# W1A (2014)

> A BBC executive is tasked with redefining the broadcaster's purpose, and his earnest, bungling team turns the process into a satire of public institutions.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/55542

## Facts

- Seasons: 3
- Episodes: 14
- Episode runtime: 30 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy
- Created by: John Morton
- Network: BBC Two
- Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Monica Dolan, Jessica Hynes, Sarah Parish, Jason Watkins, Hugh Skinner, David Westhead, Nina Sosanya
- TMDB rating: 7.8/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3610926/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: dry, deadpan, cringe-inducing, witty, satirical

## Synopsis

W1A (2014-2017) is a British mockumentary workplace sitcom created by John Morton for BBC Two. Hugh Bonneville plays Ian Fletcher, a newly appointed Head of Values at the BBC, charged with clarifying what the corporation is for as it prepares for licence fee renegotiation and charter renewal. Around him, Monica Dolan as Tracey Pritchard, Jessica Hynes as Siobhan Sharpe, Sarah Parish as Anna Rampton and Jason Watkins as Simon Harwood form a team of managers and publicists whose consultations, press strategies and rebranding schemes repeatedly collapse under their own vanity. The engine is simple and funny: each half-hour episode is built from meetings, awkward talking-head confessionals and internal memos, and every attempt to define a mission statement exposes the gap between public-service ideals and bureaucratic self-interest. The series runs for three seasons of short episodes and plays as a deadpan, cringe-inducing satire of institutional jargon and corporate ego. The tone is dry and knowing, with a sharp affection for the people who keep the broadcaster running. Fans of The Thick of It, The Office and Twenty Twelve will find the same blend of mockumentary observation and political-office absurdity here.

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