Fresh Meat (TV series)

Fresh Meat
Genre	Comedy-drama
Written by	Jesse Armstrong Sam Bain Penny Skinner Tony Roche
Starring	Zawe Ashton Greg McHugh Kimberley Nixon Charlotte Ritchie Joe Thomas Jack Whitehall
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	1
No. of episodes	8
Production
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	40 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Channel 4
Picture format	PAL HDTV (1080i)
Audio format	Stereo
Original run	21 September 2011 (2011-09-21) – present
External links
Website

Fresh Meat is a British sitcom created by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, who also created Peep Show. The first episode was broadcast on Channel 4 on 21 September 2011.^[1] It airs on Channel 4 on Wednesdays at 10pm. Fresh Meat marks the acting debut of comedian Jack Whitehall and also stars Kimberley Nixon of Cranford and Joe Thomas of The Inbetweeners.^[2]

Channel 4 describes the show as a comedy drama.^[1]

Plot

The show revolves around the lives of six students who are freshers (with the exception of Howard) at the fictional Manchester Medlock University. They live in a shared house off-campus rather than university halls of residence.

Production

Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain created Fresh Meat's characters and wrote the first episode; subsequent episodes were written by other writers. Bain has explained the reasons for this approach: "We always imagined this as a team-written show partly for practical reasons because Peep Show has been recommissioned, and moving forward if we're lucky enough to get another series of Fresh Meat we simply couldn't write two shows at once. So we always knew we wanted to bring other writers on board, some are more experienced, some very talented women writers, and one who had just graduated when we started writing."^[3]

Fresh Meat is produced by Liverpool-based Lime Pictures and London-based Objective Productions. The programme was filmed at The Sharp Project in Manchester, a recently built £16.5m studio facility to fill the void when Granada Studios closes in 2013.^[4] The programme is also set in Manchester,^[5] specifically at the fictional Manchester Medlock University.

Channel 4 have announced that a second series has been commissioned.^[6] The second series will begin filming in May 2012, set to return to screens in the following September.

Main Characters

• Zawe Ashton as Vod (real name Violet), literature student
• Greg McHugh as Howard, geology student
• Kimberley Nixon as Josie, dentistry student
• Charlotte Ritchie as Oregon (real name Melissa), literature student
• Joe Thomas as Kingsley, geology/drama student
• Jack Whitehall as JP (real name Jonathan), geology student

Other Characters

• Tony Gardner as Professor Tony Shales
• Sara Stewart as Professor Jean Shales
• Emma Rigby as Rachel, student
• Gemma Chan as Ruth, drama student
• Robert Webb as Dan, geology lecturer
• Ben McGregor as Dave, Josie's boyfriend/fiance
• Adam Gillen as Brian, geology student
• Paul Lamb, unseen housemate

Episode list

№	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.K. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Episode 1"	David Kerr	Jesse Armstrong & Sam Bain	21 September 2011 (2011-09-21)	1.69[7]
Five new students arrive at Manchester Medlock University to share a house. The girls are the sweet-natured Josie, streetwise and forthright Vod, and Oregon, who is anxious to appear cool. The boys are JP, an ex-Stowe public schoolboy who failed to get into a 'proper' university and tends to look down on people, and kind-hearted Kingsley, off the leash at last after years of caring for his sick mother. Already in residence is Howard, a Scotsman of indeterminate age who seems to have lived at the house longer than a second-year student should. At the pub Kingsley thinks he has scored with Rachel (Emma Rigby), only to discover that she is recruiting for a Christian group. In fact Josie is attracted to him but somehow ends up in bed with JP. Once the term has started Oregon loses no time in arguing with her English tutor Professor Shales, though somehow Vod seems to have claimed ownership of her essay. Howard is happy that he now has some friends and is no longer a social outcast.
2	2	"Episode 2"	David Kerrr	Tony Roche	28 September 2011 (2011-09-28)	1.33[8]
Josie catches JP putting his weights in the room occupied by unseen housemate Paul, and tells him she regrets that they slept together. The housemates realise they are in 'social Siberia' so they decide to throw a party, spearheaded by Josie in the hope that she and Kingsley will get together – a plan scuppered when her long-term boyfriend Dave turns up unexpectedly. JP unsuccessfully tries to impress two of his old schoolmates by inviting them to the party, where he gets stoned and then finds Paul throwing his weights out of the window. Vod gets Howard to pose as her boyfriend to get rid of someone she accidentally kissed in the pub, and Oregon's attempts at cultivating an 'alternative' image are dented by the revelation that she has a car. Geology lecturer Dan's attempts to fit in at the party culminate in him embarrassing himself by throwing up and falling over.
3	3	"Episode 3"	David Kerr	Penelope Skinner	5 October 2011 (2011-10-05)	1.13[9]
After an encounter with seductive drama student Ruth, Kingsley switches to her course, upsetting Dan in the process. Josie enrols everyone in a charity dating scheme but her own date does not turn up, which she later discovers was because he recently died. JP falls asleep whilst having sex with his date and a misunderstanding leads him to worry that he raped her, and Vod and Howard's charity date at an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant ends badly when Howard's 'beat the buffet' tactics backfire. Prof. Shales invites Oregon to his house, supposedly to do his cleaning – Vod warns her not to get romantically involved with him, but Oregon ends up embarking on a secret affair with him anyway. Kingsley's frustration at not being able to get close to Josie inspires his performance piece on his new course.
4	4	"Episode 4"	Nick Wood	Keith Akushie and Penelope Skinner	12 October 2011 (2011-10-12)	1.20[10]
As the housemates are drinking and revealing how they lost their virginity, Kingsley shocks everyone with a far-fetched story about losing his virginity aged 12. He later admits to Josie that it was made up and that he is still a virgin, which she tells Vod and Oregon despite promising not to. When Kingsley finds out, Josie offers to make it up to him by taking his virginity (as she plans to break up with Dave), much to Kingsley's delight. Oregon and Prof. Shales' affair becomes strained when he books them into a hotel but says he will not be able to stay the night, and Vod finds herself actually enjoying writing an essay after Oregon refuses to let her copy her work anymore. Before Kingsley can meet up with Josie for their planned encounter, he ends up sleeping with Ruth, whilst Josie fails to break up with Dave. Neither of them confesses to the other, and they sleep together as planned. JP continues to try and impress his old schoolfriends by obtaining drugs for them, using Howard as a 'wingman'. They continue to shun him and he returns to the house depressed, only to be amused by the discovery that Kingsley has only just lost his virginity.
5	5	"Episode 5"	Nick Wood	Richard Pinto	19 October 2011 (2011-10-19)	1.20[11]
The housemates go to a student protest march in London, with JP planning to use the demo as a free trip to meet up with his friends in a bar. At the demo, Kingsley gets kettled with both Ruth and Josie and the truth about him losing his virginity is revealed, leading him to fall out with both girls. Vod is furious when she finds out about Oregon and Prof. Shales' affair, and Oregon promises to end it – but she finds herself unable to, and she and Shales sleep together again, although she tells Vod she broke it off. Meanwhile, JP ends up being dragged back to the coach by the police after getting carried away at the demo, and Howard spends the trip bonding with his new friend Brian.
6	6	"Episode 6"	Nick Wood	Rose Heiney and Tony Roche	26 October 2011 (2011-10-26)	0.93[12]
JP is devastated when his emotionally distant father tells him that he recently suffered a heart attack, and Oregon learns that her childhood horse is dying. Vod accidentally overdoses and is taken to hospital where she is told she should enter rehab, but JP talks her into going back to the house instead. JP, Oregon and Vod decide to take acid, but before the girls can take their tabs JP gets a call saying that his father has had another heart attack and that JP needs to return home. As Oregon and Vod are driving JP home whilst he is high on acid, Oregon's mother calls to say her horse is fading fast. They make a detour to her house where Vod is shocked by Oregon's privileged background, and that her name is in fact Melissa. An emotional JP sits with the horse and projects his feelings about his dying father onto it. By the time they reach JP's house his father has died. Meanwhile, Josie accepts a marriage proposal from Dave, and competes with Kingsley to write an article for the student newspaper – Kingsley's article about Vod's overdose is printed whereas Josie's piece is not. Howard asks Lauren, a girl on his geology course, on a date, but this is sabotaged by his jealous friend Brian, leading Howard to end their friendship.
7	7	"Episode 7"	Annie Griffin	Jon Brown	9 November 2011 (2011-11-09)[13]	0.94[14]
Dave, Josie's new fiancee, has moved into the house, much to Kingsley's dismay. He holds his feelings about it in, but when Dave starts acting like a slob around the house, he eventually complains about it to the rest, who agree. However, after Dave fixes the broken dishwasher, they all take his side over Kingsley's, and when he confronts Josie about it, he has nobody to support him. Josie simply accuses him of being jealous because "you had your chance, and you blew it," but when she grows tired of it herself, she eventually suggests he stay in Cardiff until they marry. Meanwhile, J.P has been seeing a counsellor over his deceased father, and complains about his geology exam, which she works to get him out of. However, after meeting with his lecturer, who discreetly offers him information on the exam (which he has seen), he decides to take it at the normal time. At the same time, Oregon secretly meets with Professor Shales and gets him to bump Vod's grade up, and then has a meeting with his wife, who suspects her husband of having an affair (although she initially believes it was with Vod), and they appear to make friends. And Brian, devastated over Howard's shunning him, tries to get him to take him back, but Howard refuses, and he then embarks on an increasingly psychotic quest to get back at him. Eventually, in the pub later, Brian makes a move on Josie directly in front of Dave, who violently assaults him, and causes him to reveal Josie had sex with Kingsley. Dave storms back to the house to confront Kingsley, and he and J.P. (who also slept with Josie) hide in the bathroom. In the ensuing confrontation, Kingsley reveals all of Josie's infidelity to Dave. The next day, J.P. discovers that his lecturer had lied to him about the exam (because J.P. had bribed and insulted him), and a note to Howard saying that his mother has been arrested sends him fleeing from the exam hall. Later on, as a crying Josie reveals that Dave has ended their relationship, Vod storms in and confronts Oregon, revealing that she has found out how she influenced her grade. She reveals all the details of her secret life at home, and informs her that they are no longer friends. Howard realises that the note he received in the exam had been sent by Brian, and calls him, saying "Well played, Brian. Well played."
8	8	"Episode 8"	Annie Griffin	Tom Basden	16 November 2011 (2011-11-16)
In the final episode, Josie embarks on a 'girl power' booze and sex fest, aided and abetted by Vod, who believes her uni days are well and truly over. JP joins Ralph in organising the Love Cloud club night, only to find that it clashes with his dad's funeral. Meanwhile, Shales has moved into a flat, fully expecting that Oregon will join him. Howard is given the task of keeping an eye on Paul Lamb, who has had a nervous breakdown, which he does by installing spy cameras in his room. Kingsley finally resolves to make a move on Josie at the Love Cloud party, but is he too late?

Reception

Critical reception has been mixed.

The Metro states that "Fresh Meat is proving to be an assured and audacious series".^[15] On the other hand Rachel Cooke in the New Statesman describes herself as only "half amused".^[16]

Michael Deacon of The Daily Telegraph stated "Of Fresh Meat’s six main characters, only one – JP (Jack Whitehall), the swaggering former public school boy – is consistently capable of saying what he means. And even then, you wish he wouldn’t, because he’s horrible." He also criticised the show's material, "Fresh Meat has two types of jokes. One, somebody says or does something embarrassing; two, somebody says or does something cruel. And that’s more or less all you get, again and again, for a drainingly bleak hour." He also compares Fresh Meat to Peep Show, "Peep Show lasts only half an hour, but the other thing that makes it bearable is that it contains a third type of joke: from time to time, the central characters say stuff that is purposely funny. Even if only in their own heads (Peep Show reveals its central characters’ thoughts using voice-over), they make witty comebacks and pithy observations. As a result, we get to laugh with them, rather than just at them. The main characters in Fresh Meat, however, are rarely funny on purpose. Their suffering is unrelieved. Which means the viewer’s suffering is unrelieved, too."^[17]

Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian was more positive. "I'm not sure how Fresh Meat will evolve, but, refreshingly gag-dense as it is, I want it to get existentially darker – for Bain and Armstrong to do for students what they did for twentysomethings in Peep Show. Fresh Meat risks becoming as sparkling as 30 Rock with added gross-out moments, which isn't enough. It should – it must – become a tragi-comic monument to human contemptibility and futility if it is to emulate their best work.^[18]

See also

• List of television programmes set, produced or filmed in Manchester

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Fresh Meat". Channel 4. 2011-09-14. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/fresh-meat. Retrieved 2011-09-07. 
2. ^ "Programme Information". Channel 4. 2011-09-07. http://www.channel4.com/info/press/programme-information/fresh-meat. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
3. ^ "Press pack – Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong". Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/info/press/press-packs/sam-bain-and-jesse-armstrong. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
4. ^ "Lime Pictures to shoot new comedy at Sharp Project". Manchester Evening News. 7 March 2011. http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/business/s/1410157_lime_pictures_to_shoot_new_comedy_at_sharp_project. Retrieved 2011-09-22. 
5. ^ "Fresh Meat - JP". Channel 4. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/fresh-meat/articles/jp. Retrieved 2011-09-22. 
6. ^ "Channel 4's Fresh Meat to return for second series". The Guardian. 25 October 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/25/channel-4-fresh-meat-second-series. Retrieved 25 October 2011. 
7. ^ Millar, Paul. "'The Fades' begins brightly for BBC Three". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a341732/the-fades-begins-brightly-for-bbc-three.html. 
8. ^ "'The Only Way Is Essex' delights 830k in midweek". Digital Spy. 29 September 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s143/the-only-way-is-essex/news/a342913/the-only-way-is-essex-delights-830k-in-midweek.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
9. ^ "'Pride of Britain Awards 2011' scoop 5.6m on ITV1". Digital Spy. 6 October 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a344124/pride-of-britain-awards-2011-scoop-56m-on-itv1.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
10. ^ "'Midsomer Murders' returns with 5.4m on ITV1". Digital Spy. 13 October 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a345370/midsomer-murders-returns-with-54m-on-itv1.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
11. ^ "Monty Python drama grabs 530k on BBC Four". Digital Spy. 20 October 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a346549/monty-python-drama-grabs-530k-on-bbc-four.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
12. ^ "'Frozen Planet' premiere delights 6.8m". Digital Spy. 27 October 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a347801/frozen-planet-premiere-delights-68m.html. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
13. ^ "Fresh Meat Schedule Change". Entertainment Focus. 26 October 2011. http://www.entertainment-focus.com/news/fresh-meat-schedule-change. Retrieved 27 October 2011. 
14. ^ "'The Only Way Is Essex' series finale dazzles almost 1.4m". Digital Spy. 10 November 2011. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/s143/the-only-way-is-essex/news/a350166/the-only-way-is-essex-series-finale-dazzles-almost-14m.html. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
15. ^ "Fresh Meat hit a high note with a sex-fuelled fourth episode". Metro. http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/reviews/878403-fresh-meat-hit-a-high-note-with-a-sex-fuelled-fourth-episode. Retrieved 14 Oct 2011. 
16. ^ "Fresh Meat". The New Statesman. http://www.newstatesman.com/television/2011/09/student-femidom-sex-fresh. Retrieved 14 Oct 2011. 
17. ^ "Fresh Meat, Channel 4, review". The Daily Telegraph. 21 September 2011. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8779795/Fresh-Meat-Channel-4-review.html. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 
18. ^ "Last night's TV: Fresh Meat; The Fades". The Guardian. 22 September 2011. http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/sep/22/last-nights-tv-220911?newsfeed=true. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 

External links

• Fresh Meat at channel4.com
• Fresh Meat at the British Comedy Guide
• Fresh Meat at the Internet Movie Database
• Daily Telegraph interview with Fresh Meat creators Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong