# Back to Life (2019)

> A woman released after eighteen years in prison tries to rebuild her place in a troubled coastal family while a terrible past event hangs over her.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/75133

## Facts

- Seasons: 2
- Episodes: 12
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, drama
- Created by: Daisy Haggard
- Network: BBC Three (Online)
- Cast: Daisy Haggard, Geraldine James, Richard Durden, Jo Martin, Adeel Akhtar, Jamie Michie, Christine Bottomley, Souad Faress
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8594510/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: mild
- Tone: deadpan, bleak, darkly comic, uneasy, offbeat

## What critics say

Audiences rate the series positively for its dark, deadpan take on a prisoner's homecoming and its performances.

## Synopsis

Back to Life (2019-2021) is a British dark comedy drama series created by Daisy Haggard for BBC Three. Daisy Haggard stars as Miri Matteson, who returns to her seaside English hometown after eighteen years away and must try to fit back into a household shaped by her absence. Geraldine James plays her mother Caroline, Richard Durden plays her father Oscar, and Adeel Akhtar plays Billy, a figure from her past whose presence complicates her attempts at a fresh start. The engine of the show is simple and uneasy: Miri wants a normal life, but a terrible event from her past keeps surfacing in ordinary moments like dinners, errands and awkward reunions with old friends. Each short twenty-five minute episode grows from these tense domestic encounters, and the two-season run stays focused on one continuing story. The tone is deadpan and offbeat, with bleak humour sitting beside real emotional strain and a persistent sense of unease. Set in a present-day English coastal town, the series explores guilt, reintegration and the difficulty of rebuilding a family. Fans of Fleabag, Shameless and Motherland will find resonance in its blend of sharp comedy and damaged characters.

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