A kitchen sink dramedy that originally aired in the 00s is being rediscovered by Netflix viewers, after it was quietly added to the streamer this week.
Life Begins was a ratings-winner when it first aired in 2004, resulting in three seasons of the ITVdrama.
Starring Pointless’s Alexander Armstrong and Doc Martin’s Caroline Quentin as married couple Phil and Maggie, the episodes have now joined Netflix’s ranking of the top TV shows in the UK.
The show sees Armstrong and Quentin star as a couple in their late-thirties, whose week of relaxation over the summer hols is turned upside down by Armstrong’s character Phil, who’s bored with his marriage and prepared to sacrifice it.
He announces his plans to move out of the house. Within hours, the holiday is cut short and the fractured family is back home, albeit with one person missing.
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Quentin’s character Maggie – who was initially set to be played by Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire, until she pulled out of the drama – is left to pick up the pieces of her life.
Maggie is suddenly the sole provider in the house and a single parent to two kids.
But the series sees her rebuild her life and that of her children, James (Elliot Henderson-Boyle) and Rebecca (Ace Ryan).
She goes on to find a job at a travel agency and puts herself back out there in the world of dating.
What else can you watch from the Netflix top 10?
- Accused. From the mind of screenwriting veteran Jimmy McGovern, the bleak anthology tells the stories of different people accused of crimes and awaiting their verdict in court.
- Mayfair Witches. Alexandra Daddario plays the preternaturally gifted surgeon Rowan Fielding, an adoptee aching to connect with her birth family, who learns she can hurt people with the power of her mind.
- Hostage. Suranne Jones stars as PM Abigail Dalton, whose private life is upended when her husband Alex (Bashy) is kidnapped by a masked gang.
- Adolescence. The TV show everyone’s talking about once again this week is Adolescence, after the show clinched an Emmy for best limited series.
Creator Mike Bullen – who was also behind Cold Feet – shapes a classic suburban nightmare, of which he said: ‘It’s about thinking you have got it all sorted and then finding out you have to go back to square one.’
The Times described the dramedy at the time of its ITV release as: ‘Bittersweet, the accidental outcome of disaster, in the way that all good comedy is.’
The three-season arc of Life Begins earned a 7.7 rating out of 10 on IMDb, with reviewer @L_Miller describing it as a ‘tender look at the realities of separation after years of quiet togetherness’.
Life Begins is available to stream on Netflix.
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