# Detectorists (2014)

> Two eccentric metal detectorists spend their days plodding across English fields hoping to unearth a fortune of a lifetime.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/55072

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 18
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: Mackenzie Crook
- Network: BBC Four
- Cast: Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones, Rachael Stirling, Lucy Benjamin, Gerard Horan, Divian Ladwa, Paul Casar, Aimee-Ffion Edwards
- TMDB rating: 8.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4082744/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: slow
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: gentle, melancholic, wistful, cozy, awkward

## What critics say

Viewers widely acclaim Detectorists as a warm, gently funny and emotionally perceptive comedy, praising its leads, its writing and its quiet attention to rural English life.

## Synopsis

Detectorists (2014-2017) is a British BBC Four sitcom created by Mackenzie Crook. Crook stars as Andy Stone, a lonely metal detectorist who spends his days plodding along ploughed tracks and open fields with his friend Lance Stater, played by Toby Jones. Their shared hope is to disturb the tedium by unearthing the fortune of a lifetime, but the real engine of the show is the small, awkward world around that hobby: Andy's uneasy romance with Becky, played by Rachael Stirling, and the rivalries and friendships of the local detecting club. Across three seasons of six episodes each, the series stays in a single continuing thread rather than a case-of-the-week format, letting its half-hour episodes drift between quiet fieldwork and tender family moments. Set in contemporary rural England, it is a gentle, melancholic, deeply observant comedy with a wistful, cozy feel. Its patient pacing and affectionate humour recall the awkward character comedy of The Office (UK) and the wry pastoral warmth of Ted Lasso. Fans of quiet British comedy and introspective character studies will find a lot to savour in its unhurried, understated tone.

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