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White House Farm (TV series)

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"The Murders at White House Farm" redirects here. For the events on which the series is based, see White House Farm murders.

White House Farm
Genre
Written by
  • Kris Mrksa
  • Giula Sandler
Directed byPaul Whittington
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producers
ProducerLee Thomas
Production companyNew Pictures
Original release
NetworkITV (United Kingdom)
Release8 January (2020-01-08) –
12 February 2020 (2020-02-12)

White House Farm (broadcast in some countries under the titles White House Farm Murders and The Murders at White House Farm) is a British crime drama television miniseries based on the real-life events that took place in August 1985.

The series was produced by New Pictures for ITV and distributed worldwide by All3Media. It was broadcast by ITV on 8 January 2020.[1][2]

Premise

The series is based on true events from 6 August 1985. Five members of the Bamber-Caffell family are shot to death at White House Farm, Essex. The police, led by detectives DCI Taff Jones (Stephen Graham) and DS Stan Jones (Mark Addy), are called in to investigate.

When questioning the Bambers' son, Jeremy Bamber, he claims that his sister, Sheila, who was suffering from schizophrenia, went "berserk", got hold of a suppressed rifle and killed their parents and Sheila's six-year old twin sons. As the murder case unravels, a devastating twist comes to light.

Cast

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date [3]UK viewers
(millions)
1"Episode 1"Paul WhittingtonKris Mrksa8 January 2020 (2020-01-08)7.99
2"Episode 2"Paul WhittingtonKris Mrksa15 January 2020 (2020-01-15)7.89
3"Episode 3"Paul WhittingtonGiula Sandler22 January 2020 (2020-01-22)7.79
4"Episode 4"Paul WhittingtonKris Mrksa29 January 2020 (2020-01-29)8.27
5"Episode 5"Paul WhittingtonGiulia Sandler5 February 2020 (2020-02-05)8.20
6"Episode 6"Paul WhittingtonKris Mrksa12 February 2020 (2020-02-12)8.67

Production and release

The real-life Jeremy Bamber; portrayed by Freddie Fox in the series.

The series was first reported on in August 2018, when filming had begun.[4] Stephen Graham, Freddie Fox, Cressida Bonas and Alexa Davies were announced as the main cast.[4] Further details of the show were revealed by ITV in October 2019, and a release was scheduled for early 2020.[5][6] The trailer was released in December 2019,[7][8] and the series began airing on ITV on 8 January 2020.[9]

International release

International distribution of the series was handled by All3Media.[6] In November 2019, HBO Max closed a deal to air the series on their service in the United States;[10] it was released in September 2020 under the title The Murders at White House Farm.[11] The series was also aired in the Netherlands in June 2020 by the Dutch broadcaster KRO-NCRV, adding the word "Murders" to the series' title.[12]

Filming locations

The house we used to depict the house at White House Farm was key. Firstly for its setting in rural Essex, its isolation and beauty. Also crucially what ultimately tipped the balance for us in terms of that particular location was the interior layout of that house which was very similar to the original house itself.[13]

— Paul Whittington, director

No scenes in White House Farm were filmed where the real-life events happened, in the village of Tolleshunt D'Arcy. Instead, the producers chose other locations to replicate the area.[14]

Reception

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, White House Farm holds an approval rating of 82%, based on 17 reviews.[15] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 58 based on 4 reviews, indicating a "mixed or average" response.[16]

Stephen Graham's portrayal of Welsh detective "Taff" Jones drew some criticism, with a number of pundits, including Carolyn Hitt of WalesOnline, stating that his Welsh accent was inauthentic.[17] Some online commentators described the accent as the "worst screen accent since Dick Van Dyke".[17]

Podcast

On 18 September 2020 an official companion podcast produced by iHeartRadio was announced via a trailer published across all podcasting platforms, with the first episode premiering on 24 September 2020 alongside the release of the series on HBO Max.[18]

Hosted by three-time Emmy award-winning producer Lauren Bright Pacheco, the podcast features conversations with the creators of the series, experts on the case, and family members of the deceased to "provide context to what’s happening on screen as well as extended audio clips to further immerse the listener in the world of the show."[19]

References

  1. ^ Craig, David (12 February 2020). "When is ITV drama White House Farm on TV? What's it about?". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  2. ^ "WarnerMedia's HBO Max acquires UK crime drama from All3Media". TBI Vision. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  3. ^ "White House Farm – Listings". Next Episode. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b Mitchell, Bea (14 August 2018). "Thrones stars reunite for new drama White House Farm". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 26 November 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  5. ^ White, Peter (9 October 2019). "Stephen Graham & Freddie Fox To Star In ITV Drama 'White House Farm' From 'Catherine The Great' Producer New Pictures". Deadline. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b "ITV announces details for new factual drama White House Farm". ITV Press Centre. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  7. ^ @ITV (2 December 2019). "Based on true events. New drama White House Farm. This January @ITV" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Creed, Rebecca (7 December 2019). "Trailer gives first look at TV drama on infamous White House Farm murders". Gazette. Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  9. ^ "This week's best home entertainment: from Deadwater Fell to Cheer". The Guardian. 3 January 2020. Archived from the original on 4 January 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  10. ^ White, Peter (29 November 2019). "HBO Max Takes U.S. Rights To Stephen Graham-Fronted ITV Crime Drama 'White House Farm'". Deadline. Archived from the original on 25 December 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 25 February 2020 suggested (help)
  11. ^ Dudley, Joshua (23 September 2020). "HBO Max Premieres True-Crime Drama 'The White House Farm Murders' Plus Companion Podcast From iHeartRadio That Goes Behind The Scenes Of The Story". Forbes. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  12. ^ Bart Koetsenruijter, "Niets is zeker in politiethriller White House Farm", De Volkskrant, 18 June 2020.
  13. ^ Smith, Shona (9 January 2020). "ITV factual drama White House Farm avoided filming in real life Essex location". The Location Guide. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  14. ^ Morris, Lauren (2 December 2020). "Where was White House Farm filmed?". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  15. ^ "The Murders At White House Farm". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "The Murders at White House Farm: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 February 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ a b Hitt, Carolyn (11 January 2020). "We need authentic Welsh voices – not English actors mangling our accents". walesonline. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  18. ^ "The Murders at White House Farm: The Podcast on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  19. ^ Dudley, Joshua. "HBO Max Premieres True-Crime Drama 'The White House Farm Murders' Plus Companion Podcast From iHeartRadio That Goes Behind The Scenes Of The Story". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
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