Among the many things people will remember from 2020 will be the concept of ‘lockdown television’, TV shows made during the pandemic, with the self-imposed isolation we’ve all had to endure as its backdrop. The rise of Zoom and the use of social media has seen our regular programming changed – perhaps permanently – and at the forefront of that is Staged, starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant who have welcomed a number of stars onto the show including Tennant’s fellow Star Wars star Samuel L. Jackson.
Staged is the new BBC TV comedy filmed in lockdown about the two actors David Tennant and Michael Sheen (playing themselves) starting rehearsing a new production of the classic play Six Characters In Search Of An Author. It doesn’t go that well.
(T)here’s a secret that is being kept from Michael Sheen that he was not the original choice for the role. That it was originally cast to a major American movie star who wanted to work on the London stage. And in the third episode we get to meet them, one Samuel Jackson, who gets caught between David and Michael’s machinations dealing with each other. And is not best pleased.
Getting this pretty hilarious production together was one hell of a job. Getting Samuel Jackson to play a version of himself as well, was stellar. As the revelation just makes the relationship between David and Michael even worse, as Michael wants everyone to know he was never the second choice in anything before, and David is caught lying to both about how he feels about the other.
If you are able, watch the show in its entirety on the BBC iPlayer.
