Boiling Point (2023 TV series)

Boiling Point is a four-episode British television drama miniseries created by Philip Barantini, James Cummings and Stephen Graham. Starring Graham, Vinette Robinson and Hannah Walters, the series premiered with its first episode on BBC One on 1 October 2023 and all episodes were released on BBC iPlayer on the same day. It was made for the BBC by Ascendant Fox, Matriarch Productions and It's All Made Up Productions.

Co-directed by Philip Barantini and Mounia Akl, it is a continuation and standalone sequel of the 2021 film Boiling Point, also directed by Barantini and featuring many of the same cast.

Synopsis
The series picks up six-months after the film ends with Carly (Robinson) now running her own restaurant with former boss Andy's (Graham) staff.

Cast

 * Vinette Robinson as Carly, head chef at Point North
 * Hannah Walters as Emily, head pastry chef
 * Izuka Hoyle as Camille, French chef


 * Áine Rose Daly as Robyn, waitress
 * Daniel Larkai as Jake, kitchen porter
 * Gary Lamont as Dean, Point North restaurant manager
 * Hannah Traylen as Holly, kitchen porter
 * Stephen McMillan as Jamie, pastry chef
 * Taz Skylar as Billy, bartender
 * Ahmed Malek as Musa, new front-of-house staff who works at the bar
 * Joel MacCormack as Liam Astrid, businessman behind Point North
 * Missy Haysom as Kit, new front-of-house staff
 * Shaun Fagan as Bolton
 * Stephen Odubola as Johnny, a new chef
 * Cathy Tyson as Vivian, Carly's mother
 * Stephen Graham as Andy, former head chef at Jones & Sons


 * Steven Ogg as Nick, sous-chef
 * Ray Panthaki as Freeman, sous-chef
 * Sok-Ho Trinh as Sol
 * Henry Meredith as Nathan

Production
The series is a sequel to the 2021 film Boiling Point, a one-shot film set in a restaurant kitchen. It itself was an expansion of a 2019 short film of the same name, also directed by Barantini and starring Graham. In October 2022 it was revealed that a series following on from the film with the same creative team had been commissioned by BBC One. The series consists of four one-hour episodes with Barantini directing the first two and Mounia Akl directing the last two. Graham Drover is the series producer and Rebecca Ferguson is executive producer for the BBC. The series is written by James Cummings with writers Dan Cadan, Alex Tenenbaum and Nathaniel Stevens joining the team.

Casting
In February 2023 Steven Ogg was revealed to have joined the cast. Graham, Robinson and Walters all reprise their original roles from the film, as do Panthaki, Lamont, Daly, Skylar, Larkai, McMillan, Traylen and Hoyle.

Filming
Filming began in January 2023 in Manchester.

Broadcast
Episode one aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2023 in the 9pm time slot, with all four episodes becoming available on its iPlayer streaming service the same day.

BBC Studios is handling international distribution.

Critical reception
Nick Clark of the Evening Standard gave it a five out of five stars, commenting that it "gives us just a taste of the anxiety and the adrenaline of this world. It's an extraordinary peek behind the kitchen door, and an uncomfortable one. But as a drama, the ingredients are spot on and the execution superb." Another five star review came from Morgan Cormack of The Radio Times, describing it as "a perfect example of what stellar character-driven drama is." Of the casting, Morgan opined that "the magic of having such an ensemble isn't to be taken lightly - it truly is a work of magnificence."

Dan Einav of the Financial Times awarded the show four stars, stating that "The main cast broadly rise to the challenge but there's a ready-made quality to some of the plotting and scene-setting. The point that chefs both depend on and deplore their customers is overstretched... It can also strain credulity to make each night revolve around a disaster." Another four star review came from Nick Hilton of The Independent, again praising both the “quality of the acting” and the writing. Four stars also from Emily Baker of the i, who said that the “TV version never quite matched the heights” of the feature film and bemoaned the lack of screen time afforded to Stephen Graham.

The Times critic, Carol Midgley also awarded the show four stars, as did Rebecca Nicholson at The Guardian, who also singled out the “excellent cast.” The Observer's Joel Golby lauded "a brilliant script, a phenomenal cast and some absolutely beautiful filming" and went on to state that "this hugely stressful series is one of the best things on television this year... British TV at its very finest."

Accolades
The series was nominated for Best Limited Series at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards in March 2024. The series was nominated for Best Drama Series, and Robinson for Best Actress, at the 2024 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.