The Gallows Pole (TV series)

The Gallows Pole is a three-part television series made for the BBC by Element Pictures, Big Arty Productions, and A24. It is a Shane Meadows adaptation of the novel of the same name by Benjamin Myers. According to Meadows, the series is a prequel to Myers's novel. It premiered on 31 May 2023.

Synopsis
The series tells the fictionalised story of David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners at the onset of the industrial revolution in 18th-century Yorkshire. Hartley (Socha) assembles a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a revolutionary criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become the biggest fraud in British history.

Production
The project was announced for Meadows in May 2021 as his first television series with executive producers Piers Wenger and Tom Lazenby for the BBC. The series is being produced for the BBC by Element Pictures with A24.

Casting
In September 2021, Socha, Tom Burke, Turgoose and George MacKay were announced to be cast. Meadows described going on an "open casting odyssey, watching over 6,500 self-tapes from unrepresented actors and actresses". Burke and MacKay did not ultimately appear in the series.

Filming
Principal photography was revealed to have started in September 2021. Filming locations included the village of Heptonstall, near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire.

Music
Music on the series comes from Swedish psychedelic band Goat.

Additional traditional music from the period was researched and performed by cast member Jennifer Reid and fiddler Tom Kitching.

The opening theme is "What Happens When You Turn the Devil Down" by The Mystery Lights.

Broadcast
The opening episode was broadcast on BBC Two on 31 May 2023, with all episodes released on BBC iPlayer the same day.

Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, The Gallows Pole holds an approval rating of 82% based on 11 reviews.

Accolades
For their work on the series Paul Harrison & Owen Hulme won in the Picture Enhancement category and Ed Kevill-Davies and Lucas Roche were nominated in the Best Design - Titles category at the 2023 Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards.