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Urban Myths (TV series)

For the 2022 South Korean film, see Urban Myths (film).

Urban Myths is a British biographical comedy drama television series first aired on 19 January 2017 on the Sky Arts. Each episode featured an anecdote surrounding popular culture loosely based on a true story, ranging from Muhammad Ali talking a man down from a ledge to Bob Dylan turning up on a stranger's doorstep in London. A second series was announced featuring The Sex Pistols and Salvador Dalí, which began airing on 12 April 2018.[1]

Urban Myths
GenreComedy drama
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series4
No. of episodes26 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time21–26 minutes
Production companySky UK
Original release
NetworkSky Arts
Release19 January 2017 (2017-01-19) –
28 October 2020 (2020-10-28)

The series was most notable for a controversy surrounding the casting of Joseph Fiennes in the role of Michael Jackson, an episode that was pulled from the transmission.[2]

Episodes

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SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1619 January 2017 (2017-01-19)16 February 2017 (2017-02-16)
2812 April 2018 (2018-04-12)31 May 2018 (2018-05-31)
3810 April 2019 (2019-04-10)29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)
447 October 2020 (2020-10-07)28 October 2020 (2020-10-28)

Series 1 (2017)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
11"Bob Dylan: Knockin' on Dave's Door"Ben PalmerNeil Webster19 January 2017 (2017-01-19)0.13
Starring: Eddie Marsan as Bob Dylan, Paul Ritter as Dave, Katherine Parkinson as Ange, Cavan Clerkin as Taxi Driver, and Jessica Gunning as Border Officer
22"Waiting for Andre"Ben PalmerNeil Forsyth26 January 2017 (2017-01-26)0.09
Starring: David Threlfall as Samuel Beckett, Liam Macdonald as André the Giant
33"Adolf Hitler the Artist"Dan ZeffBen Edwards2 February 2017 (2017-02-02)0.09
Starring: Iwan Rheon as Adolf Hitler, Rupert Grint as August Kubizek, Dustin Demri-Burns as Josef, James Fleet as The Professor, Vincent Franklin as Alexander
44"When Cary Grant Introduced Timothy Leary to LSD"Geoffrey SaxRoger Drew & Ed Dyson9 February 2017 (2017-02-09)0.04
Starring: Ben Chaplin as Cary Grant, Aidan Gillen as Timothy Leary
55"The Greatest. Of All Time."Ben PalmerNeil Webster and Mark Boutros16 February 2017 (2017-02-16)0.08
Starring: Noel Clarke as Muhammad Ali, Danny John-Jules as Don King, Osy Ikhile as Joe, Lucian Msamati as Herbert Muhammad
66"Elizabeth, Michael and Marlon"Ben PalmerNeil ForsythN/A (N/A)N/A
Starring: Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson, Brian Cox as Marlon Brando, Stockard Channing as Elizabeth Taylor, Carrie Fisher as herself

Series 2 (2018)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
71"Marilyn Monroe and Billy Wilder: "It's Me, Sugar""Sean FoleyDavid Cummings12 April 2018 (2018-04-12)0.21
Starring: Gemma Arterton as Marilyn Monroe, James Purefoy as Billy Wilder, Adam Brody as Jack Lemmon, Felicity Montagu as Paula Strasberg, Alex Pettyfer as Tony Curtis, Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller
82"Backstage at Live Aid"John HardwickNeil Forsyth19 April 2018 (2018-04-19)0.12
Starring: Jonas Armstrong as Bob Geldof, David Avery as Freddie Mercury, Seb Cardinal as Rick Parfitt, Martin Compston as Midge Ure, Karla Crome as Sade, Dustin Demri-Burns as Francis Rossi, Kerry Howard as Marsha Hunt, Rufus Jones as Elton John, Con O'Neill as Tony
93"Johnny Cash and the Ostrich"Al CampbellFrank Skinner26 April 2018 (2018-04-26)0.08
Starring: Frank Skinner as Johnny Cash, Isy Suttie as Jean, Toby Williams as Mike
104"The Dalí and The Cooper"Iain Forsyth & Jane PollardRoger Drew & Ed Dyson3 May 2018 (2018-05-03)N/A
Starring: David Suchet as Salvador Dalí, Noel Fielding as Alice Cooper, Paul Kaye as Shep Gordon, Sheila Hancock as Gala Dalí, Alice Cooper as himself
115"When Bowie Met Bolan"Jim O'HanlonFreddy Syborn10 May 2018 (2018-05-10)0.11
Starring: Luke Treadaway as David Bowie, Jack Whitehall as Marc Bolan, Adrian Edmondson as Leslie Conn
126"The Mysterious Case of Agatha Christie"Guillem MoralesPaul Doolan & Abigail Wilson17 May 2018 (2018-05-17)N/A
Starring: Anna Maxwell Martin as Agatha Christie, Bill Paterson as Arthur Conan Doyle, Rosie Cavaliero as Dorothy L. Sayers, Mark Bonnar as Billy, Adrian Scarborough as Chief Inspector Danders, Nick Mohammed as Horace Lambardi, Robert James-Collier as Archie Christie,
137"Public Enemy (feat. Kev Wells)"Ben PalmerNeil Webster24 May 2018 (2018-05-24)0.07
Starring: Philip Glenister as Kev Wells, Paterson Joseph as Chuck D, Abdul Salis as Flavor Flav, Tanya Franks as Becca, Sidney Kerr as Martin, Lauren Socha as Amy, Steve Edge as Barry, Steve Oram as Brian
148"The Sex Pistols vs. Bill Grundy"Simon DelaneySimon Nye31 May 2018 (2018-05-31)0.09
Starring: Steve Pemberton as Bill Grundy, Daniel Mays as Mike Housego, Rachel Bright as Christine Whitehead, William Kettle as Paul Cook, Frankie Fox as Johnny Rotten, Charlie Wernham as Steve Jones, Matt Whitchurch as Glen Matlock, Kayvan Novak as Freddie Mercury, Laurence Howarth as Tony Bulley, Kieran Hodgson as Malcolm McLaren

Series 3 (2019)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [3]Directed byWritten byOriginal air date [3]UK viewers
(millions)
151"Princess Diana, Freddie and Kenny: 'One Normal Night'"Sean FoleyPete Jackson10 April 2019 (2019-04-10)0.25
Starring: Sophie Rundle as Diana, Princess of Wales, David Avery as Freddie Mercury, Mathew Baynton as Kenny Everett, Richard Gadd as Gareth
162"Andy & The Donald"Molly MannersBen Boyer17 April 2019 (2019-04-17)0.10
Starring: Anthony Atamanuik as Donald Trump, Jack McBrayer as Andy Warhol, Natasia Demetriou as Agnieszka, Rich Hall as Jimmy Gould, Pearl Mackie as Kay Fortson, Paul Putner as Howard, Jaada Lawrence-Green as Cheerleader.
173"Bleak House Guest"Robert DelamereJess Jackson24 April 2019 (2019-04-24)0.07
Starring: Stephen Mangan as Charles Dickens, Ian Hart as Hans Christian Andersen, Monica Dolan as Catherine Dickens
184"The Trial of Joan Collins"Elliot HegartyAndrew Dawson, Steve Dawson, Tim Inman and David Walliams1 May 2019 (2019-05-01)0.05
A one-hour episode.[4] Starring: Victoria Hamilton as Joan Collins, Michael Brandon as Robert Calgary, Haydn Gwynne as Joni Evans, Mark Heap as Ken Burrows, Dominique Moore as Journalist, Vincenzo Nicoli as Alberto Vitale, David Walliams as Monty
195"Grace Under Pressure"Ollie ParsonsGrace Ofori-Attah8 May 2019 (2019-05-08)0.08
Starring: Gloria Onitri as Grace Jones, David Ajala as The Burglar, Emily Atack as Debbie Harry, Joshua McGuire as Jean-Paul Goude, David Mills as Andy Warhol,
206"Madonna and Basquiat"Sarah Solemani and Adam WimpennySarah Solemani15 May 2019 (2019-05-15)0.08
Starring: Sophie Kennedy Clark as Madonna, Calvin Demba as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Paul Kaye as Piano Man, David Bamber as Drunk
217"Scrambled Eggs"Simon DelaneySimon Nye22 May 2019 (2019-05-22)0.04
Starring: Tom Connor as Paul McCartney, James Coward as John Lennon, Rosie Day as Jane Asher, Hugh Dennis as Richard Asher, Simon Gordon as George Harrison, Juliet Howland as Margaret Asher, Jordan Scowen as Ringo Starr
228"Mick & Margaret"Ben PalmerNeil Forsyth29 May 2019 (2019-05-29)0.07
Starring: Jamie Campbell Bower as Mick Jagger, Kelly Macdonald as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

Series 4 (2020)

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateUK viewers
(millions)
231"Les, Miserable"Steve BendelackSteve Pemberton7 October 2020 (2020-10-07)N/A
Starring: John Bradley as young Les Dawson, Mark Addy as older Les. Steve Pemberton as Jean-Paul Sartre
242"When Joan Kissed Barbra"Sue PerkinsSue Perkins14 October 2020 (2020-10-14)N/A
Starring: Katherine Ryan as Joan Rivers, Jessica Barden as Barbra Streisand
253"Hendrix & Handel"Justin ChadwickCara Jennings & Sophie Trott21 October 2020 (2020-10-21)N/A
Starring: Zach Wyatt as Jimi Hendrix, David Haig as George Frideric Handel, Harriet Cains as Kathy Etchingham
264"F for Fakenham: When Orson Welles went to Norwich"Richard Curson SmithMatthew Broughton28 October 2020 (2020-10-28)N/A
Starring: Robbie Coltrane as Orson Welles, Saoirse-Monica Jackson as Janet, the newswoman

Reception

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Although stories surrounding the pulled episode overshadowed the rest of the series, the aired episodes attracted a positive response. In particular the opening episode, featuring Eddie Marsan as Bob Dylan, was described in approving newspaper reviews as "charming and hilarious",[5] "short, charming and light-hearted"[6] and "different and pleasing".[7] The series drew over 600,000 viewers and charted in the top three programmes for Sky Arts each week it aired, save for the episode "Cary Grant and Timothy Leary", which came seventh, largely due to broadcasts of the programme Portrait Artist of the Year.[8]

Controversy

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After it was revealed that Joseph Fiennes was to portray Michael Jackson in the series, several members of Jackson's family objected, including his daughter, Paris Jackson, who wrote on Twitter, "I'm so incredibly offended by it, as I'm sure plenty of people are as well, and it honestly makes me want to vomit." The tweet was later deleted.[9] After widespread criticism following the release of the series trailer, the episode was pulled from broadcast indefinitely.[10]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Nomination Result
2018 International Emmy Awards Best Drama Series Urban Myths Nominated[11]

References

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  1. ^ "Sky Arts Presents: 'Urban Myths'". Sky Corporate. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  2. ^ Barraclough, Leo (13 January 2017). "'Urban Myths' Episode With Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson Canceled by Sky TV". Variety. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b Dessau, Bruce (15 March 2019). "News: Details Of New Urban Myths Series Revealed". Beyond The Joke. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  4. ^ Dowell, Ben (14 January 2019). "Urban Myths series three to dramatise real-life Joan Collins court case". Radio Times.
  5. ^ Wollaston, Sam (20 January 2017). "Urban Myths: Bob Dylan review – his Bobness pops to Crouch End for tea". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  6. ^ Butler, Mark (20 January 2017). "Urban Myths review: Eddie Marsan had a blast as Bob Dylan". The i newspaper online. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  7. ^ McEwan, Cameron K. (22 January 2017). "'Urban Myths' Premiere Recap: 'Bob Dylan: Knocking' on Dave's Door'". The Observer. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  8. ^ "Weekly top 10 programmes". BARB. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  9. ^ Sisavat, Monica (12 January 2017). "Paris Jackson Is 'Incredibly Offended' by Joseph Fiennes Playing Her Dad, Michael". PopSugar. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  10. ^ Kreps, Daniel (13 January 2017). "Joseph Fiennes' Michael Jackson Episode Pulled After Outcry". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  11. ^ "International Emmy Award Nominations Unveiled". Variety. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
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