# This Country
**This Country** is a British mockumentary sitcom broadcast on [BBC Three](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-three) from 2017 to 2020, following cousins Kerry and Lee "Kurtan" Mucklowe as they fill their days with petty quarrels, thwarted ambition, and local dramas in a small Cotswold village.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/) • [2](https://www.bafta.org/stories/in-conversation-with-charlie-and-daisy-cooper/) It was created by, written by, and stars real-life siblings [Daisy May Cooper](https://www.edgepedia.org/daisy-may-cooper) and Charlie Cooper, who play the cousins.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Mockumentary sitcom exploring the lives of young people in modern rural Britain[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/) |
| Broadcast | BBC Three, 2017–2020; 19 episodes across 3 series, plus a Comic Relief special[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/) |
| Creators and stars | Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper as cousins Kerry and Lee "Kurtan" Mucklowe[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/) |
| Setting | A fictionalised Cotswold village, based on life around Cirencester, Gloucestershire, where the Coopers grew up[2](https://www.bafta.org/stories/in-conversation-with-charlie-and-daisy-cooper/) • [3](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) |
| Awards | Three BAFTAs and three RTS awards[3](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) |
| Audience reach | Over 52 million iPlayer requests across the three series and The Aftermath special by the end of March 2020[4](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ff49be18fa8f53b7f26d6da/BBC_Group_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2019_20.pdf) |
| Audience score | Highest scoring BBC Three comedy series for under-45s, with a score of 90[5](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/bbcthreepit/bbc-three-pit-submission.pdf) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and characters
The series takes the mockumentary format, a fictional story presented as a documentary with a film crew following its subjects, to explore the lives of young people in modern rural Britain.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/) Kerry Mucklowe (Daisy May Cooper) and her cousin Lee "Kurtan" Mucklowe (Charlie Cooper) live in a close-knit, isolated village where young people are typically stigmatised and marginalised.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/) • [6](https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2017/01/25/26712/chortl.es/4695dvP) The deadpan opening credits set the show up as an exploration of isolated rural youth, and the comedy draws on the cousins' interactions with their community.[2](https://www.bafta.org/stories/in-conversation-with-charlie-and-daisy-cooper/)
The supporting cast includes Paul Chahidi, Trevor Cooper, Michael Sleggs, Ashley McGuire, Celeste Dring, and Paul Cooper.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/) Kerry is described by her creator as tomboyish and asexual, with her unrequited love for her father among the show's emotional threads.[7](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-03-21/this-country-series-2-comedy-hit-creator-interview/)
### Episodes and structure
The show ran for three series of six episodes each, plus a one-off special, *This Country: The Aftermath*, first broadcast on October 10, 2018, which investigates the fallout from Kerry's criminal activity and bridges series 2 and 3.[9](https://thetvdb.com/series/this-country/seasons/official/0) • [10](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/this-country-watch-stream-bbc-iplayer-netflix-amazon/) A Comic Relief special also aired.[1](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/) In the series, the cousins' home village is Northleach in the [Cotswolds](https://www.edgepedia.org/cotswolds).[11](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/this-country/season-2)
## Development
The show emerged slowly. In 2010, after failing to find acting work, RADA-trained Daisy May Cooper began writing a comedy based on life around [Cirencester](https://www.edgepedia.org/cirencester), where she and Charlie had grown up and still lived; Charlie, who had dropped out of a sports science degree, joined her, initially, he claimed, to help with the typing.[3](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) By 2014, working with a production company, they had made a never-broadcast pilot for ITV called *Kerry*, focused on Daisy's character as a working-class tomboy in Cirencester.[3](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) • [6](https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2017/01/25/26712/chortl.es/4695dvP) The ITV experience nearly ended the project: they lost control of their creation, and no one liked it.[3](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials)
Daisy then approached Shane Allen, head of comedy at the BBC, who agreed to give the project a chance.[3](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) Producer Simon Mayhew-Archer pushed for the mockumentary format, and Tom George came on as director for the full series.[8](https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2018/02/this-country-bbc-daisy-charlie-cooper-season-two-interview) The show debuted on BBC Three in February 2017 and went on to find a million-plus audience in its [BBC One](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-one) slot.[2](https://www.bafta.org/stories/in-conversation-with-charlie-and-daisy-cooper/) The pair were named among BAFTA's 2017 cohort of Breakthrough Brits.[2](https://www.bafta.org/stories/in-conversation-with-charlie-and-daisy-cooper/)
## Reception and reach
The series garnered three BAFTAs, three RTS awards, and a large following, and was noted for reaching the under-30 audience that broadcasters seek.[3](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials) In the BBC's annual report for 2019/20, the corporation described the show as portraying a section of society not regularly represented on screen and gaining cult-like status: across the three series and *The Aftermath* special, it had been requested over 52 million times on iPlayer by the end of March, putting it on par with *Fleabag* among BBC Three comedies since the channel went online in 2016.[4](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ff49be18fa8f53b7f26d6da/BBC_Group_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2019_20.pdf) A BBC audience submission reported it as the highest scoring comedy series for under-45s, with a score of 90, and the third highest comedy title among all audiences.[5](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/bbcthreepit/bbc-three-pit-submission.pdf)
## Critical context
Commentators have placed the show within mockumentary's capacity to engage audiences with social themes. *The Sociological Review* cited *This Country* alongside *Summer Heights High* as an example of mockumentary addressing youth inequalities, and described the format as working, in film critic Roger Ebert's phrase, as "an empathy machine" that helps audiences connect with other lives.[12](https://www.thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/august-2021/film-and-television/mockumentary-and-the-sociological-imagination/) The show's comedy draws on details observed in its creators' own lives in [Gloucestershire](https://www.edgepedia.org/gloucestershire).[10](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/this-country-watch-stream-bbc-iplayer-netflix-amazon/)
## References
1. [This Country – British Comedy Guide](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/this_country/)
2. [In conversation with… Charlie and Daisy Cooper – BAFTA](https://www.bafta.org/stories/in-conversation-with-charlie-and-daisy-cooper/)
3. [How This Country became a hit with millennials – Royal Television Society](https://rts.org.uk/article/how-country-became-hit-millennials)
4. [BBC Group Annual Report and Accounts 2019/20](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ff49be18fa8f53b7f26d6da/BBC_Group_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_2019_20.pdf)
5. [BBC Three proposal of interest submission](https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/reports/consultation/bbcthreepit/bbc-three-pit-submission.pdf)
6. [Country cousins – Chortle](https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2017/01/25/26712/chortl.es/4695dvP)
7. [How This Country stars Daisy May and Charlie Cooper created the comedy hit of the year – Radio Times](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-03-21/this-country-series-2-comedy-hit-creator-interview/)
8. ["We write about everyone that pissed us off": siblings Daisy and Charlie Cooper on their hit hometown comedy This Country – New Statesman](https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2018/02/this-country-bbc-daisy-charlie-cooper-season-two-interview)
9. [This Country – Specials – TheTVDB.com](https://thetvdb.com/series/this-country/seasons/official/0)
10. [How to watch This Country – Radio Times](https://tollbit.radiotimes.com/tv/comedy/this-country-watch-stream-bbc-iplayer-netflix-amazon/)
11. [This Country Season 2 – JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/this-country/season-2)
12. [Mockumentary and the Sociological Imagination – The Sociological Review](https://www.thesociologicalreview.org/magazine/august-2021/film-and-television/mockumentary-and-the-sociological-imagination/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › British sitcoms and comedy series › British sitcoms (2010s–present)*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license