The Goes Wrong Show

The Play That Goes Wrong is a 2015 play by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields of Mischief Theatre. It received strong critical and audience acclaim.[8]

Two Mischief Theatre television specials, an adaptation of Peter Pan Goes Wrong and a sequel titled A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong, aired on BBC One in December 2016 and 2017.[9][10] The success of both resulted in a full television series, using the same writers and cast, was released in 2019 as The Goes Wrong Show.[11][12] It consisted of six half hour episodes, which aired on BBC One between 23 December 2019 and 31 January 2020.[13] Each episode had a different theme, including a period romance, spy thriller, a deep south melodrama and a Christmas fable.[14]

In addition to the writers, the show also stars regular Mischief performers including Charlie Russell, Bryony Corrigan, Dave Hearn and Nancy Zamit.[15]

On 3 April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mischief Theatre began a watch-along of the episodes of the show on Twitter (with the hashtag #GoesWrongAlong), beginning with "90 Degrees". The watchalongs started at 7pm.[16]

Following the success of the first series, the BBC commissioned a second series, which premiered on 22 December 2020. The first half-hour episode was a re-telling of the Nativity story.[22][23]

• Chris Bean, played by Henry Shields
• Robert Groves, played by Henry Lewis
• Dennis Tyde, played by Jonathan Sayer
• Max Bennett, played by Dave Hearn
• Sandra Wilkinson, played by Charlie Russell
• Vanessa Wilcock-Wynn-Carroway, played by Bryony Corrigan
• Annie Twilloil, played by Nancy Zamit
• Trevor Watson, played by Chris Leask
• Jonathan Harris, played by Greg Tannahill

The Goes Wrong Show was announced by the BBC on 22 February 2019. The show was commissioned by BBC's Controller of Comedy Commissioning, Shane Allen, and Charlotte Moore, Director of BBC Content.[24] In one of the episodes, the cast are filmed upside down.[25]

Each episode of the first series was recorded in the Dock10 Studios in Salford, Greater Manchester.[26]

The first series received generally positive reviews. Radio Times' Huw Fullerton said that "The Goes Wrong Show ... is actually the laugh-out-loud new project from the Mischief Theatre company".[27] Tim Dowling from The Guardian praised the show's farce and the amount of behind-the-scenes effort that went into making it work.[28] Ian D. Hall of Liverpool Sound and Vision named A Trial To Watch "one of the finest examples of farce to made it [sic] to television in years".[29]

Another positive review for the opening episode came from Michael Hogan's review in The Telegraph. He said "This old-fashioned, family-friendly comedy trod the line between seasonal cheer and black humour with aplomb. It was like Mrs Brown’s Boys but funny."[30]

When reviewing the Christmas episode, Steve Bennett from Chortle said "while every mistake here is, of course, meticulously planned, they are pulled off with enough flair, commitment and occasional ingenuity to break all but the most cynical of viewers to laughter."[31]

The show received a five-star review from Suzi Feay of the Financial Times, who said, "This stuff has to be directed and performed with pinpoint accuracy if it’s to succeed. Fortunately, it’s perfectly, deliberately, terrible.”[32]

In a negative review, Lottie Young of the Evening Standard called the first episode "embarrassingly bad" and argued that "the formula [of slapstick comedy] is more fossilised than old-fashioned."[33] Rupert Hawksley from i News said that "theatre does not always translate well to television" and noted the script as being "dreadful".[34]

The Goes Wrong Show had a DVD release for its first series on 10 February 2020.[35]

• The Goes Wrong Show at BBC Programmes
• The Goes Wrong Show at IMDb
• The Goes Wrong Show at British Comedy Guide