David Mitchell may be seeing success as the lead in Ludwig, but another of the actor’s BBC shows is faring far less well.
Sitcom Upstart Crow has been cancelled despite a dedicated fanbase and Bafta nomination. Written by Blackadder’s Ben Elton, the comedy series starred Mitchell as William Shakespeare and follows his early career in Elizabethan London.
Liza Tarbuck also starred as Anne Hathaway with Mark Heap playing the Bard’s rival Robert Greene; the series was named after an insulting nickname that Greene had given to Shakespeare. Sir Kenneth Branagh, Lily Cole and Ben Miller were among the special guests to cameo.
The BBC has now cancelled the show, making the third Christmas special, which aired in 2020, its final bow.
It won’t come as a huge surprise to many given that the series has been seemingly put on ice for quite some time, having not aired a full new season since 2018 – but still, Mitchell was left disappointed by the news.
“There was a time, quite recently, when the BBC was giving serious consideration to more Upstart Crow, possibly in the form of a Christmas special,” he said.
“But sadly nothing has come of it and now there are no plans for future episodes, which is a shame because it was a show of which I felt enormously proud and I know Ben – who I think is a genius – did too.”
The popular show also spawned a well-reviewed theatre production, which ran in the West End in 2020 and was revived in 2022. “A deliriously silly adaptation of the acclaimed sitcom,” wrote a theatre critic in a four-star review of the original run for The Independent.
Mitchell is plenty busy elsewhere, however, with the Peep Show star currently leading the hugely anticipated second season of the broadcaster’s cosy crime drama Ludwig.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 day
New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
open image in galleryIn it, he reprises his role as a genius puzzle whizz looking to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of his detective twin brother. Anna Maxwell Martin also stars as his sister-in-law, with Fleabag‘s Sian Clifford and Scottish actor Mark Bonnar joining the cast.
Ludwig’s debut series proved a huge success for the broadcaster, attracting over 9.5 million viewers within 28 days. A third season was already greenlit ahead of the release of season two last week.
open image in galleryIn a three-star review of the second series, The Independent’s critic wrote: “If I were tasked with solving the crime of why Ludwig remains middling despite its obvious merits, I would charge producers with time-wasting.
“Cosy crime has its place, but does that place warrant a whole hour per episode (no ad breaks)? I’m not so sure.”