Nick Frost's Mr. Sloane: A 60's two-woman man
Sloane with an “e”…like the Square
It has been some time since I first screened Mr. Sloane. It was back in February at the 2014 BBC Showcase in Liverpool where we first came across this fairly non-descript situation comedy starring Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Cuban Fury. The really charming romantic comedy is written and directed by Robert B. Weide, of Curb Your Enthusiasm fame. Besides getting a chance to screen, we were also treated to a quick Q&A with both actor and writer who talked about putting the show together. PBS fans will immediately remember the name of Bob Weide, maybe not from ‘Curb’ but from his early 80’s documentary, The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell.
Premiering tonight at 9p on Sky Atlantic, Mr. Sloane is definitely worth the time commitment. Jeremy Sloane (with an “e”, like the Square) is a really, really nice guy. Unfortunately, a really nice guy not quite ready for the swinging 60′s as he goes through a fairly sizable rough patch in life. He’s a buttoned-down 1960′s man in crisis trying to balance his failed attempts at marriage, career success and even suicide. It’s fair to say that 1969 isn’t shaping up to be the Watford-dweller’s year. Things are looking up, however, with a potential job opportunity on the horizon and the phone number of a prospective new love interest following a chance encounter in his local hardware store.
Mr. Sloane also stars Olivia Colman as Mrs. Janet ‘I need to go find myself’ Sloane, Ophelia Lovibond as Robin, the knockout woman in the hardware store that gets Jeremy to open his eyes and experience life a bit more, and Peter Serafinowicz as his ‘best’ mate. Take a look…
Having had the good fortune to screen the entire first series back-to-back-to-back, one can only hope that plans are in the works for a second series in the not-too-distant future as these first six are going to leave you wanting more. Let’s hope that series 1 makes it to this side of the pond ASAP.
