Save Me (British TV series)

Save Me is a British drama television series, written, created by, and starring Lennie James. It was first broadcast on Sky Atlantic on 28 February 2018, with all six episodes being released via Sky Box Sets and Now TV on the same day. Series two, entitled Save Me Too, was released in the same fashion on 1 April 2020.

The series stars Lennie James as Nelson "Nelly" Rowe, a down-and-out whose life is turned upside down when Jody, the estranged daughter he fathered thirteen years ago, mysteriously disappears. He begins a determined quest to get to the bottom of things and find his daughter, lying, begging favours and stretching his friendships to the limit in the process. Suranne Jones stars as Claire McGory, Jody's mother. Aside from James and Jones, Stephen Graham and Jason Flemyng as friends Melon and Tam are also credited as principal members of the cast.

The series was green-lit in January 2017, under the original working title of Gone. James reunited with World Productions for the series, with whom he previously worked on the first series of Line of Duty.

Following strong critical reception for the first series, a second series was released in 2020, with the altered title Save Me Too. A DVD of the first series was released via Acorn Media on 7 May 2018. It won the 2021 BAFTA TV Award for Best Drama Series.

Sky Vision distributed the first series worldwide, but the distribution rights for the second series were picked up by Sky's sister company NBCUniversal.

Main cast

 * Lennie James as Nelson "Nelly" Rowe, a down-and-out, sofa-surfing womaniser
 * Suranne Jones as Claire McGory, Nelly's former lover and mother of Jody
 * Stephen Graham as Fabio "Melon" Melonzola, Nelly's best friend, a computer expert and convicted sex offender
 * Jason Flemyng as Tam, a friend of Nelly's, a cross-dresser and strip club bartender
 * Adrian Edmondson as Gideon Charles, a major figure in the paedophile ring
 * Lesley Manville as Jennifer Charles, the wife of Gideon (season 2)

Recurring cast

 * Susan Lynch as Stace, a childhood friend of Nelly's and landlady of The Palm Tree, his local pub
 * Kerry Godliman as Martine "Teens" Betts, Nelly's girlfriend at the start of the series, whom he remains friends with afterwards
 * Olivia Gray as Grace, trafficked teen whom Nelly saves and who resembles his missing daughter
 * Nadine Marshall as Detective Sergeant Shola O'Halloran, DCI Thorpe's deputy
 * Barry Ward as Barry McGory, Claire's husband and Jody's adoptive father, an apparently wealthy club owner
 * Alan McKenna as Detective Chief Inspector Ian Thorpe, senior investigating officer into Jody's disappearance
 * Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness as Jody McGory, Nelly and Claire's thirteen-year-old daughter and Barry's adopted daughter
 * Phil Dunster as BJ McGory, Barry's son and Claire's stepson
 * Thomas Coombes as Goz, a drug dealer and friend of Nelly's
 * Alice Feetham as Bernie Melonzola, Melon's wife, whom he was convicted of having sex with when she was fifteen
 * Camilla Beeput as Zita, Nelly's occasional girlfriend, a stripper
 * Nicholas Croucher as Dylan, Jody's best friend and next-door neighbour
 * Struan Rodger as Richard, owner of an illicit paedophile bar and brothel
 * Ryan McKen as DC Leo Rainsford, a detective working on Jody's case
 * Alexander Arnold as Luke, a student and regular at The Palm Tree
 * Ragevan Vasan as Gavin, a student and regular at The Palm Tree, Luke's friend and flatmate
 * Remmie Milner as Daisy, Goz's girlfriend and mother of his child
 * Jimmy Walker as Marky Betts, Teens' son, a strip club doorman
 * Mia Austen as PC Helen Long, the McGorys' family liaison officer

Other cast

 * Rob Horrocks as Plain Clothes Police Officer

Series 1 (2018)
Airdates listed as per the Sky Atlantic broadcast. All episodes of this series were available to download from Sky Box Sets and Now TV from 28 February 2018.

Series 2 (2020)
All episodes of this series were available to download from Sky Box Sets and Now TV from 1 April 2020.

Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 16 critics gave the first season a positive review, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Save Me will rescue viewers' evening with outstanding performances and an absorbing mystery that never ceases to dazzle with its revelations." For the second season, 100% of 15 critics reviewed it positively, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Save Me 's second season overcomes the shortcomings of its first, deepening its characters and even finding a little levity in its harrowing tale.