Slam Film’s ‘tech-farce’ HANG UPS aired Autumn 2019 and premiered on the HULU platform in the US in August 2019 to widespread critical acclaim. It is currently available to view on All 4, Channel 4’s On Demand platform. The series has sold to numerous countries including Canada (CBC), Australia, New Zealand (TVNZ), Ghana and will be coming to the HULU platform in the US this Autumn.
Written by Robert Delamere and Stephen Mangan, who also stars, Hang Ups is an unconventional comedy about an unconventional therapist trying to keep his unconventional life, and patients, from falling apart.
Stephen Mangan (Episodes, Green Wing, Dirk Gently) stars as Dr. Richard Pitt, a therapist with a chequered professional career, who finds himself at a crossroads in life – a crossroads precipitated by the startling realisation that his life appears to be falling apart at the seams….
After the collapse of his previous group therapy practice, Richard is no longer able to conduct the traditional 50-minute sessions most therapists have with their patients. Instead, he’s developed a new form of therapy –weekly quick-fire sessions with his patients which take place online, through a webcam. The few patients on his list present a hilarious and outrageous catalogue of neuroses, phobias, issues, anxieties and psychopathies, but even these short sessions, where he’s confronted by everything from the sublime to the ridiculous, are not his greatest challenge... His patience and temperament are stretched to their limit by the daily interruptions of a demanding extended family, errant teenagers and his own trouble-filled past...
Hang Ups (6 X 30) is a farcical, dark and perceptive comedy about a man trying to help other people keep their shit together while his own inexorably falls apart. Heavily improvised, each of Dr. Pitt’s therapy sessions are startling, unpredictable, discomfiting and hilarious.
Hang Ups, with pathos and humour, presents a family and a society that have the opportunity to be more connected than ever before, but who in reality find themselves utterly disconnected. Time poor and technology rich, self-obsessed and neurotic, image-conscious but insecure, the world is full of hang ups and is it any wonder why…?
Stephen Mangan, co-writer and star says: “People are complex and complicated and they lead messy, knotty lives. We’ve tried to put some of that all-too-familiar turmoil onscreen and the result, I think, is chaotic, glorious and disturbing.”
Fiona McDermott, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, says: “Stephen Mangan and Robert Delamere have achieved the almost impossible task of creating a brilliantly farcical show that is at heart a family sitcom. An ambitious, modern comedy, Hang Ups is a timely, inventive and very funny exploration of the ridiculous pile up of challenges we call modern life.”
Adapted from the Emmy-nominated series Web Therapy created by Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky and Don Roos, the series will begin filming later this year and will air on Channel 4 in 2018.
The series is commissioned by Fiona McDermott, Head of Comedy at Channel 4. Rachel Springett is Commissioning Editor for Channel 4. The series will be produced by Slam Films. Kevin Loader and Stephen Mangan will serve as Executive Producers, Producer is Louise Delamere and the Series Director is Robert Delamere.
FremantleMedia International signed a development deal with SLAM in 2016 and will distribute Hang Ups internationally.
CAST INCLUDES: Richard Pitt (STEPHEN MANGAN), Karen Muller (KATHERINE PARKINSON), Abs Walters (JOHN MACMILLAN), Pete Thompson (KARL THEOBALD), Issy Pitt (BEBE CAVE), Ricky Pitt (FIONN O'SHEA), James Sterndale (LIAM CUNNINGHAM), Neil Quinn (STEVE ORAM), Celia Caine (ALICE LOWE) Leonard Conrad (RICHARD E. GRANT), Katherine Pitt (JESSICA HYNES), Maggie Pitt (CELIA IMRIE), Martin Lamb (DAVID TENNANT), Jose Duran (JAVIER MARZAN), Nathan Slater (HARRY LLOYD), Jeremy Pitt (CHARLES DANCE), Paulie Jones (JASON LANGLEY), Dr Saanvi Mandal (MAYA SONDHI), Fiona Bellingham (SARAH HADLAND), Alison Jones (MONICA DOLAN), Terry Sparkes (KEVIN ELDON), Zahra Alsaadi (ANJANA VASAN), Ryan Metha (ARSHER ALI)
Brilliant new comedy, up there with the best.
Closer Magazine
‘A superb therapy comedy to keep you on the couch.’
‘A wonderfully ribald treat.’
Hang Ups, episode 1 review: real therapists will roll ...
★★★★★
The Daily Telegraph
‘A very funny wake-up call.’
‘Hang Ups stands out for its satirical attack on modernity which is at times all too real.’
‘Hang Ups addresses tough issues in the most British way possible, with humour and it really works. The show is light-hearted, hilarious and is the best TV therapy after a long day.’
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1001283/hang-ups-channel4-episode-1-review-stephen-mangan-david-tennant-richard-e-grant
★★★★★
The Daily Express
‘HANG UPS, this improv comedy is glorious TV therapy.’
‘HANG UPS…the rarest of TV feats: a UK adaptation that’s every bit as good as the US original.’
‘These brilliant improvised performances bring such a spontaneous authenticity that it’s easy to forget you are not spying on a real session. It is also often hilarious.’
‘A rare example of the UK successfully taking on a US hit…HANG UP’s has quality running throughout.’
★★★★
The Guardian
‘Pick of the week. This fast-paced and funny new series.’
Hang Ups review – Stephen Mangan improv comedy is glorious TV ...
The Guardian Guide
‘A hysterical take on the perils of the talking cure.’
‘Only part-scripted, the improvisation makes for real and convincing dialogue.’
★★★★
The Independent
‘Laugh-out loud character comedy. Pick of the week.‘
The Times
‘Critic’s Choice…If good comedies are built on crisis and desperation, Hang Ups should turn out to be a very good one.’
‘Overall, it makes for an odd mix of personal pain, queasy gross-out moments and laugh- out-loud character comedy. A madhouse, you could say.’
Saturday Times
‘HANG UPS is an absolute treat: laugh-out-loud funny, fast-paced, clever, engaging, and utterly relatable, especially if you’re the jam in the sandwich generation analogy.’
http://www.edp24.co.uk//going-out/hang-ups-tv-review-stephen-mangan-richard-e-grant-charles-dance-1-5645320?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social_Icon&utm_campaign=in_article_social_icons
EPD24
‘Hilarious Hang Ups.’
Saturday Express
‘Funny…a brisk little screen-shot of modern unwellness.’
‘Pick of the week…the ensemble is superb.’
The Sunday Times
‘Moments of brilliance and moments of breakdown.’
‘But with endless scope for celeb cameos, with the likes of David Tennant, Jo Joyner and Paul Ritter still to come, there’s plenty of potential.’
‘Lying back on my couch, if I was asked: “And how did it make you feel?”, I think I’d need a second appointment.’
https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-reviews/channel-4s-hang-ups-coupled-13068086
Sunday Mirror
‘Stephen Mangan’s hilarious show…witty, intelligent, a riot. Do not miss this.’
The Observer
‘An all-star cast, characters you care about and dark laughs aplenty, you couldn’t ask for more.’
‘A new dark and very funny six-part sitcom…with a glorious stream of recognisable faces.’
Sunday Mirror
‘Densely layered and ambitious…one of the best comedies in ages.’
‘A dazzling array of guest stars.’
★★★★
Heat
‘The results were comedy gold.’
‘Viewers of Channel 4 comedy Hang Ups are raving about the show's impressive cast – ‘Undoubtedly the best comedy in ages."
‘a variety of eccentric and hilarious clients.’
http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/news/a863484/channel-4-comedy-hang-ups-cast-stephen-mangan/
Digital Spy
‘HANG UPS is a doubly illicit pleasure, appealing to both voyeurs and exhibitionists alike, which – let’s face it – is everybody these days.’
‘Mangan and Delamere really flaunt their pulling power. Celebrities pullulate across the screen in whip-smart cameos.’
‘If the jokes are just the right side of inappropriate, so is the form. As faces peer right into yours, you can feel a little like one of Richard’s patients yourself. But the stronger sensation, in these paranoid times, is to feel more like a hacker, intercepting these private communications, fears and fantasies of others.’
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio-web/new-comedy-cup-your-genitals-and-just-hold-them-1.3590719?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
The Irish Times
‘Brilliant new comedy…featuring a glittering cast.’
‘It doesn’t sound like comedy gold. But In the hands of Stephen Mangan and
his all-star cast, that’s exactly what it is.’
‘the fast-paced scripts deliver entertainment aplenty but also a thought-provoking reminder of what lies below the surface of our fragile sheen of sanity. Well, they do say that laughter is the best medicine. ‘
‘smart writing and a deftly light touch make it a delightfully easy slice of entertainment, not least because of the many A-list cameos.’
★★★★
The Mail On Sunday
‘The casting is dazzlingly good and there are some smashing one-liners. It’s worth booking in for another session.’
Financial Times
‘Stephen Mangan leads a star-studded cast in this fresh new comedy.’
Daily Star
‘Pick of the day…an astonishingly starry cast of cameos.’
★★★★
Daily Mail
‘The joy of Hang Ups is that it moves as fast as a sketch show.’
‘Fresh from Episodes, Mangan looks like having another hit on his hands, and I have high hopes, given his character’s slippery ways, of seeing a darker side to him emerge.’
The Sunday Herald
‘A dazzling new comedy with some amazing guest stars.’
Now Magazine
‘Brilliant new comedy, up there with the best.’
Closer Magazine
‘There are laugh-out-loud moments galore.’
‘Full of sharp jokes and wry observations.
The Sun