| Almost Royal | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Chris Faith/Marcus Liversedge |
| Starring | Ed Gamble, Amy Hoggart |
| Narrated by | Gemma Whelan |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Clive Tulloh |
| Producer | Seamus Murphy-Mitchell |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC America |
| Release | June 21, 2014 – February 8, 2016 |
Almost Royal is a British-American faux-reality television comedy series on the BBC America network. It is their first original first-run comedy series. It follows the lives of two clueless British aristocrat siblings—Georgie and Poppy Carlton—visiting the United States for the first time. The series stars Ed Gamble and Amy Hoggart as Georgie and Poppy, respectively. It is produced by Burning Bright Productions and premiered on June 21, 2014.[1] Although Georgie and Poppy are both portrayed by actors, the Americans with whom they interact are not aware of this.[2] On December 4, 2014, the show was renewed for an eight-episode second season, which started airing on January 18, 2016.[3]
The series begins after Georgie and Poppy's father suffers a fatal accident. His dying wish was for his children to travel to the United States, a country he loved. Thus, Georgie and Poppy travel across the Atlantic, first to Los Angeles, then to Boston, and other well-known American cities.[4] Georgie hopes to become more manly from learning about the United States, while Poppy hopes to procure a job that does not require very much work, such as acting.[5] Georgie and Poppy often try out new things they deem "American" such as shooting guns, meeting a barista, making a Twitter account, and working at a car repair shop. Usually, Poppy takes the spotlight even in areas she is bad at, and Georgie compliments Poppy no matter her skill level.[6] In the introduction to every episode their ranking in line to inherit the throne changes, always 50 or more places away.
| # | Title | Order for Throne | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | 50th | 51st |
| 2 | Boston | 83rd | 84th |
| 3 | Texas | 74th | 75th |
| 4 | New York | 78th | 79th |
| 5 | Detroit | 98th | 99th |
| 6 | Washington DC | 69th | 70th |
| 7 | Nashville | 50th | 51st |
| # | Title | Order for Throne | Airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beauty | 60th | 61st | 18 January 2016 |
| 2 | Great Outdoors | 68th | 69th | 18 January 2016 |
| 3 | Sports | 78th | 79th | 25 January 2016 |
| 4 | Romance | 80th | 81st | 25 January 2016 |
| 5 | Future | 58th | 59th | 1 February 2016 |
| 6 | Law and Order | 59th | 60th | 1 February 2016 |
| 7 | Work | 70th | 71st | 8 February 2016 |
| 8 | Holidays | 63rd | 64th | 8 February 2016 |
According to review aggregator website Metacritic, Almost Royal has a score of 71%, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7] One favorable review was written by Brian Lowry for Variety, who praised the show for its "...mix of deft writing and [Amy and Ed]'s deadpan improvisational skills."[8] On Rotten Tomatoes, Almost Royal's season 1 has an aggregate score of 75% based on 9 positive and 3 negative critic reviews. The website's consensus reads: "Almost Royal refreshingly lampoons both American and British cultures without abjection and benefits from Gamble and Hoggart's keen improvisational skills."[9]
Almost Royal began airing on E4 in the UK on August 9, 2014[10] and on The Comedy Channel in Australia on November 23, 2015.[11]