Turn Up Charlie is a British comedy television series created by Idris Elba and Gary Reich. The series stars Elba as a disc jockey who reluctantly becomes the nanny for his famous friend's daughter; Piper Perabo, JJ Feild and Frankie Hervey also star. The series premiered on 15 March 2019 on Netflix. In April 2020, the series was cancelled after one season.[1]
Premise
Turn Up Charlie follows "Charlie, a struggling DJ and eternal bachelor, who's given a final chance at success when he reluctantly becomes a nanny to his famous best friend's problem-child daughter."[2]
During a day out with Gabs, David juggles mounting career worries and a parenting first. A nervous Charlie heads to the studio to record with Sara.
6
"Episode 6"
Matt Lipsey
Laura Neal
15 March 2019 (2019-03-15)
At the Latitude Festival, Sara's determined to spend time with her daughter, but Gabs and Hunter have other plans. Charlie takes Astrid on a date.
7
"Episode 7"
Matt Lipsey
Georgia Lester
15 March 2019 (2019-03-15)
In sunny Ibiza, Charlie puts his friendships and career on the line when he gets caught up in the party scene and slips back into old habits.
8
"Episode 8"
Matt Lipsey
Georgia Lester
15 March 2019 (2019-03-15)
A wild night and a romantic gesture stir up drama as everyone gathers for a life-changing weekend in Ibiza.
Production
Development
On 18 April 2018, it was announced that Netflix had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of eight episodes. The series was created by Idris Elba and Gary Reich who will executive produce alongside Tristram Shapeero. Directors for the series include Shapeero and Matt Lipsey. Laura Neal, Femi Oyeniran, and Victoria Asare-Archer will serve as writers with Georgia Lester also serving as writer as well as supervising producer. Martin Joyce and Ana Garanito are co-executive producers and Gill Isles will serve as producer. Production companies involved with the series include Brown Eyed Boy Productions and Green Door Pictures.[2][5][6][7] On 3 January 2019, it was reported that the series would premiere on 15 March 2019.[8] On 27 April 2020, Netflix cancelled the series after one season.[1]
Casting
Alongside the initial series order announcement, it was confirmed that Idris Elba would star in the series as the titular Charlie.[2] On 27 June 2018, it was announced that Piper Perabo, JJ Feild, and Frankie Hervey had joined the series' main cast.[9] On 3 January 2019, it was reported that Angela Griffin, Guz Khan, Jocelyn Jee Esien, Jade Anouka, Cameron King, and Dustin Demri-Burns would join the cast.[8]
Filming
Principal photography for the series commenced in May 2018 in the United Kingdom.[2]
On 3 January 2019, a series of "first look" still images from the series were released featuring Idris Elba, Piper Perabo, JJ Feild, and Frankie Hervey as Charlie, Sara, David, and Gabrielle, respectively.[8] On 28 February 2019, the official trailer for the series was released.[10]
Reception
On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 52% with an average rating of 5.26/10, based on 37 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Poor writing and predictable plot twists dampen Turn Up Charlie's fun premise — but those looking for a breezy sitcom starring the perennially cool Idris Elba may find themselves tapping along to its good natured beats."[11]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the series a score of 48 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]
