Back to Life: Season 1

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 14 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Ratings

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6.5

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6.5	Your Score
6.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Ratings

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Season Details & Credits

SHOWTIME | Season Premiere Date: November 10, 2019

Summary: The BBC comedy series written by Daisy Haggard and Laura Solon finds Miri Matteson (Daisy Haggard) returning to her hometown after 18 years in prison and trying to start over again.

Genre(s): Comedy

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Season 1 Episodes

No episode information is currently available for this season

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Glenn Garvin

Aug 9, 2021

Bouncing unpredictably between somber dejection and daffy dark humor, Back to Life shouldn't work at all. Yet it does, wonderfully. Read full review

100

Uncle Barky Ed Bark

Nov 8, 2019

Haggard’s performance (she’s also a co-writer) is a marvel, whether she’s exuding vulnerability or dishing the sass. Used and abused but never quite de-fused, she propels Back to Life to the top tier of this season’s newcomers, with ample help from a crackerjack ensemble. Read full review

100

The Guardian Lucy Mangan

Dec 4, 2019

Nobody does anything stupid, extreme, inconsistent or out of character. The beauty of the script and the performances – which build relationships so delicately and naturally, which modulate so deftly in and out of grief and laughter, and which turn ordinary moments into hilarity and heartbreak without you noticing how they got you there – will take your breath away. Read full review

Judy Berman

Nov 5, 2019

Miri is a scapegoat, defined by what others project on her. That’s a difficult portrait to paint in under three hours while juggling elements of comedy and crime drama, but Back to Life (premiering Nov. 10) smartly surrounds Miri with distinctive secondary characters: her distant mom (Geraldine James), obsessive conservationist dad (Richard Durden), a love interest (Adeel Akhtar) with secrets of his own. Read full review

John Anderson

Nov 8, 2019

“Back to Life,” at least on paper, shouldn’t work at all. But it does. And though matters seem to wrap up tidily with episode 6, a viewer will be hoping there’s more to come. Read full review

The Times Carol Midgley

Jan 7, 2020

It is growing on me largely because it is well written and multi-layered, managing to be sweet, tragic and a little bit sick. Oh, and quietly funny, which is not easily done in these circs. Read full review

Lily Moayeri

Dec 20, 2019

A keen ear is necessary to catch all her slick comments, so many of which are razor-like in their humor. The funny factor spikes in every scene with her parole officer Janice (Jo Martin), who rivals Haggard with her natural comedic delivery and priceless lines. Read full review

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6.5

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User Reviews

alexlovesmovies

Nov 18, 2019

Amazing show! Sad, funny, fabulous acting! Absolutely loved it! It’s been compared to fleabag by the press but two completely different shows and as a massive Fleabag fan I have to say I preferred Back to Life. Hope there’s a season 2!!

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

BooRadley71

Dec 16, 2019

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Mumof3

Nov 11, 2019

Sad, funny, fabulous acting! Absolutely loved it! It’s been compared to fleabag by the press but two completely different shows and as a massive Fleabag fan I have to say I preferred Back to Life. Hope there’s a season 2!!

3 of 9 users found this helpful36

geewah

Jan 13, 2021

A story that is told with warmth, compassion and great humour. Daisy Haggard is sensational in the lead role and is ably supported by her fellow actors.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

All_ButTrU4

Feb 18, 2022

Daisy Haggard (and the rest of the cast) is simply superb. She wrote and starred in this beautifully lyrical, quintessentially British melancholy, feel good series. And yes, the contradictions were intentional . A story that is told with warmth, compassion and great humour. Daisy Haggard isDaisy Haggard (and the rest of the cast) is simply superb. She wrote and starred in this beautifully lyrical, quintessentially British melancholy, feel good series. And yes, the contradictions were intentional . A story that is told with warmth, compassion and great humour. Daisy Haggard is sensational in the lead role.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

truerock

Nov 15, 2021

Back to Life is of the "life after prison" genre.
It is a series that you can't appreciate by watching just the first 2 or 3 episodes. You need to watch all of the season 1 episodes to appreciate the series.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

shoulderoforion

Nov 15, 2019

Disjointed is the best word I can come up with to describe this show. The quirk was overwhelming, and the funny didn't ever quite land, as many times as they tried. I mean, the story was terrible, things didn't make sense or add up, you don't get sentenced to that amount of time in prisonDisjointed is the best word I can come up with to describe this show. The quirk was overwhelming, and the funny didn't ever quite land, as many times as they tried. I mean, the story was terrible, things didn't make sense or add up, you don't get sentenced to that amount of time in prison for manslaughter in the UK. I couldn't help but compare this show to the far superior The Unforgiven (UK), and even though it's almost a completely different animal, it paled in comparison. I can't say I'd recommend this… Expand

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

Seasons & Episodes

88

Series Overview
Season 2

87
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: September 13, 2021
Season 1

88
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: November 10, 2019
- No episode information is currently available for this season