Liar (TV series)

Liar is a British thriller television series created by Harry and Jack Williams, and co-produced by ITV and SundanceTV. The series stars Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Gruffudd as two people whose initial attraction leads to far-reaching consequences for them and their friends and families. The series premiered on ITV on 11 September 2017, with the first series concluding on 16 October 2017. Upon its debut, it received positive reviews, with many critics praising the performances of Froggatt and Gruffudd. The programme was renewed for a second and final series, which premiered on 2 March 2020, concluding on 6 April 2020.

Liar
Genre
Created by
  • Harry Williams
  • Jack Williams
Starring
Composers
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series2
No. of episodes12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Harry Williams
  • Jack Williams
  • James Strong
ProducerEliza Mellor
CinematographyMatt Gray BSC
Running time45 minutes
Production companyTwo Brothers Pictures
DistributorAll3Media
Release
Original network
Picture format2:1
Audio formatStereo
Original release11 September 2017 (2017-09-11) 
6 April 2020 (2020-04-06)
External links
Website
Production website

Premise

Laura Nielson, a smart and capable teacher in the middle of a breakup, is set up on a date with recently widowed surgeon Andrew Earlham. However, the day after it is apparent that something has gone wrong, and the subsequent fallout rapidly spirals out of control, exposing the power of truth, deception and trust.[1]

Cast and characters

  • Joanne Froggatt as Laura Nielson, a smart and dedicated teacher who is newly single.[1]
  • Ioan Gruffudd as Andrew Earlham, a renowned surgeon whose son, Luke, is a pupil at Laura's school.[1]
  • Zoë Tapper as Katy Sutcliffe, Laura's older sister, a doctor who works with Andrew at the local hospital.
  • Warren Brown as PC Tom Bailey (Series 1), Laura's ex-boyfriend who is having an affair with her sister, Katy.
  • Richie Campbell as Liam Sutcliffe, Katy's unsuspecting husband and father of her two children.
  • Jamie Flatters as Luke Earlham, Andrew's son who is a pupil in Laura's class.
  • Shelley Conn as DI Vanessa Harmon, a Thanet & Dover Police detective who investigates Laura's allegation of rape.
  • Danny Webb as DS Rory Maxwell, a Thanet & Dover Police detective and second in command to Vanessa Harmon.
  • Eileen Davies as Andrew Earlham's elderly friend Sylvia (Series 1).[2]
  • Jill Halfpenny as Jennifer Robertson, Vanessa's wife, an ex-soldier and Afghanistan veteran.
  • Kieran Bew as Ian Davis.
  • Dawn Steele as Catherine McAulay, a barmaid and friend of Andrew Earlham in a bar he regularly goes to in Edinburgh.
  • Katherine Kelly as DI Karen Renton (Series 2), an officer from the Metropolitan Police, investigating the murder of Andrew Earlham
  • Sam Spruell as Oliver Graham (Series 2), an old acquaintance of Andrew Earlham who gave Earlham the idea of his date rape crimes.
  • Amy Nuttall as Winnie Peterson (Series 2), a nurse who was also raped by Earlham.
  • Howard Charles as Carl Peterson (Series 2), Winnie's husband who owns a boatyard, an ex-soldier and Afghanistan veteran.
  • Dermot Crowley as Henry Neilson (Series 2), the father of Laura Neilson and Katy Sutcliffe.
  • Jack Colgrave Hirst As Greg Maxwell (Series 2), son of DS Rory Maxwell, a National Crime Agency officer.
  • Lucy Speed as a Counsellor (Series 2), who is counselling Luke Earlham with his feelings after his attempted suicide.
  • Michael Wildman as DI Michael McCoy (Series 2), who is investigating DI Renton's ex-partner Anthony Farr for suspected murder in an unrelated crime.
  • Jenny Galloway as the Marina Inn hotel receptionist (Series 2).

Production

Liar was announced on 15 April 2016 as the first full production from Two Brothers Pictures.[3] On 30 September 2016, the miniseries was commissioned by American cable network SundanceTV and British commercial broadcaster ITV.[4] Commercial broadcasters TF1[5] and Seven have also ordered the series.[6] Filming for the series began in London and Kent in November 2016.[7] The marshes were filmed in Tollesbury, Essex. The seaside hometown for main character Laura was filmed at Deal, Kent and Kingsdown. Some inner town sequences in Brockley, Nunhead, Shortlands (Episode 3), South Ealing, and Edinburgh (Episode 4).[8]

After the first series concluded on 16 October 2017, it was announced that the programme would be returning for a second series. The second series, which premiered on 2 March 2020,[9] focuses on a whodunnit storyline involving the cliffhanger of the first series' finale. Froggatt and Gruffudd both returned.[10][11][12]

Episodes

Series 1 (2017)

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)[13]
1Episode 1James StrongHarry Williams & Jack Williams11 September 2017 (2017-09-11)8.86
2Episode 2James StrongHarry Williams & Jack Williams18 September 2017 (2017-09-18)8.50
3Episode 3James StrongHarry Williams & Jack Williams25 September 2017 (2017-09-25)8.87
4Episode 4Samuel DonovanHarry Williams & Jack Williams2 October 2017 (2017-10-02)8.82
5Episode 5Samuel DonovanHarry Williams & Jack Williams9 October 2017 (2017-10-09)9.03
6Episode 6Samuel DonovanHarry Williams & Jack Williams16 October 2017 (2017-10-16)9.49

Series 2 (2020)

No.
overall
EpisodeDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)[13]
7Episode 1James StrongHarry Williams & Jack Williams2 March 2020 (2020-03-02)7.02
8Episode 2James StrongHarry Williams & Jack Williams9 March 2020 (2020-03-09)6.85
9Episode 3James StrongHarry Williams & Jack Williams16 March 2020 (2020-03-16)6.69
10Episode 4Chris SweeneyHarry Williams & Jack Williams23 March 2020 (2020-03-23)7.15
11Episode 5Chris SweeneyHarry Williams & Jack Williams30 March 2020 (2020-03-30)6.59
12Episode 6Chris SweeneyHarry Williams & Jack Williams6 April 2020 (2020-04-06)6.91

Broadcast

The series premiered on ITV on 11 September 2017 at 9pm, in exactly the same slot that the Two Brothers Pictures series Rellik premiered on BBC One.[14] It premiered on SundanceTV on 27 September 2017.[15] The series was acquired in Australia by the Seven Network and in New Zealand by TVNZ.[16]

US ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Liar
No. Title Air dateRating/share
(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
Ref(s)
1 "Episode 1" 27 September 20170.030.121[17]
2 "Episode 2" 4 October 20170.010.084[18]
3 "Episode 3" 11 October 20170.020.093[19]
4 "Episode 4" 18 October 20170.010.100[20]
5 "Episode 5" 25 October 20170.010.097[21]
6 "Episode 6" 1 November 2017N/AN/A[22]

References

  1. Petski, Denise (30 September 2016). "Joanne Froggatt & Ioan Gruffudd To Star In 'Liar' For Sundance TV & ITV". Deadline.com.
  2. express.co.uk (2017). "Liar spoilers: Andrew Earlham secret Bombshell could expose all in finale plot".
  3. Barraclough, Leo (15 April 2016). "'The Missing' Writers Harry and Jack Williams Unveil Thriller 'Liar'". Variety.
  4. Holloway, Daniel (30 September 2016). "Sundance TV, ITV Partner for 'Liar' Starring Joanne Froggatt, Ioan Gruffudd". Variety.
  5. Barraclough, Leo (28 March 2017). "Joanne Froggatt Thriller 'Liar' Picked Up by France's TF1". Variety.
  6. Knox, David (20 June 2017). "Seven picks up UK drama Liar". TV Tonight.
  7. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office Liar (2017-2020) Article".
  8. Moon, Ra. "Filming locations and pictures". atlasofwonders.com. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
  9. Anderton, Joe (19 February 2020). "Liar season 2 finally confirms return date – and it's soon". Digital Spy. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  10. Meechan, Lauren (17 October 2017). "Liar season 2: Joanne Froggatt and Ioan Gruffudd WILL return for another series". Express. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  11. Perkins, Eleanor (31 October 2019). "Fans of ITV's Liar to be kept waiting until 2020 for season 2". KentOnline. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  12. Williams, Kathryn (6 February 2020). "Ioan Gruffudd's ITV drama Liar is back for a second series and it starts soon". WalesOnline. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  13. "Weekly Viewing Summary (see relevant week)". BARB. The viewer figures take into account total live viewing in SD and HD, and +1 figures, and are viewed under ITV Total (Incl. +1).
  14. Griffiths, Eleanor Bley (19 June 2017). "Downton's Joanne Froggatt is a serious schoolteacher in first-look image from ITV thriller Liar". Radio Times.
  15. Hale, Mike (26 September 2017). "Review: A 'Downton Abbey' Star in Peril Again in SundanceTV's 'Liar'". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  16. "UK drama Liar with Joanne Froggatt coming to Seven". Mediaweek. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  17. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 9.27.2017 - Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com.
  18. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.4.2017 - Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com.
  19. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.11.2017 - Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com.
  20. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.18.2017 - Showbuzz Daily". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  21. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 10.25.2017 - Showbuzz Daily". ShowBuzzDaily. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  22. "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Wednesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 11.1.2017 - Showbuzz Daily". www.showbuzzdaily.com.
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