# This Is England '88 (2011)

> Three years after the gang splintered, Lol, Woody and Shaun struggle with guilt, new lives and fading loyalties over one Christmas in 1988.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/38549

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 3
- Episode runtime: 50 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama
- Created by: Shane Meadows
- Network: Channel 4
- Cast: Thomas Turgoose, Vicky McClure, Joseph Gilgun, Andrew Shim, Rosamund Hanson, Danielle Watson, Michael Socha, Chanel Cresswell
- TMDB rating: 8.3/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2126154/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: melancholic, raw, wistful, gritty, darkly humorous

## What critics say

Critics and audiences broadly admired this sequel miniseries for its raw, emotionally honest portrait of its characters' grief and fractured lives after the events of the earlier films.

## Synopsis

This Is England '88 (2011) is a British three-episode limited series created by Shane Meadows for Channel 4, a sequel to his film and series This Is England. Set over Christmas 1988 in the English Midlands, it follows Lol (Vicky McClure), haunted by guilt over a violent event from two and a half years earlier, while Woody (Joseph Gilgun) tries to build a domestic life with a new girlfriend and a possible promotion at work. Shaun (Thomas Turgoose) starts drama college, still tied to Smell (Rosamund Hanson) yet drawn toward a girl performing in his Christmas play. The engine is the slow pull of the past against each character's efforts to move on, rendered through quiet domestic scenes, awkward reunions and the pressure of a season that amplifies loneliness. The tone is raw, melancholic and deeply humane, with flashes of dark humour and a grounded naturalism typical of the British kitchen sink tradition. Fans of Shane Meadows, This Is England, Skins and Shameless will find resonance in its working class youth, social realism and fractured friendships.

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