2009 TV Preview: 'Being Human' the series

Next up in our preview of the best of 2009's top telly is Being Human, returning for a full series after its successful pilot earlier this year.



As previously revealed here on Tube Talk, there have been two major casting changes from the pilot - and you can see the new trio all together for the first time above.

Producer Matt Bouch explains what else we can expect from Being Human's series proper.

Did you expect the pilot to get such a positive reaction?
"It was a surprise, to be honest, because I didn't expect it to get those kind of online petitions. Obviously it was a fantastic thing that everybody felt so enthusiastic about it. I think we'd felt we had made a great show but you never quite know what the response was going to be."

Going to series now, what would you say are the main changes from the pilot?
"Obviously there's the cast changes which is mainly to do with the slight tonal shift we wanted to make. It's a natural part of the developmental process from a pilot to a full series that changes are made, and this involved developing the characters over a six episode run. Particularly we wanted to be slightly less gothic and slightly more rooted. In the pilot I felt there were one or two scenes, like the Herrick storyline, which felt like they were from a slightly different show. We wanted to pull back on that and root it in reality a bit more. Part and parcel of that was to make it a bit funnier as well, to sharpen up the comedy. Basically it's a case of trying to improve what's already there."

Where does the pilot fit into the story going forwards then?
"The pilot has been put on the shelf and won't be transmitted. It might turn up as a DVD extra at some point but it is essentially a new show. We're reintroducing all of the characters and we're assuming that the audience has no knowledge at all of the pilot. So for the people who watched the pilot and liked it, they will see the characters they know and love return, and the story is sufficiently different that I hope that they won't be bored, but it's very much presented for an audience who haven't seen the pilot. The pilot was a useful exercise that we've learnt a lot from, but essentially we've now put that to one side and we've remade the show. It's kind of a reboot, if you like."

Aidan Turner has been cast as the new Mitchell - what does he bring to the role?
"With Aidan we all felt as soon as he walked into the room at the auditions that he was going to be a star. He looks great, has an incredible presence and an amazing charisma. The way we've shifted the character from the pilot is to give him a little bit more comic material and make him less of an observer. In the pilot we made him successfully feel like a vampire who was aging and had seen a lot, but he didn't feel like he was part of that trio - and we wanted to get a sense of three friends who live together and get on. Aidan brings that sense of being an equal side of the triangle."

And what's the thinking behind bringing in Lenora Crichlow as the new Annie?
"Well, we've changed that character slightly less than Mitchell, but there is a slightly warmer, more bubbly feel to the character. The chemistry between the three main actors is fantastic."

What's the format across the six episodes? Are they self-contained or are there ongoing storylines throughout?
"There's quite a lot of serial element, yeah. Particularly, there's Herrick and the vampires and what their plans for the world are. That's the evil plan ticking away, which always gives us a sense of tension. There are also serial storylines that are more emotional, such as George and his attempts to have a relationship; Mitchell and Lauren, a girl he turned into a vampire prior to episode one but then comes back to menace him during the course of episode one. With Annie it's very much about what she needs to do to pass over."

A lot of the big US shows in this genre are renowned for having "five-year plans" and longer term storyline strategies. How far have you planned into the future?
"I don't think we've got five year plans, we're not that organised! We've obviously talked about how the characters might progress into series two and in some instances beyond that, but those plans aren't set in stone. In the typical British cottage industry fashion, they're conversations we've had and we have a sense of where we want to take these characters. At the very least it's clear in episode six that the story takes a very dramatic twist into series two."

Up next on Tube Talk's 2009 TV Preview: Torchwood returns with a new format for its third series

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