The Durrells

The Durrells
Series 1 title card.
Genre	Comedy-drama
Based on	The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell
Written by	Simon Nye
Theme music composer	Ruth Barrett
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	3
No. of episodes	20
Production
Executive producers	Lee Morris Sally Woodward Gentle Simon Nye
Producer	Christopher Hall
Cinematography	Julian Court, James Aspinall
Running time	46–47 minutes
Production companies	Sid Gentle Films Masterpiece co-production
Original release
Network	ITV
Release	3 April 2016 (2016-04-03) – present

The Durrells (also known as The Durrells in Corfu on American television) is a British comedy-drama series based on Gerald Durrell's three autobiographical books about his family's four years (1935–1939) on the Greek Island of Corfu, which began airing on 3 April 2016. The series is written by Simon Nye, directed by Steve Barron and Roger Goldby, and produced by Christopher Hall. The executive producers are Lee Morris and Sally Woodward Gentle. Lee Durrell, Gerald Durrell's widow and director of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, acted as consultant. The series is partly filmed on Corfu and at Ealing Studios in London.

Story

The series begins in 1935, when Louisa Durrell suddenly announces that she and her four children will move from Bournemouth to the Greek island of Corfu. Her husband has died some years earlier and the family is experiencing financial problems. A Homeric battle ensues as the family adapts to life on the island which, despite a lack of electricity, proves that Corfu is cheap and an earthly paradise.

A degree of artistic licence is employed: in the TV series, the family move to Corfu together, whereas in real life Lawrence Durrell, the eldest child (23 years of age in 1935), had already moved to the island earlier the same year with his wife.

Characters

Character	Portrayed by	Series 1	Series 2	Series 3	No. of appearances	Duration
Louisa Durrell	Keeley Hawes	Main			20	2016–present
Gerry Durrell	Milo Parker	Main			20	2016–present
Larry Durrell	Josh O'Connor	Main			20	2016–present
Margo Durrell	Daisy Waterstone	Main			20	2016–present
Leslie Durrell	Callum Woodhouse	Main			20	2016–present
Spiros Halikiopoulous	Alexis Georgoulis	Main			20	2016–present
Lugaretzia	Anna Savva	Main			20	2016–present
Theo Stephanides	Yorgos Karamihos	Main			20	2016–present
Florence Petrides	Lucy Black	Recurring			16	2016–present
Dr. Petrides	Alexis Conran	Recurring			8	2016–present
Sven Lundblad	Ulric von der Esch	Recurring			10	2016–present
Pavlos	Nikos Orestis Chaniotakis	Guest	Recurring	Guest	5	2016–present
Countess Mavrodaki	Leslie Caron	Recurring	Guest		5	2016–present
Aunt Hermione	Barbara Flynn	Guest		Recurring	4	2016–2018
Max	Maximilian Befort	Recurring			3	2016–2017
Donald	Ben Hall	Recurring			7	2016–2017
Captain Creech	James Cosmo	Recurring		Guest	3	2016–present
Nancy	Lizzy Watts	Recurring			3	2016
Alexia	Hara-Joy Ermidi	Recurring			3	2016
Dennis	Jeremy Swift	Recurring			4	2016
Angel	Jamie Ward	Recurring			3	2016
Hugh Jarvis	Daniel Lapaine		Recurring		6	2017
Vasilia Prifona	Errika Bigiou		Recurring		5	2017
Zoltan	Merch Husey		Guest	Recurring	6	2017–2018
Daphne Likourgou	Elli Tringou			Recurring	5	2018
Galini	Olivia Lebedeva-Alexopoulou			Recurring	3	2018-present

Series overview

Season		Episodes	Season premiere	Season finale	Average viewership
	1	6	3 April 2016 (2016-04-03)	8 May 2016 (2016-05-08)	6.9 million
	2	6	23 April 2017 (2017-04-23)	28 May 2017 (2017-05-28)	6.2 million
	3	8	18 March 2018 (2018-03-18)	6 May 2018	5.6 million

Episodes

Series 1 (2016)

(1935)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions)
1	1	"Episode 1"	Steve Barron	Simon Nye	3 April 2016 (2016-04-03)	8.81
The island of Corfu's distinct contrast with England is what enthrals Bournemouth mother Louisa Durrell to uproot her disenchanted family from a life of no prospects and venture into one with a lessened need for conformity. However, the appeal becomes ever distant to see upon their arrival. An austere life involves her attempting to withstand her three sons' and daughter's lack of regard for anything other than their own interests, with Gerry befriending an animal lover and forming an ever growing menagerie; Leslie's penchant for using firearms, until an incident compels him to give it up and search for love; Margo discovering the local community's less-than-favourable attitudes toward women; and Larry's attempts to quell his mother proving this beyond a doubt; all begins with a welcoming local man, Spiros, whose unintentional gift of a housemaid is somewhat fleetingly relieving for Louisa, until her children inevitably get in the way.
2	2	"Episode 2"	Steve Barron	Simon Nye	10 April 2016 (2016-04-10)	7.69
As Louisa deals with a despondent Margo, suffering from unrequited love and the middling advice from her siblings, Gerry's continuing disregard for education and his animal collection gaining more than first hoped and Spiros' attempts to take her mind off her money troubles (involving disappointing results from foraging, both for food and saleable items) and disintegrating house, Larry ends up requiring some rudimentary medical care from an unexpected source.
3	3	"Episode 3"	Steve Barron	Simon Nye	17 April 2016 (2016-04-17)	7.58
Louisa, alongside trying to avoid Sven following an argument, begins to worry over Gerry's burgeoning relationship with a convict and, attempting to investigate the cause of his imprisonment, finds the two stealing from the Countess's goldfish pond. After finding she is not cut out for working at the surgery, Margo strikes up a friendship with the Countess. Leslie laments over finding his girlfriend with her ex-boyfriend and later rues his actions after spotting the two on an alcohol-fuelled night out with Larry.
4	4	"Episode 4"	Roger Goldby	Simon Nye	24 April 2016 (2016-04-24)	7.14
Louisa finds herself torn between two men when throwing Leslie out leads him into a life of crime after being taken in by two local thugs, and using a supposedly rejuvenated Captain Creech to make Sven jealous. Leslie soon ends up in court following a string of accusations from a local turkey farmer, culminating in the addition of an armed-robbery charge. Being caught trying on one of the Countess's dresses to impress the gardener leads Margo to worry for her job, until the Countess surprises her by giving her the dress. Meanwhile, Gerry mourns the death of one of his bats and is encouraged to set up a centre for scientific learning with the rest of his animals.
5	5	"Episode 5"	Roger Goldby	Simon Nye	1 May 2016 (2016-05-01)	6.93
A visit from some priggish relatives seems to deem the family's immigration to Corfu more temporary than first thought, and Louisa's aunt's insistence that they must return to England is made even more demanding by the revelation of her relationship with Sven. Larry, despondent at the rejection of his novel by publishers, subdues himself into a life of labour—soon discovering his ineptness. Margo tries to balance her devotion to the Countess and her growing adoration for her gardener, and Gerry's plans to embark into the world of conservation are thrown into disarray by his attempts to feed his adopted baby owls.
6	6	"Episode 6"	Roger Goldby	Simon Nye	8 May 2016 (2016-05-08)	6.58
The family's concerns over Sven's true intentions are brought to light when Louisa realises that Sven's romantic feelings for her are merely a ruse to hide his homosexuality. Larry finds himself stuck when Nancy insists they must move to England together, while he is hesitant to leave his family behind. Leslie suffers an injury perusing Gerry's makeshift zoo, leading Gerry to question his future caging animals. Margo attempts to relieve the Countess of her agoraphobia by inviting her to the wedding party.

Series 2 (2017)

(1936)

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions)
7	1	"Episode 1"	Steve Barron	Simon Nye	23 April 2017 (2017-04-23)	7.32
One year has passed, and Louisa is fed up with being poor; to satisfy their new contemptuous landlady Vasilia, who repossesses the family's chairs over non-payment of rent, she sets up a market stall, the failure of which at first is taken by delight by fellow Briton Hugh Jarvis, who proceeds to try and woo her after the family uses his olive-pressing services. Purveying homemade British food doesn't work at first, before Spiros' advice on how to approach the Greek boosts sales. However, news her produce has resulted in food poisoning in the local residents is not well-received, but after discovering Vasilia has contaminated their food due to perceiving Louisa as a rival in her attempts to repair a past relationship with Hugh, warns her off – and the whole situation absolves Larry of his chronic writer's block, using the situation as inspiration for his next novel. Meanwhile, Gerry becomes preoccupied with finding otters, and when his mission to get up close to one is foiled by its death in a trap, he resolves to set up an otter breeding programme, while he develops hatred towards work-inept Leslie after he inadvertently shoots dog Roger; acne prompts appearance concerns for Margo, who has gained a boyfriend in monk Pavlos, but is disheartened in learning of his vow of celibacy, and dabbles in exploring how to become a nun in response.
8	2	"Episode 2"	Steve Barron	Simon Nye	30 April 2017 (2017-04-30)	6.61
After Gerry goes missing, Louisa feels she has become too complacent in her parenting and has let her family down, particularly Larry, who is feeling downcast at the lack of response following the publication of his novel. While she attempts to drum up support for Larry's novel by disseminating leaflets for a reading, she resolves to give Gerry a proper education by hiring Spiros as a tutor, who transpires to be more stringent in teaching as she thought. However, the book reading draws a marginal crowd, and Larry chides his mother for the failure, and her generally lacklustre parenting, both before and after he receives mail praising his novel; as a result of this and Gerry's magpies stealing pages of his next novel's manuscript, Larry makes the decision to leave home. Meanwhile, Leslie and Margo become swayed by alcohol, with Leslie dipping his toes into selling it by selling homemade liqueur using the monks' recipe, and Margo's determination to become a nun is bogged down by her too readily able to enjoy it. Gerry finds a female mate for his otter, and is concerned when they struggle to procreate.
9	3	"Episode 3"	Steve Barron	Simon Nye	7 May 2017 (2017-05-07)	6.32
A birthday party leaves Louisa with even more concerns about her advancing age, which her family attempt to relieve her of. Margo's acne exacerbates, while Leslie develops a passion for photography. Larry becomes tempted by Vasilia, to the family's dismay, and Gerry finds that his tutor's proclivity to teach can be easily distracted from. Louisa becomes concerned over Sven's new relationship with a woman and feels worried he is keeping up the ruse of being heterosexual; this draws Hugh's attention, and his intrusion into Sven's private life isn't well received.
10	4	"Episode 4"	Edward Hall	Simon Nye	14 May 2017 (2017-05-14)	5.96
The Durrells find themselves shut in when a torrential rainstorm hits Corfu, and not only are the family dealing with the grumpiness emerging from Larry's affliction with the mumps, but the unusual Mrs. Haddock (arriving with Aunt Hermione), who claims she is able to be in contact with the dead, and offers to conduct a seance for Louisa to engage with her deceased husband. Donald's insistence in conducting his tutoring duties proves annoying to Gerry, while Leslie's aggravation grows as his indoors reclusion continues, and Margo's also, as her acne troubles remain unsolved.
11	5	"Episode 5"	Edward Hall	Simon Nye	21 May 2017 (2017-05-21)	5.49
A hastily, and ill-advisedly, thrown together cricket match does nothing to soothe relations between the factions of the Greek and the English ex-pats – Spiros and Hugh, to be more specific – and actually works to exacerbate them. Larry is determined to use his Britishness to repel Vasilia (whose determination for the two of them to get married is forced upon him), who at first finds his attempts charming, but her capricious nature gets the better of her and purposely kisses Hugh in full view of Louisa, prompting her to develop doubts over the future of their relationship, and him to, in a desperate effort to keep her, speak of his intentions they should move back home to England. Meanwhile, Gerry finds teasing Donald with in-efficacious methods of winning over Margo a welcome distraction from his persistent attitude they must work.
12	6	"Episode 6"	Edward Hall	Simon Nye	28 May 2017 (2017-05-28)	5.57
Three different children are born as a fraught Leslie is on hand to help Lugaretzia's daughter give birth, Louisa aids with Florence's, and Gerry is overwhelmed with exuberance at the prospect of some otter cubs – all of which, as well as Corfu's rich culture and wildlife, helps Louisa realise she should refuse to fulfill Hugh's wish for the two of them to return to England. Hugh, however, finds himself in a more dangerous situation, as Vasilia, in a last-ditch attempt to win him back, and in a frantic displeasing at his choosing of Louisa, stabs him, and flees; Larry turns up at her doorstep for one last liaison, and she rejects him, adding more disappointment to his day as he later discovers he has missed everything exciting, an opinion soon put to rest when Donald, prior to leaving Corfu, engages in a fight with Margo's conceited new lover, Zoltan.

Series 3 (2018)

(1937)

A third series was confirmed to be in production by writer Simon Nye at the BFI and Radio Times Television Festival on 8 April 2017. He described the third series as having "some exotic new animals", and that production would begin in three weeks' time, upon Keeley Hawes's arrival in Corfu for filming. It will be set in 1937.

No. overall	No. in series	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	UK viewers (millions)
13	1	"Episode 1"	Roger Goldby	Simon Nye	18 March 2018 (2018-03-18)	7.03
While Larry languishes in despondence following the antipathy-inducing news of Aunt Hermione's impending arrival – and the suspected breaking of his leg – Louisa is determined to relieve Leslie of at least two of his three girlfriends, but this falls into difficulty when different members of the family prefer a different girl – and invite each to tea at the same time. Meanwhile, Gerry's adoption of flamingoes arrives with Louisa's disapproval, who believes they have too many animals to begin with, and Margo takes up soap sculpturing while looking for a hobby. Theo diversifies from animal studies into human X-rays, while Florence struggles – becoming irascible and exhausted – after the birth of her son.
14	2	"Episode 2"	Roger Goldby	Simon Nye	25 March 2018 (2018-03-25)	6.21
Louisa's worries her previous "birds and the bees" talks with Leslie were insufficient are confirmed when she discovers he has impregnated Daphne, one of his three girlfriends. As a result, Leslie is presented with the potentiality of a wife; Daphne's father orders him by gunpoint to marry her – and loses a girlfriend he loves in Dionisia. Meanwhile, the family's exposure to a more genial – and multiple-suitored – Aunt Hermione ends curtailed, with her death eliciting baseless fears of her bedroom being haunted by her "restless soul" and that the family should slay a goat as a sacrifice. Margo's new vocation as an assistant to Theo's radiography and X-ray endeavours and to Florence's motherhood is disturbed by her ex-boyfriend Zoltan, who is persistent in his attempts to win her back, all while organising a memorial service for her late aunt, which incorporates a rather vociferous imitation of a Hawaiian tradition. Larry volunteers to accompany Louisa back to England for Aunt Hermione's burial, while Gerry's new hobby, staring at a wall of insects and small creatures (and waiting for one to eat another), invites intrigue – exhausting at that – from the rest of the family.
15	3	"Episode 3"	Roger Goldby	Simon Nye	1 April 2018 (2018-04-01)	5.39
Larry and Louisa arrive in England for Aunt Hermione's funeral, with Larry easily drawn into the welcoming, ideal lifestyle of a Bohemian fan and his housemates, and becomes disconcerted when Louisa's arrival plunges her into a lifestyle she is overly enthusiastic about the ideals of – which she later finds overwhelming, following a night of inebriation-fuelled antics with a prurient housemate leading to the misplacement of a necklace of Hermione's Louisa borrowed – which is later transpired to be extremely valuable. Back in Corfu, the rest of the family establish their own order, ignoring that Louisa set out for them – and that Spiros is enforcing, strongly with regards to controlling, albeit falteringly, Margo's access to boyfriend Zoltan; she later discovers this is due to Spiros' deep-rooted hatred of Turks (which Zoltan is). Lugaretzia takes the time to slack off when she sees the state the rest of the family has left the house in, while Leslie and Gerry become dedicated to different causes – to protecting the family against a roaming gang and to educate the Greek public on how to not mistreat donkeys. Serendipity strikes when Leslie is approached to join the police force, although later placed on shaky ground when his contraption to prevent against a gang encroaching on their home leads to Zoltan being shot. Meanwhile, Gerry ends up rescuing a beaten donkey from its abusive farmer.
16	4	"Episode 4"	Roger Goldby	Simon Nye	8 April 2018 (2018-04-08)	5.56
Two visitors are invited into the Durrell family home: Larry's friend Jeejeebuoy, whom is misconstrued at first to be a royal, and the second a destitute and dejected Captain Creech. They offer polarised opinions when it comes to Louisa's drinking, with Jeejee cautioning her on her doing so excessively, while Creech actively encourages it. This plays to Gerry's amusement after an interview at the local school – sought after Louisa is disappointed by Gerry's lack of work as an autodidact – ends in rejection due to Louisa's drunken state failing to make a good first impression. Leslie faces a dilemma when he discovers Daphne's father is spearheading a cigarette smuggling racket, while Larry's adventures aboard Creech's boat – hindered by his ineptness at being able to sail – leads him to a destination very far offshore. Guest Jeejee concerns the family with his persistent attempts at gaining enlightenment through fasting and going into a trance, which he later reduces to meditation to engage – and mollify – the family with. Theo and Gerry conclude their studies into whether diet changes affect a flamingo's pigmentation.
17	5	"Episode 5"	Niall MacCormick	Simon Nye	15 April 2018 (2018-04-15)	5.59
Louisa grows jealous when Spiros begins spending time helping a new Italian family, the Ferraris, that has arrived on the island. Immediate relations between the families are fractious; nevertheless, the Durrells are roped into home-training the children, who had been dependent on their tending staff and late mother. However, the aloof behaviour of the Ferrari son, Paolo, soon draws concern, and the Durrells discover the reason behind the family's sudden departure from their home country; the tragic actions of the father his son was made to take as his own. Louisa and Spiros' relationship sours through a disagreement over his devotion to her family split with another, which they later become repentant over. Larry joins the local volunteer fire department, where his efforts to modernise it go awry. Theo acts as an inadvertent third wheel when Gerry is joined by a local girl on their search for vultures. Margo's new destiny is to gain the level of beauty bestowed upon one of the Ferrari daughters, and a suggestion to kiss the footwear of a dead saint to do so is fulfilled as a last resort - and results in the completely opposite effect.
18	6	"Episode 6"	Niall MacCormick	Simon Nye	22 April 2018 (2018-04-22)	5.45
Kept inside by a mosquito infestation, Gerry's birthday celebrations do not go to plan, as Louisa insists on shoehorning in activities and stories to help relive, and elongate, the last moments of Gerry's childhood - to his chagrin, and with her ignorance towards his precocious maturity. Exasperated and frustrated, he protests, and in response, she decides to go overboard the opposite way, overly attempting to tend to his adulthood - replete with fallacies. While the adult guests enjoy the festivities, a certain number are kept surreptitious in corners of the house: concerns brew over an incongruously lugubrious Spiros, who plagues Larry with guitar-playing, reflecting his solemn mood (due to his recent separation), while Dr. Petrides' presence is taken advantage of, and Leslie and Daphne grow closer.
19	7	"Episode 7"	Niall MacCormick	Simon Nye	29 April 2018 (2018-04-29)	5.50
Leslie makes the fraught - and veritably contentious - decision to arrest Sven after a complaint regarding overt homosexual behaviour - and after the government imposes a crackdown on "immoral behaviour". In response, Larry breaks into the Countess's library to find material to defend Sven and challenge his detention; the aftermath leaves Leslie torn between his job and his family. Attempts to raise the spirits of a despondent, reclusive Spiros get mixed results, but ultimately - through persistence - achieve a beneficial one. Larry's author friend from London, Henry Miller, pays the Durrells a visit and quickly makes himself at home - through recrudescence to his preferred nude state - while Louisa's cousin Basil does so too, informing the family - contrary to what they expected - Hermione's estate is non-existent. Meanwhile, Gerry's continual vegetarianism results in him being told to cook his own food.
20	8	"Episode 8"	Niall MacCormick	Simon Nye	6 May 2018 (2018-05-06)	4.90
Relationships and love are on the table when a travelling circus arrives in Corfu - between banding together to drum up ticket sales and partaking to replace disgruntled acts. Larry and contortionist Elena are in a relationship just minutes after first meeting; Margo enlists in a rather perilous performance to distract her from the worries regarding the reasons behind Zoltan's spurning of her; Daphne's reaction to a proposal leads to the revelation he is not the father of her baby places Leslie in a fraught position; and Spiros and Louisa grow noticeably - and tantalisingly - closer. Albeit, the prospects from each soon falter.

Reception

Reception to the first episode was positive, with Gerard O'Donovan (The Telegraph) calling it "a series that's not only sun-drenched and liberating, but also catches its source material's high good humour without labouring it and weaves an authentic sense of the innocent exoticism of the original," before awarding it four stars. The Daily Mail's Christoper Stevens bestowed even more praise, giving it five stars and focusing on the cast's performance, primarily Keeley Hawes as widowed mother Louisa Durrell and Milo Parker as young Gerry.

The opening episode averaged just under 6.4 million people and was watched by 29% of the audience over the hour, including those watching on British television network ITV's +1 channel, and was the biggest drama launch of any channel so far in 2016 and the most-watched show of the day (including +1). Following a seven-day catch-up period, the figure aggregated to just under 8.2 million people. Citing the show as its "best rating new drama of the year and its highest rating new show since September 2014", ITV recommissioned the show for a second series on 15 April 2016. Over the course of the first series, ratings averaged out at 6.9 million viewers.

The show and its episodes attained high ratings on IMDb, around 8/10.

Broadcast

Internationally, the series was acquired in Australia by the Seven Network and premiered on 24 August 2016. In the United States, PBS began airing the show, retitled as The Durrells in Corfu, on 16 October 2016 at 8 pm. The Durrells started screening in New Zealand on 26 October 2016 on Prime TV. In Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation began airing Series 1 on 13 September 2017. In Spain, the series has been acquired by the streaming platform Filmin.

A third series of The Durrells was announced by writer Simon Nye at the BFI and Radio Times Television Festival on 8 April 2017. It began filming in May 2017 and aired on ITV in the northern-hemisphere in the spring of 2018.

A fourth series was announced by ITV on 22 June 2018, with filming scheduled for later in the year.

Awards and nominations

Year	Category	Award	Nominee	Result
2017	Best Actress	Broadcasting Press Guild Award	Keeley Hawes	Won
2017	Best Drama Series	BAFTA TV Award	The Durrells	Nominated
2017	Best Costume Design	BAFTA TV Award	Charlotte Holdich	Nominated
2017	Best Titles & Graphic Identity	BAFTA TV Award	Alex Maclean	Nominated
2017	Best Writer: Drama	BAFTA TV Award	Simon Nye	Nominated
2016	Best Production Design: Drama	RTS Craft & Design Award	Stevie Herbert	Won
2016	Best Graphic Design: Titles	RTS Craft & Design Award	Alex Maclean	Nominated

See also

• Gerald Durrell's Corfu trilogy books:
  • My Family and Other Animals (1956)
  • Birds, Beasts, and Relatives (1969)
  • The Garden of the Gods (1978)
• My Family and Other Animals, a 1987 BBC series based on the Corfu trilogy by Durrell
• My Family and Other Animals, a 2005 BBC telemovie based on the 1956 book by Durrell

External links

• The Durrells at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• The Durrells at epguides.com