The Casual Vacancy 

The citizens of the small British town of Pagford fight for the spot on the parish council after Barry Fairbrother (Rory Kinnear) dies.

Stars:

Silas Carson, Joe Hurst, Michael Gambon

3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Silas Carson	...	Vikram Jawanda 3 episodes, 2015
Joe Hurst	...	Andrew 'Arf' Price 3 episodes, 2015
Michael Gambon	...	Howard Mollison 3 episodes, 2015
Rory Kinnear	...	Barry Fairbrother 3 episodes, 2015
Abigail Lawrie	...	Krystal Weedon 3 episodes, 2015
Emily Bevan	...	Mary Fairbrother 3 episodes, 2015
Rufus Jones	...	Miles Mollison 3 episodes, 2015
Richard Glover	...	Simon Price 3 episodes, 2015
Monica Dolan	...	Tess Wall 3 episodes, 2015
Julia McKenzie	...	Shirley Mollison 3 episodes, 2015
Lolita Chakrabarti	...	Parminder Jawanda 3 episodes, 2015
Bryce Sanders	...	Robbie Weedon 3 episodes, 2015
Ria Choony	...	Sukhvinder Jawanda 3 episodes, 2015
Keeley Hawes	...	Samantha Mollison 3 episodes, 2015
Sonny Ashbourne Serkis	...	Paul Price 3 episodes, 2015
Brian Vernel	...	Stuart 'Fats' Wall 3 episodes, 2015
Simon McBurney	...	Colin Wall 3 episodes, 2015
Keeley Forsyth	...	Terri Weedon 3 episodes, 2015
Hetty Baynes	...	Mo Johnson 3 episodes, 2015
Michele Austin	...	Kaye Bawden 3 episodes, 2015
Menna Trussler	...	Betty 3 episodes, 2015
Marie Critchley	...	Ruth Price 3 episodes, 2015
Simona Brown	...	Gaia Bawden 3 episodes, 2015
Mary Roscoe	...	Monica the Librarian / ... 3 episodes, 2015
Sope Dirisu	...	Young Doctor 3 episodes, 2015
Hayley Downing	...	Lexi Mollison 2 episodes, 2015
Lauren Downing	...	Libby Mollison 2 episodes, 2015
Vass Anderson	...	Bill 2 episodes, 2015
Emilia Fox	...	Julia Sweetlove 2 episodes, 2015
Julian Wadham	...	Aubrey Sweetlove 2 episodes, 2015
Sam Redford	...	Obbo 2 episodes, 2015
Pascal Laurent	...	Death 2 episodes, 2015
Alex Lowe	...	Copper 2 episodes, 2015
Derek Hutchinson	...	Vicar 2 episodes, 2015
Jacob Krichefski	...	Mr. Meacher 2 episodes, 2015
Elizabeth Rider	...	Maggie 2 episodes, 2015

Storyline

When Parish Councilman Barry Fairbrother (Rory Kinnear) unexpectedly dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock. An English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, Pagford is not what it first seems. What lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war - rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, and teachers at war with their pupils. And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest battle the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity, and unexpected revelations?

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Plot Keywords:

parish council | competition | rivals | vacant seat | murder | 

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Taglines:

Based on the novel by J.K. Rowling.

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

J.K. Rowling was the Executive Producer for this mini-series, as well as being the author of the novel.

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Connections

Featured in The Wright Stuff: Episode #20.35 (2015)

User Reviews

J.K. Rowling casts a cold eye on rural life in the Muggleverse

Good but not great BBC/HBO series, should appeal to fans of Penguin Classics—there's a bit of Trollope (many pairs of knickers in a twist over a parish council election), Dickens (broad social satire, mostly aimed at the snobbish, hypocritical bourgeoisie), all the way up through Margaret Drabble and Jane Gardam (class conflict and social pathology in a microcosmic village).

The script has the usual problems of a long, populous novel that's been sliced and diced for television. The first two eps were quite involving, the third kind of rushed; prob'ly should have had a fourth to fill out the backstory and tie up some loose ends. I felt sorry for some of the minor characters, like Gaia and Sukhvinder, who had to hang around forever waiting for their one or two tiny scenes.

Good work by the usual suspects—Michael Gambon, Keeley Hawes, Rory Kinnear as the goodhearted lawyer whose death creates the casual vacancy (on the local council—it's complicated…), Julia McKenzie as a real-life Miss Marple (i.e. sneaky Thatcherite grandma). Abigail Lawrie is amazing, in her first professional role, as the series's secret heroine, a tough girl called Krystal. Haven't read the book, but I agree that what another reviewer called the "water downed" ending was not very satisfying.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 April 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Casual Vacancy

Filming Locations:

Northleach, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bronte Film and TV, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Home Box Office (HBO)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1