Year Category Award Nominee Result 2017 Best Actress Broadcasting Press Guild Award Keeley Hawes 2017 Best Drama Series BAFTA TV Award The Durrells 2017 Best Costume Design BAFTA TV Award Charlotte Holdich 2017 Best Titles & Graphic Identity BAFTA TV Award Alex Maclean 2017 Best Writer: Drama BAFTA TV Award Simon Nye 2016 Best Production Design: Drama RTS Craft & Design Award Stevie Herbert 2016 Best Graphic Design: Titles RTS Craft & Design Award Alex Maclean
Broadcast Internationally, the series was acquired in Australia by the Seven Network and premiered on 24 August 2016. In the United States, PBS began airing the show, retitled as The Durrells in Corfu, on 16 October 2016 at 8 pm. The Durrells started screening in New Zealand on 26 October 2016 on Prime TV. In Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation began airing Series 1 on 13 September 2017. In Spain, the series has been acquired by the streaming platform . It was broadcast in France from 16 July 2017 on France 3 as La Folle Aventure des Durrell. The Arte network later screened the series in French (as The Durrells : une famille anglaise à Corfou)The Durrells : une famille anglaise à Corfou, Arte, retrieved 6 August 2024. and German (as Die Durrells auf Korfu),Die Durrells auf Korfu, Arte, retrieved 6 August 2024. as well as in English with optional subtitles.
The third series of The Durrells was announced by writer Simon Nye at the BFI and Radio Times Television Festival on 8 April 2017. It began filming in May 2017 and aired on ITV in the Northern Hemisphere in the spring of 2018.
A fourth series was announced by ITV on 22 June 2018, with filming scheduled for later in the year. It was transmitted between 8 April and 12 May 2019. This has been confirmed as the final series.
Keely Hawes presented an accompanying documentary for PBS Masterpiece series called The Durrells in Corfu - What the Durrells Did Next, ran 47 mins long.
Home media SeriesRelease dateRegion 1/ARegion 2 (UK)Region 2 (Germany)Region 4Single series 1 1 November 2016 23 May 2016 31 July 2020 11 December 2019 2 24 October 2017 29 May 2017 25 September 2020 11 December 2019 3 16 October 2018 14 May 2018 27 November 2020 20 November 2019 4 3 December 2019 20 May 2019 5 February 2021 13 November 2019Multiple series sets 1 & 2 29 May 2017 1–3 14 May 2018 Complete 20 May 2019 13 November 2019
See also Gerald Durrell's Corfu trilogy books: My Family and Other Animals (1956) Birds, Beasts, and Relatives (1969) The Garden of the Gods (1978) My Family and Other Animals, a 1987 BBC series based on the book by the same name My Family and Other Animals, a 2005 BBC telemovie based on the book by the same name
References
External links
The Durrells in Corfu at PBS The Durrells in Corfu at Masterpiece