Upstart Crow

Satirical Blackadderesque sitcom about how friends, family, historical circumstances, and his arch-rival Robert Greene, who first coined the derogatory term "upstart crow", influenced William Shakespeare to write his famous plays.

Genre: Comedy, History

Cast:David Mitchell , Gemma Whelan , Rob Rouse , Liza Tarbuck , Tim Downie , Paula Wilcox , Harry Enfield , Helen Monks , Mark Heap , Steve Speirs , Dominic Coleman , Spencer Jones , Rosanna Beacock , Joe Willis , Jocelyn Jee Esien , Montserrat Lombard , Adam Harley , Tom Edden

1Season 1

S1.E1 ∙ Star Crossed Lovers

Mon, May 9, 2016

Will is struggling to find inspiration for Romeo while also having to cope with an angry actor, an extremely annoying house-guest and with his family's not very helpful script suggestions.

2Season 1

S1.E2 ∙ The Play's the Thing

Mon, May 16, 2016

When Will's controversial new play goes missing the finger of blame points towards his friend Marlowe. Can Will come up with a way to recover it and given its politically sensitive content is that wise?

3Season 1

S1.E3 ∙ The Apparel Proclaims the Man

Mon, May 23, 2016

An invitation to Lord Southampton's party offers Will the chance to move up in the world. But what should a poorly-educated country boy wear to such an event? And are Greene's fashion tips a ruse?

4Season 1

S1.E4 ∙ Love Is Not Love

Mon, May 30, 2016

After completing his final sonnet, Will believes that literary immortality may be just around the corner. However, Anne may be unimpressed that the poems do not contain much about her.

5Season 1

S1.E5 ∙ What Bloody Man Is That?

Mon, Jun 6, 2016

An outbreak of the plague in London prompts Will and his friends to flee to Stratford, but on the journey north he meets three witches who make some strange predictions about his future.

6Season 1

S1.E6 ∙ The Quality of Mercy

Mon, Jun 13, 2016

Investing in cargoes from the New World proves profitable, but while Marlowe invests in tobacco and potatoes Will would rather invest in a new theatre forcing him to make a strange deal with Greene.

1Season 2

S2.E1 ∙ The Green-Eyed Monster

Mon, Sep 11, 2017

Will is desperate to make a good impression with the College of Heralds so that he can finally get a coat of arms. Befriending a dashing African prince by the name of Otello may provide Will with the means to climb the social ladder.

2Season 2

S2.E2 ∙ I Know Thee Not, Old Man

Mon, Sep 11, 2017

Will is off to Stratford to get some writing done, but a visit from his terrifying old schoolteacher stirs up awful memories of the classroom. Marlowe and Greene are hunting for a Catholic spy.

3Season 2

S2.E3 ∙ I Did Adore a Twinkling Star

Mon, Sep 11, 2017

Will is tricked by his nemesis Robert Greene into writing a blood-soaked tragedy for a nobleman who only likes exotic romances. Will needs to write a new play and quickly. Kate is teaching Italian to Marlowe.

4Season 2

S2.E4 ∙ Food of Love

Mon, Sep 11, 2017

Will is upset when everyone tells him that his new play is too far-fetched, so he decides to turn it into the first ever musical using the songs of Tudor music legend Thomas Morley.

5Season 2

S2.E5 ∙ Beware My Sting!

Mon, Sep 11, 2017

Will is thrilled with his new play about a bright, strong-headed young woman crushed into submission by the man in her life, Kate and Anne less so. Will decides to test the theme of the play out on his stroppy daughter.

6Season 2

S2.E6 ∙ Sweet Sorrow

Mon, Sep 11, 2017

Will has finally finished writing Romeo and Juliet and the only problem now is who will play the young lovers. Burbage and Condell naturally see themselves as the leads, how to tell them they no longer pass muster?

7Season 2

S2.E7 ∙ A Christmas Crow

Mon, Dec 25, 2017

As Christmas approaches Will is in London rehearsing his new play 'Eighth Night' for the queen and is surprised that the usually hostile Greene is giving out presents, claiming it is because he is lonely and wants to cheer others. A sympathetic Will invites him, along with Kate and Kit, to join his family for the festivities but Greene has a sinister motive - to steal the present Will has bought for the queen, thereby ruining his career. Fortunately Anne has an idea to save her husband.

1Season 3

S3.E1 ∙ Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be!

Wed, Aug 29, 2018

Will needs inspiration for his new play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Meanwhile, how can he get hold of some love potion, and where is Bottom going to put that stuffed donkey head?

2Season 3

S3.E2 ∙ Wild Laughter in the Throat of Death

Wed, Sep 5, 2018

After the success of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Will is urged to write another comedy and is annoyed when his friends find his new project 'Hamlet' to be hilarious. He is also angered when Greene excludes him from a proposed literary salon but this proves to be a cover for killing Kit. To save him Will agrees to help him feign his death, using the plot of 'Hamlet' whilst events inadvertently inspire 'Love's Labours Licked'.

3Season 3

S3.E3 ∙ If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed?

Wed, Sep 12, 2018

Sheltering Kit, who has feigned his own death, Will is interrupted in writing 'The Merchant of Venice' by Kate, who has been on a rally to protest against the anti-immigration riots. Taking his lead from her Will decides that the money-lender in his new play should be a sympathetic Jew and soulful actor Wolf Hall is cast in the role. However, due to Greene's connivance, he does not last long in the role which reverts to caricature.

4Season 3

S3.E4 ∙ Sigh No More

Wed, Sep 19, 2018

Will is in Stratford with his London friends when Susanna is invited to a masked ball. Too shy to approach the boy she fancies, Claude, she lets Kate take her place but things do not go as planned. So Will hatches a plan to make amends as well as dissuading his son Hamnet from enlisting and trying to match-make Kate and Kit though it all proves to be much ado about nothing.

5Season 3

S3.E5 ∙ The Most Unkindest Cut of All

Wed, Sep 26, 2018

Will's attempt to fire one of his regular players for being too old, Kate's wish to marry a special kind of guy with both male and female qualities, and Greene's plan to arrest Will for treason mimic Will's new play "Julius Caesar."

6Season 3

S3.E6 ∙ Go On and I Will Follow

Wed, Oct 3, 2018

Will invites a woman he desires to the theatrical Academy Awards instead of his wife to witness his "triumph." Later, a sudden family tragedy makes him question his atheism. The day ends with a somber quote from his play "King John."

7Season 3

S3.E7 ∙ A Crow Christmas Carol

Tue, Dec 25, 2018

Still dealing with grief after his tragic loss, Will gets inspired by a ghostly traveler to use his setup for Christmas Carol to save Green's soul for Christmas by making him face his past, present and future with the help of his troupe.

1Season 4

S4.E1 ∙ Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow: A Lockdown Christmas 1603

Mon, Dec 21, 2020

Stuck in the run-up to Christmas during the fifteenth wave of enforced confinement due to an outbreak of plague, Kate is filling the endless time with baking, painting and DIY haircuts while Will is trying to write a new classic for the new King. Can Will come up with the perfect play? And, far from their loved ones in the festive period, can the pair find ways to make merry?