Murder in Successville is a British sitcom with improvisational elements created by Andy Brereton and Avril Spary. The series aired on BBC Three from 6 May 2015 to 24 May 2017. Murder in Successville stars Tom Davis as DI Desmond Sleet who is partnered with a guest celebrity every episode to solve a murder.[1] The cast of every episode includes impersonations of various celebrities who live in the fictional Successville.
| Murder in Successville | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Andy Brereton Avril Spary |
| Directed by | James de Frond |
| Starring | Tom Davis |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 18 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Andy Brereton Ed Sleeman |
| Running time | 30 minutes (approx) |
| Production company | Tiger Aspect Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Three |
| Release | 6 May 2015 – 24 May 2017 |
Celebrities are transposed into fictional versions that fit into the setting of Successville, such as Alan Carr who in Successville's universe is a mobster and brother to Jimmy Carr. Liam Hourican appears as Police Chief Gordon Ramsay in each episode, introducing the guest celebrity at the start and revealing whether they have picked the correct killer at each episode's conclusion.
Cast
editCelebrities who have participated include Jamie Laing, Greg James, Deborah Meaden, Dermot O'Leary, Chris Kamara, Richard Osman and Martin Kemp.
All episodes are set in the modern day, except the series 3 episode with Martin Kemp, who travelled back in time to the first murder in Successville.
Episodes
editSeries overview
edit| Series | Episodes | Originally aired | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | |||
| 1 | 6 | 6 May 2015 | 10 June 2015 | |
| 2 | 6 | 15 June 2016 | 20 July 2016 | |
| 3 | 6 | 19 April 2017 | 24 May 2017 | |
Series 1 (2015)
edit| Episode no. |
Title | Guest star | Original air date | UK viewers (in millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Mob" | Jamie Laing | 6 May 2015 | TBA | |
|
When Bruno Tonioli is murdered, DI Sleet and new recruit Jamie Laing must interview Tonioli's ex-wife Darcey Bussell and explore the underworld of Successville's mobs headed by the Carr twins (Jimmy and Alan), and their rivals Harry Styles and his One Direction gang. | |||||
| 2 | "Bunch of Cults" | Greg James | 13 May 2015 | TBA | |
|
When Reese Witherspoon is found murdered, Greg James teams up with DI Sleet and PC Howell to uncover the culprit. Reverend Gary Barlow, Nancy Pelosi, Justin Bieber and Mary Berry are all suspects in the case. | |||||
| 3 | "Dead, Rich and Famous" | Deborah Meaden | 20 May 2015 | TBA | |
|
A call to Lady Gaga's mansion over a case of topiary vandalism soon leads to the discovery of a murder and its time for new recruit Deborah Meaden to partner with DI Sleet and discover whether Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, Jay-Z, Katy Hill, Boris Johnson or Nicki Minaj is responsible. | |||||
| 4 | "Mayor the Force Be with You" | Dermot O'Leary | 27 May 2015 | TBA | |
|
The murder of Amanda Holden leads DI Sleet, PC Howell and Dermot O'Leary to discover that Mayor Simon Cowell has been kidnapped. Miley Cyrus, Trey Farley, Jessie J and Alan Sugar are all suspects and its up to O'Leary to find the culprit. | |||||
| 5 | "Dr Death" | Kimberly Wyatt | 3 June 2015 | TBA | |
|
DI Sleet and PC Howell try to track down a killer at Successville Hospital with the help of guest stars Graham Norton and Kimberley Wyatt. This week's murder suspects include Nurse Adele, Doctor Obama and surgeon Bob Geldof. | |||||
| 6 | "Orangefinger" | Louis Smith | 10 June 2015 | TBA | |
|
The detectives learn that pharmacist Lindsay Lohan has been spray-tanned to death, before tonight's beauty pageant organized by businessman Russell Brand, a pageant in which Sleet, Howell and gym owner Vladimir Putin are judges, and psychopathic killer Kim Kardashian is a contestant. Forensic pathologist Richard Hammond shows them the body and journalist Lily Allen is murdered during the case. | |||||
Series 2 (2016)
edit| Episode no. |
Title | Guest star | Original air date | UK viewers (in millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (7) | "Vigilante" | Vicky Pattison | 15 June 2016 | TBA | |
|
On his birthday, Sleet's arrested for the murder of Nick Knowles when the body is discovered in the detective's car. Rookie cop Vicky Pattison breaks him out and together they hunt the real killer. Interrogating politician Len Goodman, breaking into Sleet's former lover's apartment (Lorraine Kelly) and questioning Sleet's rival Lewis Hamilton. | |||||
| 2 (8) | "Miranda" | Mark Wright | 22 June 2016 | TBA | |
|
DI Sleet, PC Howell and Mark Wright visit Daniel Radcliffe to find out who is dealing a new drug, nicknamed 'Miranda'. Radcliffe is killed so they start their investigation by going undercover to interrogate biker gang leader Paul Hollywood at a bar. Mark heads to Successville's most notorious drug lord Frankie Boyle's house to interrogate him, before finally heading into Scumville to question low-life druggies Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. | |||||
| 3 (9) | "A Horse Called Alan" | Chris Kamara | 29 June 2016 | TBA | |
|
DI Sleet and Chris Kamara discover that Sleet's close friend, Successville's most successful race horse, Alan Shearer has been murdered. Jockey Tom Daley points them to suspects, promoter John Bishop, model Cara Delevingne, and Sheik Kanye West. | |||||
| 4 (10) | "Incognito" | George Shelley | 6 July 2016 | TBA | |
|
D.I Sleet and George Shelley investigate the murder of the hacker Ed Sheeran. Suspects include tech CEO Shia LaBeouf, DeathCorp honcho Sarah Millican and banker Jeremy Kyle. | |||||
| 5 (11) | "Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes" | Emma Bunton | 13 July 2016 | TBA | |
|
This week DI Sleet is joined by Spice Girl Emma Bunton, investigating the death of James May, a cop from North Successville. May's police partner Jeremy Clarkson explains the details of the crime, while Sleet takes a shine to Chief of Police Nigella Lawson. Suspects include Fisherman Ian McKellen, cafe owner Katy Perry and wild man Louis Walsh. | |||||
| 6 (12) | "Memoirs" | 'Clip Show', Jamie Laing | 20 July 2016 | TBA | |
|
Sleet reflectively takes us through his colourful memoirs as we see previously unseen moments from his life as a cop. | |||||
Series 3 (2017)
edit| Episode no. |
Title | Guest star | Original air date | UK viewers (in millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (13) | "The Brass Gnome" | Richard Osman | 19 April 2017 | TBA | |
|
A piece of art is stolen, Alex Jones is on the run and Björk is murdered in the process. DI Sleet and PC Howell team up with Richard Osman to investigate Arsène Wenger, Hillary Clinton, and Zayn Malik, with things coming to a head at an illegal art auction run by Bill Nighy. | |||||
| 2 (14) | "A Murder in Ye Olde Successville" | Martin Kemp | 26 April 2017 | TBA | |
|
Sleet and Howell travel back in time with Martin Kemp to investigate the death of lady of the night Rita Ora. Forensic pathologist Conor McGregor points them to suspects, brothel madam Paloma Faith, Professor will.i.am, Playwright Katy Hill, posh gentleman Jamie Oliver, mailwoman Zoe Ball and mailman Jonathan Ross. | |||||
| 3 (15) | "I Saw a Monster!" | Lorraine Kelly | 3 May 2017 | TBA | |
|
Sleet and Howell team up with Martin O'Neill and Lorraine Kelly to investigate the death of reporter Harry Hill, and sighting of a radioactive monster. When clues on Hill's body point them towards Hill's ex girlfriend Madonna, hillbilly Trey Farley, mailwoman Alex Jones and sinister factory owner David Walliams, things take a turn for the worse. | |||||
| 4 (16) | "A Nest of Vipers" | Reggie Yates | 10 May 2017 | TBA | |
|
Howell, Sleet, Cotton and Yates investigate the murder of undercover detective Noel Edmonds. They make a side trip to Sharon Osbourne's Bandeoke night, before heading to an assassin's conference where they investigate barrow boy Steve Redgrave, paid killers the Williams sisters and hitman Adrian Chiles. | |||||
| 5 (17) | "A Rat's Tale" | Professor Green | 17 May 2017 | TBA | |
|
Sleet, Howell and Green hunt down the killer of Commissioner Bear Grylls with the help of their alter egos, Rattman, Yonder Woman and Dormouse. A note left from the Commissioner points them to tech millionaire Piers Morgan, reporter Beyoncé, Police Chief Gordon Ramsay and county councillor Alex Jones. | |||||
| 6 (18) | "The Big Sleet" | [Clip Show] | 24 May 2017 | TBA | |
|
Sleet must make his hardest decision yet. With some self-reflection on his past adventures, he must decide which persona to turn his back on forever, Rattman or Cop. | |||||
American adaptation
editIn January 2022, it was announced that Netflix would be making an American adaptation of the series, titled Murderville. Murderville does away with the original series' concept of all the town residents being celebrity impersonations; instead, the townspeople (including all the murder suspects) are simply fictional characters.[2]
The Netflix adaptation is produced by and stars Will Arnett as the character senior detective Terry Seattle and features guest stars Conan O'Brien, Annie Murphy, Ken Jeong, Kumail Nanjiani, Marshawn Lynch and Sharon Stone. All six episodes of Murderville premiered on 3 February 2022.[3]
References
edit- ^ Downes, Jade (2 February 2015). "BBC Three takes a trip to 'Successville'". Tiger Aspect Productions. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
- ^ Rose, Lacey (13 January 2022). "Will Arnett, Netflix Team for Improvised, Star-Packed Whodunnit (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Leston, Ryan (14 January 2022). "Will Arnett Stars In a New Netflix Murder Mystery With an Improv Twist". IGN. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
