Everyone Else Burns
GenreSitcom
Creator
  • Dillon Mapletoft
  • Oliver Taylor
Writer
  • Dillon Mapletoft
  • Oliver Taylor
Director
  • Nick Collett
  • Jamie Jay Johnson
Starring
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Num seasons2
Num episodes12
Executive producer
  • Tony Hernández
  • Dillon Mapletoft
  • Nicki Perkins
  • Brooke Posch
  • Laura Roseam
  • Oliver Taylor
  • Simon Bird
ProducerMolly Seymour
EditorMike Holliday
Company
NetworkChannel 4
First aired23 January 2023
Last aired14 November 2024

Everyone Else Burns is a British television sitcom made for Channel 4 by JAX Media and Universal International Studios, starring Simon Bird, Kate O'Flynn, Amy James-Kelly, Harry Connor and Morgana Robinson. The first series premiered in January 2023, with a second broadcast in October 2024; all episodes were made available at once on streaming.

Synopsis

A coming-of-age sitcom about a Manchester family who are part of a puritanical Christian sect.[1]

Cast and characters

  • Simon Bird as David Lewis, the patriarch of the Lewis family whose passion for keeping his family in line with the scripture of the Order stems from his desperation to gain influence in his chapter, usually in complex, bizarre fashion that distances himself from his wife and children.
  • Kate O'Flynn as Fiona Lewis, whose servile existence is starting to grate, and who – after almost two decades dedicated to her family – starts to explore her own interests and ambitions, discovering how they are incompatible with the misogynistic and demanding setup of the Order.
  • Amy James-Kelly as Rachel Lewis, the teenage daughter of David and Fiona who is starting to bore of the restrictions imposed on her by the Order – discovering that her attempts to escape the life expected of her are difficult to carry out, and that her yearning for more has pitfalls of its own.
  • Harry Connor as Aaron Lewis, the young son of the family whose staunch adherence to the Order's text sees him express disapproval of his family, believing himself to be the most pious among them; this compounds his isolation from others his age and he spends his free time honing his precocious drawing skills.
  • Morgana Robinson as Melissa, the new, lesbian neighbour of the Lewises, who aids Fiona's newfound confidence to express herself and discover life outside of the home.
  • Ali Khan as Joshua, a teenage boy Rachel meets on her doorstep proselytising, whom she comes to fall in love with despite it being forbidden. He has his own complicated history with the Order.
  • Arsher Ali as Elder Samson, the head of the local chapter of the Order who uses his power to the fullest, ruling with an iron fist. He demands strict adherence to the Order's principles and is unaccommodating of those who fall short of his edicts.
  • Al Roberts as Elder Abijah, whose desire for a more lackadaisical approach to enforcing the rules of the chapter sees him clash with Elder Samson on fundamental matters.
  • Kadiff Kirwan as Andrew, a neighbour of the Lewises whom David envies due to his popularity and position of influence within the Order.
  • Liam Williams as Joel, a new convert to the Order looking for renewed purpose in life after an acrimonious split from his girlfriend.
  • Lolly Adefope as Miss Simmons, teacher at the Lewis children's school whose turbulent personal life frequently crosses into her professional one.
  • Soph Galustian as Julia, a young Order member with excellent skills for duplicity and teaching Rachel the ways of the world outside of the Order.
  • Kath Hughes as Sid
  • Sian Clifford as Maude (series 2), a demure new arrival to the chapter who instantly becomes attracted to David, sharing his quirks and idiosyncratic principles.

Episodes

Series 1 (2023)

All episodes were made available on All 4 prior to broadcast on 23 January 2023.

Series 2 (2024)

All episodes were made available on 3 October 2024 for subscribers to the paid tier of Channel 4's streaming service;[2] this expanded to all users on 17 October 2024.

Production

In May 2022, Channel 4 announced the project had been commissioned, with the cast in place, and JAX Media and Universal International Studios producing from a script written by Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor, and Nick Collett as director.[3]

Speaking about his wig for the show, lead actor Simon Bird told The Independent: "My first reaction [upon seeing the wig] was laughter, annoyingly, which was pretty much everyone’s reaction. Which meant that we had to go ahead with it."[4]

In May 2023, Channel 4 renewed the series for a second season.[5] Sian Clifford joined the cast for the second series.[6]

In April 2024, filming for the second series took place in Heaton Moor, Greater Manchester.[7]

The sect to which the family belongs, although superficially inspired by the practices and beliefs of many actual groups, is entirely fictional. The show is fundamentally a comedy, as reflected in the comic name of the sect: "Order of the Divine Rod". The beliefs of the group also do not correlate well with even "puritanical Christian fundamentalism".[8]

Broadcast

Everyone Else Burns premiered in the UK on Channel 4 on 23 January 2023. The first season consisted of six episodes in total, which are also available to on the streaming service All4.[9]

International broadcast

The series debuted in Canada on W Network on 29 May 2023.[10] In the United States, the series debuted on The CW on 26 October 2023[11] before being pulled from its schedule in November 2023.[12] Brad Schwartz, President of Entertainment of The CW, blamed the marketing of the show for it being pulled.[13] The series is currently available in Australia on SBS On Demand.[14]

Reception

Viewership

The series opened to 1.4 million viewers with four weeks of post-broadcast viewership included.[15][16] The show was "the biggest comedy launch since Derry Girls on Channel 4's streaming service".[17]

Critical reception

Everyone Else Burns has received critical acclaim, with a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[18]

Writing in The Daily Telegraph Anita Singh said "there is much to enjoy here. It's not a comedy going for cheap laughs about Christianity. It is a show about family, and it has a lot of heart" and said that the comedy derives from a "subversion of norms". She also praised the writing, performances and characterisation “from the leads down to the supporting players", noting that "there are truths about family and friends that make it seem like more than a throwaway sitcom."[19] Lucy Mangan in The Guardian commented that it is "simply very, very funny" and that the "hyper-religiosity is used to look anew at family dynamics and dysfunction; how blind you can be to abnormalities if they are all you know".[20] Carol Midgely in The Times described it as "a small delight" and praised the performance of Simon Bird and the cast, as well as the "sharply, wittily written" script, adding that "it is a brave comedy that targets religion, but only a clever one could do it with this much heart and jolliness."[21] The i described it as "funny as hell" [22] while, in a four-star review for The Evening Standard, Vicky Jessop wrote "who knew eternal damnation could be this fun?".[23]

Reception in the United States has been similarly positive. Time Magazine described it as "a fantastically warped family sitcom” and “easily the best new broadcast comedy since Abbott Elementary".[24] The New York Times labelled it "a charmer - smart, distinctive, lovely".[25] The Hollywood Reporter called it "very funny" [26] while The LA Times named it "a dysfunctional family comedy you can believe in".[27] Similarly positive reviews came from The New York Post ("hell yeah")[28] and The Daily Beast, which called it "really goddamn funny" and "the sort of laughs-at-any-cost sitcom rarely made in the UK these days".[29]

Accolades

In February 2024, the series was nominated at the Broadcast Awards in the Best Comedy Programme category.[30] In March 2025, O'Flynn was nominated at the 2025 British Academy Television Awards in the Best Female Performance in a Comedy category.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Everyone Else Burns". Comedy.co.uk. Archived 24 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Watch Everyone Else Burns | Stream free on Channel 4". Channel 4. Archived 4 October 2024 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ Ryness, Mira & Salahi, Can (2022-05-05). "Channel 4 Commissions New Apocalyptic Comedy 'Everyone Else Burns', Starring Simon Bird". Chamnel4.com. Archived 2022-06-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
  4. ^ Chilton, Louis & Bird, Simon (2023-01-23). "'What's below beta male? That's where I am': Simon Bird on his Christian sect sitcom and The Inbetweeners' mixed legacy". The Independent
  5. ^ "Everyone Else Burns Renewed for Second Series on Channel 4". TV Zone. 2023-05-02. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  6. ^ Harp, Justin (2024-04-24). "Fleabag star joins Channel 4 series with The Inbetweeners' Simon Bird". Digital Spy. Archived 2024-04-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-04-25.
  7. ^ Maidment, Adam (2024-04-08). "Stars seen filming new series of popular sitcom in Greater Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2024-04-10.
  8. ^ Cary, James (2023-01-31). "Everyone Else Burns: This apocalyptic comedy might offend, but it raises important questions for Christians". Premier Christianity. Retrieved 2025-12-08.
  9. ^ "Everyone Else Burns release date, cast and latest news". Radio Times. Archived 24 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  10. ^ Corus Entertainment (April 13, 2023). "THIS SUMMER, SOAK UP SHOWCASE AND W NETWORK'S REFRESHING SLATE OF COOL NEW SERIES AND RETURNING FAN FAVOURITES". Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  11. ^ Porter, Rick (May 18, 2023). "The CW Sets Acquisition-Heavy 2023-24 Schedule". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived 18 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  12. ^ Iannucci, Rebecca (November 16, 2023). "Acquired Series Run the Burbs and Everyone Else Burns Pulled From The CW's Schedule". TVLine. Archived 18 November 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  13. ^ White, Peter & Campione, Katie (February 15, 2024). "The CW Wants To Rival The Broadcast Networks But Brad Schwartz Needs To Find His Next Hit First". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  14. ^ Quinn, Karl (5 December 2023). "The comedy designed to put the fear of God in you". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived 16 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 March 2024. SBS On Demand from December 7, SBS Viceland from January 29 at 9:25pm
  15. ^ Price, Stephen (4 April 2023). "Light In The Hall shines for Channel 4". Broadcast. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  16. ^ Price, Stephen (4 October 2023). "Kemp and Dyer battle it out on Channel 5". Broadcast. Retrieved 17 October 2024. The first of C4’s three 10pm original comedies so far in 2023 was Everyone Else Burns, which opened on 23 January with 1.3 million/10%, rising to 1.4 million, including 96,000 on devices.
  17. ^ "In brief: Film & TV Charity; Everyone Else Burns; AIB". Broadcast. 18 May 2023. Archived 19 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 17 October 2024. Penned by Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor, the show is reportedly returning for a second series after becoming the biggest comedy launch since Derry Girls on Channel 4’s streaming service.
  18. ^ "Everyone Else Burns: Season 1 | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Archived 20 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  19. ^ Singh, Anita (23 January 2023). "Everyone Else Burns, review: your prayers for a new bingeworthy British sitcom have been answered". The Telegraph
  20. ^ "Everyone Else Burns review – a comedy to become religiously devoted to". The Guardian. 23 January 2023.
  21. ^ Midgley, Carol. "Everyone Else Burns review — a warm, witty send-up of religion's hypocrisies". The Times
  22. ^ Sigee, Rachael (2023-01-23). "Armageddon comedy Everyone Else Burns is funny as hell". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  23. ^ Jessop, Vicky (2023-01-23). "Everyone Else Burns review – who knew eternal damnation could be this fun?". The Standard. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  24. ^ Berman, Judy (2023-10-25). "'Everyone Else Burns' Is the Funniest Network Sitcom in Ages". TIME. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  25. ^ "Watching: Apocalyptic angst and alien abductions". static.nytimes.com. Archived 20 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  26. ^ Fienberg, Daniel (2023-10-26). "‘Everyone Else Burns’ Review: The CW’s British Comedy Laces Doomsday Cringe With Sweetness as Well as Snark". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  27. ^ "Review: 'Everyone Else Burns' is a dysfunctional family comedy you can believe in". Los Angeles Times. 2023-10-25. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  28. ^ Starr, Michael (2023-10-23). "'Everyone Else Burns' in new CW comedy". Archived 20 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  29. ^ "‘Everyone Else Burns’ Review: A Hilarious New British ‘Cult’ Comedy". The Daily Beast. 2023-10-19. Archived 20 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-10-25.
  30. ^ "Black Ops wins at Broadcast Awards 2024". Comedy.co.uk. 9 February 2024. Archived 9 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  31. ^ "Bafta TV awards 2025 nominations: full list". The Guardian. 27 March 2025. Retrieved 27 March 2025.