Four Weddings and a Funeral (miniseries)

Four Weddings and a Funeral is an American romantic comedy television miniseries, based on the 1994 British film of the same name written by Richard Curtis. The miniseries, which premiered on July 31, 2019 on Hulu,[1] was created by Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton. It stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Brandon Mychal Smith, and John Reynolds.

Four Weddings and a Funeral
Genre
Based onFour Weddings and a Funeral
by Richard Curtis
Developed by
Starring
ComposerLesley Barber
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producers
ProducerMark Murdoch
Cinematography
  • Gavin Finney
  • Stijn Van Der Veken
Editors
  • Mat Greenleaf
  • Katie Abel
  • Adam Burr
  • Jessica Sisk
Running time44–55 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHulu
ReleaseJuly 31 (2019-07-31) –
September 11, 2019 (2019-09-11)

Premise

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Four Weddings and a Funeral follows "four American friends — Maya, Craig, Ainsley, and Duffy — who reunite for a fabulous London wedding. But after a bombshell at the altar throws their lives into turmoil, they must weather a tumultuous year of romance and heartbreak. Relationships are forged and broken, political scandals exposed, London social life lampooned, love affairs ignited and doused, and of course, there are four weddings...and a funeral."[2]

Cast and characters

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Main

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  • Nathalie Emmanuel as Maya Jones, a political speechwriter from the United States who recently moved to London to be closer to her best friends from college
  • Nikesh Patel as Kashif (Kash) Khan, Ainsley's ex-fiancé and an unhappy investment banker who wants to become an actor
  • Rebecca Rittenhouse as Ainsley Howard, an interior designer whose parents fund her interior design business and apartment
  • John Reynolds as Caleb Duffy (Duffy), a Latin teacher who wants to become a novelist. He has been secretly in love with Maya for a decade.
  • Brandon Mychal Smith as Craig Thompson, an investment banker who is also Kash's office mate and friend
  • Zoe Boyle as Gemma Thorpe-Blood, Ainsley's British neighbor and friend who is a housewife
  • Sophia La Porta as Zara, Craig's girlfriend, later wife
  • Harish Patel as Haroon Khan, Kash's father who works at Heathrow Airport
  • Guz Khan as Basheer, one of Kash's friends

Recurring

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  • Krrish Patel as Asif Khan, Kash's little brother
  • Hector Bateman-Harden as Giles, Gemma and Quentin's son
  • Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Tony 2, Ainsley's assistant at her interior design business
  • Rakhee Thakrar as Fatima, Kash's ex-girlfriend and Basheer's girlfriend
  • Alex Jennings as Andrew Aldridge, a very conservative Member of Parliament, Maya's boss, and Tony 2's love interest. Jennings was originally cast as Charles in the 1994 film, before he was replaced by Hugh Grant due to production delays.[3]
  • Jamie Demetriou as Marcus, Maya's co-worker
  • Dermot Mulroney as Bryce Dylan, Ainsley's recently divorced client and love interest

Guest

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal release date [4]
1"Kash With a K"Charles McDougallMindy Kaling & Matt WarburtonJuly 31, 2019 (2019-07-31)
2"Hounslow"Charles McDougallMindy Kaling & Tracey WigfieldJuly 31, 2019 (2019-07-31)
3"We Broke"Tristram ShapeeroMatt WarburtonJuly 31, 2019 (2019-07-31)
4"The Winner Takes It All"Tristram ShapeeroChris SchleicherJuly 31, 2019 (2019-07-31)
5"Love, Chalet"Catherine MorsheadCharlie GrandyAugust 7, 2019 (2019-08-07)
6"Lights, Camera, Wedding"Catherine MorsheadLana ChoAugust 14, 2019 (2019-08-14)
7"The Sound of Music"Tom MarshallAbby AjayiAugust 21, 2019 (2019-08-21)
8"Game Night"Tom MarshallCharlie Grandy & Bisha K. AliAugust 28, 2019 (2019-08-28)
9"Four Friends and a Secret"Catherine MorsheadMeredith DawsonSeptember 4, 2019 (2019-09-04)
10"New Jersey"Tristram ShapeeroTracey Wigfield & Matt WarburtonSeptember 11, 2019 (2019-09-11)

Production

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Development

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On November 1, 2017, it was announced that Hulu was developing an anthology television series adaptation of the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. Executive producers were set to include Mindy Kaling, Matt Warburton, Richard Curtis, Jonathan Prince, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Howard Klein. Production companies involved with the series were expected to consist of Working Title Films, 3 Arts Entertainment, MGM Television, and Universal Television.[5] On May 2, 2018, it was announced that Hulu had given the production a series order.[6][7][8]

On April 12, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on July 31, 2019.[1]

Casting

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On October 26, 2018, it was announced that Jessica Williams, Nikesh Patel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, and John Reynolds had been cast in starring roles.[9] On November 21, 2018, it was reported that Williams' lead role of Jess had been reconceived into a new character named Maya and that Williams had been recast in the role by Nathalie Emmanuel. Additionally, it was further reported that Brandon Mychal Smith, Zoe Boyle, Harish Patel and Guz Khan had joined the cast and that Andie MacDowell would make a guest appearance in a nod to her starring role in the 1994 film, albeit not as her original character Carrie from the film.[2] On December 7, 2018, it was announced that Tom Mison and Ashley Madekwe had been cast in recurring roles and that Tommy Dewey would make a guest appearance.[10] In February 2019, Sophia La Porta joined the cast.

Filming

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Principal photography for the series commenced on November 26, 2018, in London, England.[11]

Music

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The Four Weddings and a Funeral (Music From the Original TV Series) soundtrack was released on August 14, 2019 which consisted of a blend of cover versions and originals.[12]

Four Weddings and a Funeral (Music From the Original TV Series)[13]
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."For Once in My Life"Emeli Sandé3:07
2."Heart Of Glass"Lily Moore3:10
3."Around The World"Calum Scott2:16
4."Til Death Do Us Part"James Smith3:34
5."Out Loud"HRVY2:57
6."Holy Water"Bishop Briggs3:08
7."I Only Want to Be with You"LYRA2:52
8."Dheemi Dheemi (Ain't No Sunshine) ft. Vishal-Shekhar & Hussain Manawer"Naughty Boy3:05
9."I Believe in a Thing Called Love"Nina Nesbitt2:24
10."Won't Let Go"Jamie N Commons3:41
11."New Kind Of Love"Skylar Grey3:17
Total length:33:29

Reception

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 42% based on 38 reviews, with an average rating of 5.59/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Despite an impressive cast and crew, Four Weddings and a Funeral falls flat, relying too heavily on genre clichés to offer audiences anything more than just another mediocre romcom."[14] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[15]

References

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  1. ^ a b Evans, Greg (April 12, 2019). "Hulu Sets Premiere Date For 'Four Weddings And A Funeral' Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (November 21, 2018). "'Four Weddings And A Funeral': Andie MacDowell To Appear On Hulu Series, Nathalie Emmanuel To Star In Recasting". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  3. ^ "Alex Jennings: I'm Dame Maggie's straight man...I love it". 15 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Four Weddings and a Funeral – Listings". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  5. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 1, 2017). "'Four Weddings And a Funeral' Anthology Series From Mindy Kaling In Works At Hulu". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  6. ^ Petski, Denise (May 2, 2018). "Hulu Picks Up Mindy Kaling's 'Four Weddings And A Funeral', Ramy Youssef Comedy To Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 3, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  7. ^ Otterson, Joe (May 2, 2018). "Hulu Orders Mindy Kaling's 'Four Weddings and a Funeral,' Ramy Youssef Comedy to Series". Variety. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  8. ^ Jarvey, Natalie (May 2, 2018). "Mindy Kaling's 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' Anthology a Go at Hulu". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  9. ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (October 26, 2018). "'Four Weddings And A Funeral': Jessica Williams To Star In Hulu Series, 3 Others Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  10. ^ Petski, Denise (December 7, 2018). "'Four Weddings And A Funeral': Tom Mison & Ashley Madekwe To Recur On Hulu Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  11. ^ Cook, Laurence (November 12, 2018). "UK Greenlit: TV Adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral + More Projects Casting Now". Backstage. Archived from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  12. ^ "Four Weddings and a Funeral (Music From the Original TV Series)". iTunes. August 28, 2019. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  13. ^ "Four Weddings and a Funeral (Music From the Original TV Series)". Amazon Music. August 28, 2019.
  14. ^ "Four Weddings and a Funeral : Season 1 (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  15. ^ "Four Weddings and a Funeral: Season 1". Metacritic. CBS. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
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