{"id":840777,"date":"2026-09-08T16:46:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T16:46:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/840777\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T16:46:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T16:46:14","slug":"mackenzie-crooks-acclaimed-comedy-small-prophets-returns-to-bbc-for-series-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/840777\/","title":{"rendered":"Mackenzie Crooks\u2019 acclaimed comedy Small Prophets returns to BBC for series two"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mackenzie Crook<\/a>\u2019s hit BBC comedy Small Prophets<\/a> has been commissioned for a second series.<\/p>\n

It will also shift from BBC Two to BBC One.<\/p>\n

The upcoming run will see Crook, who wrote, directed, and stars in the series, return alongside co-stars Sir Michael Palin<\/a>, Pearce Quigley and Lauren Patel.<\/p>\n

Set and filmed in and around Manchester, the fantasy comedy stands as the BBC\u2019s top-performing new comedy series of the year. <\/p>\n

The first series averaged 6.3 million viewers over 28 days, driven predominantly by iPlayer, which accounted for 82 per cent of viewing (5.2 million). <\/p>\n

\"MackenzieMackenzie Crook as Gordon in Small Prophets (BBC)<\/p>\n

It has also received widespread critical acclaim, with The Guardian and The Times both awarding the first series five stars.<\/p>\n

The Independent\u2019s Nick Hilton called the series a \u201csuperb\u201d follow-up<\/a> to Crooks\u2019 earlier series Detectorists, describing it as \u201cfunny, strange, and surprisingly accessible\u201d.<\/p>\n

The storyline centres on the solitary life of DIY shop employee Michael Sleep (Quigley), who holds out hope for the return of his partner Clea, who has been missing for seven years. <\/p>\n

When his father Brian (Palin) hands him an old recipe to make homunculi, Sleep joins forces with co-worker Kacey (Patel) to conjure tiny, magical spirits which are capable of foretelling the future.<\/p>\n

\"PearcePearce Quigley plays Michael Sleep in the hit comedy (BBC)<\/p>\n

A quiet camaraderie grows between the pair, united by a mutual frustration with shop manager Gordon (Crook). Meanwhile, neighbours Bev (Sophie Willan) and Clive (Jon Pointing) are desperate to discover what is happening in Sleep\u2019s garden shed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to have the opportunity to tell the second half of this strange story and as intrigued as anyone else to find out what happens to Michael Sleep in his mystical quest,\u201d Crook said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prophets have foretold that series two will be happening next year and, as we know, they are compelled to speak the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emma Lawson, the BBC\u2019s interim director of comedy, said that the broadcaster was \u201cbeyond delighted\u201d to be bringing Small Prophets back for a second series.<\/p>\n

\u201cMackenzie has created a world packed with wonder, magic and unforgettable characters which feels completely unlike anything else on television and we can\u2019t wait to see where the story takes us next.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":840778,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[88,92],"class_list":["post-840777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=840777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/840777\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/840778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=840777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=840777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=840777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}