15 April 2019 (2019-04-15) – 31 August 2021 (2021-08-31)
Back to Life is a British darkcomedy-drama television series co-written by Laura Solon and Daisy Haggard, who also portrays the lead character, Miri. The show premiered on BBC One on 15 April 2019.[1] The first series received critical acclaim; many reviews highly praised Haggard’s performance and writing.
In November 2019, Back to Life was renewed for a second series; it premiered in August 2021 to similar positive reviews.[2] In October 2023, it was announced that Haggard had decided not to proceed with a third series; she commented, "I think the story is done. I've got so many things I want to do, I've got two or three film ideas that I'm really excited about."[3]
Plot
Miri Matteson has just returned home to Hythe, Kent, after serving an 18-year prison sentence. As Miri attempts to rebuild her life, she forms a friendship with Billy, who cares for an elderly woman next door.
Back to Life was launched as a boxset on BBC iPlayer on 15 April 2019, and began broadcast weekly on BBC One from 15 April 2019.[8] The complete second series was launched on BBC iPlayer on 31 August 2021 and the first episode premiered on BBC One the same night before being broadcast weekly for the remainder of the series.[9]
On 10 November 2019, the series premiered in the United States on Showtime.[10]
Reception
For the first series, review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.4/10, based on 26 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Driven by the marvelous Daisy Haggard, Back to Life questions what it means to be a person with humor, heart, and a genuine sense of surprise."[11] The first series was also compared positively to critically acclaimed tragicomedyFleabag with which it shares producers. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 88 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[12]
For the second series, Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.8/10, based on 5 critic reviews.[13] Metacritic assigned a score of 87 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]
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