Borderline is a British mockumentary television comedy series devised by Michael Orton-Toliver and Chris Gau. Narrated by Ralf Little, the series launched on 2 August 2016 on Channel 5. The series follows the activity of customs agents working for Borderline, a fictionalised version of the Border Force, at the fictional Northend Airport.[1]
| Borderline | |
|---|---|
 The cast of Borderline, as seen in the opening sequence. From left to right: Agent Tariq Mansoor, Senior Agent Grant Brodie, Chief Inspector Linda Proctor, Agent Andrea "Andy" Church, and Agent Clive Hassler. | |
| Genre | Comedy, mockumentary |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Matt Jones |
| Starring |
|
| Narrated by | Ralf Little |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Zoë Rocha |
| Running time | 28 minutes |
| Production company | Little Rock Pictures |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 5 |
| Release | 2 August 2016 – 19 October 2017 |
In contrast to most series, which require the cast to memorise a script, Borderline is "retro-scripted": the cast is given a plot outline to guide them as they improvise their dialogue and actions.[2]
As of December 2016, the series is available on Netflix in select regions.[3]
Production
editIn February 2016, it was announced that Channel 5 had ordered a new comedy series.[4] The news was revealed by Royle Family star Ralf Little.[4]
The first series was filmed at Coventry Airport in March/April 2016.
In August 2016, during the first series run it was announced by Ben Frow (Channel 5's Director of Programming) that the show had been commissioned for a second series.[5]
Cast
editMain
edit- David Avery as Customs Agent Tariq Mansoor
- Jackie Clune as Chief Customs Inspector Linda Proctor
- David Elms as Customs Agent Clive Hassler
- Liz Kingsman as Customs Agent Andrea "Andy" Church
- Jamie Michie as Senior Customs Agent Grant Brodie
Recurring
edit- Guz Khan as Mo
- Sunil Patel as Sujan Stevens
- Manoj Anand as Kareem Khan (series 1)
- Alan Faulkner as David Thompson (series 1)
- Patricia Drabble as Fran Lewis (series 1)
- Guy Normas as Steve Marks (series 1)
- Cameron Moon as Sheikh Mohammed (series 1)
- Paulina Boneva as Zara Lewis (series 2)
Notable guest
edit- Mark Addy as himself (series 1)
- Jamie Demetriou as DJ Stefano Rocco (series 1)
- Kerry Howard as Stacey Allen (series 1)
- Jayde Adams as Celeste Ferguson (series 1)
- Kris Marshall as Baron (series 2)
- Elizabeth Berrington as Mary Parfitt (series 2)
- Josie Lawrence as Eleanor Wilson (series 2)
Cancellation
editOn 19 October 2017, Channel 5 had announced Borderline would not return for its third series due to a drop in ratings and just 12 episodes were produced in two series.
References
edit- ^ "Northend Airport (@northendairport) - Twitter". Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ "Borderline". 2 August 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2017 – via IMDb.
- ^ "Borderline". 20 December 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2017 – via Flixlist.
- ^ a b "Channel 5 orders immigration mockumentary Borderline". British Comedy Guide. 10 February 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
- ^ "Channel 5 orders Borderline Series 2". British Comedy Guide. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
External links
edit- Borderline at IMDb