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Reasons to watch Two Weeks To Live

Reasons to watch Two Weeks To Live

Just a girl and her list – that’s what this series is about. However, written on said list is one task that won’t be easy to tick off: “Avenge dad’s death.”

By Laura Rutkowski, Staff Writer

Kim Noakes was only a young girl when her father was murdered. After his death, her mother Tina whisked her away to live a sheltered life in the Scottish wilderness. Tina trained Kim in combat, continuously wrapping her in cotton wool (albeit armed with a pistol) by spinning the truth about what the world is really like.

 

Now that Kim is 21, she’s ready to stock up on life experience. When she meets brothers Nicky and Jay Malik, her dedication to honouring her father’s memory spirals out of control. Crossbows at the ready – here’s why you need to put Sky One’s new dark comedy Two Weeks To Live on your (hit) list…


The cast are fabulous

Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams is Kim and Fleabag’s Sian Clifford is her overbearing, foul-mouthed mother Tina (who can do a mean side-eye). For fans of Arya Stark, keep your eyes peeled, because it was Williams’ idea to include a reference to her in Two Weeks To Live with an epic fight scene. Nicky is played by Mawaan Rizwan, who you’ll know from Next Of Kin, and Jay is played by Taheen Modak, who appeared in The Bay. Kim quickly forms a connection with Nicky because he and Jay also lost their father when they were young.

 

In attempting to ease herself into society, Kim ends up going toe-to-toe with crime boss Jimmy Davies (Sean Pertwee, Elementary), who is supported by his associates Brooks (Jason Flemyng, Snatch) and Thompson (Thalissa Teixeira, Trigonometry). Kerry Howard (Him & Her) also stars as Jay’s love interest.

 

The title is deliciously misleading

Writer Gaby Hull (We Hunt Together, Cheat) has made a career out of writing twisty-turny stories that never quite take the route you expect them to. If you think you’ve got the title sussed out, think again.

 

Jay fibs and tells Kim there’s been a nuclear explosion and everyone only has two weeks to live. As a doomsday prepper, Kim takes it very seriously. This sets off a chain reaction with some particularly explosive, and, ironically, life-threatening, results.

 

It’s really funny

As Williams put it, “the comedy is pretty deadpan, slightly crude”. With loads of punchy one-liners and comic timing, this show will leave you laughing out loud alongside all of the action. Although that’s hardly surprising with comedian Rizwan on the payroll! “We wanted to surround Maisie with people we know who can do comedy and Mawaan Rizwan was my first choice before we even went out to casting properly,” executive producer Phil Temple said.

 

“Sian Clifford is just wonderful and has that great sense of humour… When we were going through the other roles and looking at Jason Flemyng and Thalissa Teixeira, I just knew they were people with funny bones that can also give you charm and heart and real emotional truth in their characters. Taheen Modak… was new to me, but quickly proved to be an absolute gem of a find,” he added.

 

It also has a serious side

At the heart of the story is trauma, and shared trauma. Kim and Tina are both still hurting, as are Nicky and Jay. While Two Weeks To Live is a comedy, it doesn’t skirt around the difficult topics of death and grieving.

 

The role reversal of Kim and Nicky is also wonderful to see. Kim is the kick-butt, fearless fighter, while Nicky is often one blood droplet away from fainting. The stunt coordinator on set, Jo McLaren, was female, which makes for another brilliant anomaly in the industry. We love to see it! All the gun-toting and fist-fighting literally packs a punch in the high energy scenes.

 

The episodes are perfect for your lunch break

About five or six years ago, the script was originally written as a feature film, but Hull and Temple recognised how well it would work for television and redeveloped it into a series. With six episodes coming in at 25 minutes each, they’re ideal for when you want a bit of “me time” away from checking your inbox. 

 

When is Sky One’s Two Weeks To Live on TV?

Two Weeks To Live airs on Sky One/HD (CH 110/109) on Wednesdays at 10pm, with the first episode screening on September 2nd. It is also available for 30 days in Catch Up > Channels > Sky One.

 

All episodes are available from September 2nd and the six-part series will subsequently air every week until Wednesday until Wednesday 7th October.

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