Screw (TV series)

Screw is a British prison drama series starring Nina Sosanya and Jamie-Lee O'Donnell. The series was produced by STV Studios and first broadcast on Channel 4 on 6 January 2022. The second series was released on 30 August 2023. On 4 February 2024, it was announced by Ben Tavassoli that Channel 4 had cancelled the series.^[1][2]

Screw
Genre	Drama
Created by	Rob Williams
Starring	Nina Sosanya Jamie-Lee O'Donnell Faraz Ayub Laura Checkley
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	12 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Rob Williams Sarah Brown
Producer	Brian Kaczynski
Production company	STV Studios
Original release
Network	Channel 4
Release	6 January 2022 (2022-01-06) – 14 September 2023 (2023-09-14)

Plot

Series 1 follows two prison officers and their colleagues, working in C-Wing of men's prison, Long Marsh. Leigh Henry struggles to maintain control of her wing. New recruit Rose Gill arrives and is soon caught up in a gun smuggling operation in order to save her brother from a ruthless gang to whom he owes a drug debt.

Series 2 continues in the aftermath of the dramatic events at the end of the first series. Officer Henry learns that an undercover police officer has been placed on the wing. But who is it? And why are they there?

Cast

• Jamie-Lee O'Donnell as Rose Gill
• Nina Sosanya as Leigh Henry
• Faraz Ayub as Ali Shah
• Laura Checkley as Jackie Stokes
• Stephen Wight as Gary Campbell
• Ron Donachie as Don Carpenter
• Bill Blackwood as Tony Tanner
• Mark Newsome as Streaky
• Jake Davies as Stephen Childs
• Nicholas Lumley as Larry
• Ben Tavassoli as Louis Costa
• Jorden Myrie as Raheem Bennett
• Jack McMullen as Connor Joyce

Production

The series was inspired by creator Rob Williams's work with prisons. Kelvin Hall film studio, Glasgow and Peterhead Prison in Scotland were used as the filming locations.^[3]

Episodes

Series	Episodes		Originally released		Average viewership (in millions)
			First released	Last released
1	6		6 January 2022 (2022-01-06)	10 February 2022 (2022-02-10)	2.87
2	6		30 August 2023 (2023-08-30)	14 September 2023 (2023-09-14)	TBA

Series 1 (2022)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	UK viewers (millions)
1	"Episode 1"	Tom Vaughan	Rob Williams	6 January 2022 (2022-01-06)	4.03
2	"Episode 2"	Tom Vaughan	Rob Williams	13 January 2022 (2022-01-13)	2.94
3	"Episode 3"	Tom Vaughan	Rob Williams	20 January 2022 (2022-01-20)	2.84
4	"Episode 4"	Jordan Hogg	Karla Crome	27 January 2022 (2022-01-27)	2.61
5	"Episode 5"	Jordan Hogg	Roanne Bardsley	3 February 2022 (2022-02-03)	2.44
6	"Episode 6"	Jordan Hogg	Rob Williams	10 February 2022 (2022-02-10)	2.36

Series 2 (2023)

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date	UK viewers (millions)
1	"Episode 1"	Tom Vaughan	Rob Williams	30 August 2023 (2023-08-30)	N/A
2	"Episode 2"	Tom Vaughan	Rob Williams	31 August 2023 (2023-08-31)	N/A
3	"Episode 3"	Tom Vaughan	Rob Williams	6 September 2023 (2023-09-06)	N/A
4	"Episode 4"	Rebecca Rycroft	Roanne Bardsley	7 September 2023 (2023-09-07)	N/A
5	"Episode 5"	Rebecca Rycroft	Ciara Conway	13 September 2023 (2023-09-13)	N/A
6	"Episode 6"	Rebecca Rycroft	Rob Williams	14 September 2023 (2023-09-14)	N/A

Release

Screw was first broadcast on Channel 4 on 6 January 2022.^[4][5][6]

The second series went to air on 30 August 2023.^[7]

Reception

Rebecca Nicholson for The Guardian gave it four out of five and said: "(Screw) settles somewhere between soap and Sunday night blockbuster, and I mean that as a compliment. This is broad and warm and welcoming, with enough of a sharp side to make it worth sticking with."^[8] The Times also gave it four out of five and praised the use of humour.^[9]

References

1. Tavassoli, Ben (4 February 2024). ""unfortunate news that this is where our journey ends for Screw. want to thank you guys so much for tuning in. All your kind words went a long way. love everyone who was part of the show, very lucky to have made dear friends for life"". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
2. Scott, Ella (5 February 2024). "Channel 4 fans fume 'it's a shame' as prison drama axed after just two series". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
3. "Meet the cast of Channel 4 prison drama Screw". Radio Times. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
4. Cormack, Morgan (10 December 2021). "Channel 4's Screw: new trailer for tense new prison drama". Stylist. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
5. "Channel 4 Announces New 6-Part Drama Series: Screw". Channel 4. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
6. Creamer, Jon (27 August 2020). "C4 orders prison drama from STV and Victim writer Williams". Televisual. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
7. Buglass, Lucy (21 July 2022). "Screw season 2: release date, cast, plot and everything we know". whattowatch.com. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
8. "Screw review – a warm, witty welcome to hell!". the Guardian. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
9. Midgley, Carol. "Screw review — humour behind bars, but this is no Porridge 2".

External links

• Screw on All 4
• Screw at IMDb