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Sick Note
Genre	Dark comedy
Created by	Nat Saunders James Serafinowicz
Directed by	Matt Lipsey
Starring	Rupert Grint Nick Frost Don Johnson Pippa Bennett-Warner Lindsay Lohan
Theme music composer	Carly Paradis
Composer	Carly Paradis
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	14
Production
Executive producer	Jo Sargent
Producer	Sarah Fraser
Running time	44 minutes (episode 1); 22–24 minutes (episodes 2–14)
Production company	King Bert Productions
Original release
Network	Sky One
Release	7 November 2017 (2017-11-07) – 16 August 2018 (2018-08-16)

Sick Note is a British black comedy television series starring Rupert Grint and Nick Frost. It was created and written by Nat Saunders and James Serafinowicz and directed by Matt Lipsey. It first aired on 7 November 2017 on Sky One. In April 2017, it was reported that a second series had been commissioned before the first had aired. It became available for streaming on Netflix worldwide from November 2018 to 2023.

In April 2021, Saunders stated the series was "neither recommissioned or cancelled, just in TV show limbo" when asked on Twitter about its status, adding that a return seemed unlikely. Serafinowicz had previously shared similar thoughts and revealed they "wrote the first 2 episodes of season 3 but nothing ever happened."

Plot

When insurance agent Daniel Glass (Rupert Grint) is misdiagnosed with terminal oesophageal cancer due to his incompetent doctor (Nick Frost), he begins to notice that everyone around him treats him better and he decides not to tell. This leads to more lies and secrets which need to be covered up. Daniel and the doctor become allies as each have something to gain by maintaining the façade; however, they attract the attention of a local policeman who believes Daniel may have been involved in a murder case. As more people become involved the web of lies begins to grow and eventually serious crimes are committed.

Cast

Series 1

• Rupert Grint as Daniel Glass
• Nick Frost as Dr. Iain Glennis
• Don Johnson as Kenny West
• Pippa Bennett-Warner as Becca Palmerstone
• Marama Corlett as Linda
• Tolu Ogunmefun as Ash Matthews
• Lolly Adefope as Lisa
• Belinda Stewart-Wilson as Annette Glennis
• Karl Theobald as Michael
• Matilda Thorpe as Claire Glass
• Camilla Beeput as Vanessa Matthews
• Miles Richardson as Dr. Sampson
• David Cann as Gordon Glass
• Daniel Rigby as Officer Hayward

Series 2

• Lindsay Lohan as Katerina West
• Alison King as Superintendent Henchy
• Dustin Demri-Burns as Will_5000

Episodes

Series 1 (2017)

Series 2 (2018)

Home media

The first season was released on DVD on 21 October 2019. The second season was released on 17 February 2020.

Reception

Sick Note received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the first season has a 50% approval rating based on 6 reviews. Rupert Hawksley of The Daily Telegraph stated the premise "is not a bad one at all" but ultimately finds that the "cast is wasted" due to the writing, claiming that the "jokes landed with all the grace of an injured pheasant." Brad Newsome of the Sydney Morning Herald described the series by saying, "Rupert Grint, Nick Frost and Don Johnson are all very naughty boys in this dark but agreeably untaxing British comedy series." Barbara Ellen of The Guardian considered the "performances are great and there are plenty of laughs in the escalating twists of surrealist failure." In an article by James Rampton for The Independent, it is characterized as "dark, but silly as well. It's Breaking Bad meets Fawlty Towers," and "cleverly fuses light and shade."

In a review for Paste Magazine, LaToya Ferguson also writes that Sick Note has a "pretty solid premise" but the series is "wildly uneven," it "has a singular narrative and aesthetic vision, and it never once veers from that, no matter what", continuing that the addition of Lohan to the second season "doesn't read as an attempt to course-correct, it probably should've been," although her character "meshes much better with the story as a whole. Especially, as she almost, sort of, but not quite solves the show's woman problem."

Accolades

References

1. Richardson, Jay (11 April 2017). "Rupert Grint's Sky Atlantic comedy Sick Note gets a second series". Chortle.
2. Cohn, Gabe (23 November 2018). "What's on TV: 'Sick Note' and 'Vice'". New York Times.
3. "Sick Note". Netflix. Archived from the original on 22 September 2020.
4. Moore, Kasey (25 October 2023). "Rupert Grint Netflix Series 'Sick Note' Leaving In November 2023". What's on Netflix. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
5. Saunders, Nat (15 April 2021). "thank you! Alas, it's neither recomissioned or cancelled, just in TV show limbo. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it's most likely not coming back!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 12 August 2021 – via Twitter.
6. Serafinowicz, James (29 June 2020). "We wrote the first 2 episodes of season 3 but nothing ever happened with them. I don't even know if they were read" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 12 August 2021 – via Twitter.
7. ^ Barraclough, Leo (31 May 2017). "Rupert Grint, Nick Frost, Don Johnson Join Comedy 'Sick Note'". Variety.
8. Tartaglione, Nancy (12 June 2017). "Lindsay Lohan Joins Sky's 'Sick Note' For Season 2 With Rupert Grint, Nick Frost". Deadline.
9. "Sick Note - Episodes". Premiere Date. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
10. "Sick Note Series One starring Rupert Grint and Nick Frost [DVD] [2019]". Amazon. 21 October 2019.
11. "Sick Note Series 2 (starring Nick Frost & Rupert Grint) [DVD] [2019]". Amazon. 17 February 2020.
12. "Sick Note: Series 1". Rotten Tomatoes. 22 September 2018.
13. Hawksley, Rupert (7 November 2017). "Sick Note is already showing signs of heart failure – review". The Daily Telegraph.
14. Newsome, Brad (6 December 2018). "Tracy Morgan is a man on a mission in new comedy The Last O.G." Sydney Morning Herald.
15. Ellen, Barbara (26 November 2017). "The week in TV: Would I Lie to You?; She's Gotta Have It; The Search for a Miracle Cure and more". The Guardian.
16. Ellen, Barbara (6 November 2017). "Sick Note's Rupert Grint: After Harry Potter, I want the chance to show that I can do different things". The Independent.
17. Ferguson, LaToya (21 November 2018). "Netflix's Sick Note Is Dead on Arrival". Paste Magazine.
18. "Comedies nominated in British Screenwriters' Awards". British Comedy Guide. 18 July 2018.

External links

• Sick Note at Netflix
• Sick Note at IMDb
• Sick Note at epguides.com
• Sick Note at British Comedy Guide

• 2017 British television series debuts
• 2018 British television series endings
• 2010s British black comedy television series
• 2010s British sitcoms
• Television shows about adultery
• British English-language television shows
• Television shows set in England
• Sky UK sitcoms