A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou

British Television comedy special

Jamie Demetriou
Joe Pelling

Country of originUnited KingdomOriginal languageEnglishProductionExecutive producers

Simon Bird
Josh Cole
Jamie Demetriou
Andrew Gaynord
Jonny Sweet

ProducerOlly CambridgeEditorSaam HodivalaProduction companies

BBC Studios Productions
Guilty Party Pictures

Original releaseNetworkNetflixReleaseFebruary 28, 2023 (2023-02-28)

A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou is a 2023 comedy special from Jamie Demetriou that was broadcast on Netflix in the United Kingdom from February 28, 2023. A one-hour special, it shows a series of sketches depicting life from cradle to grave, featuring guest appearances and songs.

Synopsis

The hour-long comedy sketch special shows a series of comedy sketches taking the audience from the womb, through childhood, adulthood and beyond, accompanied by song.^[1]

Production

Demetriou said he was approached by Netflix to pitch sketch comedy ideas. Initially, he said he planned “a more sprawling sketch show and then we figured that an hour is a testing amount of time for something that isn't narrative.” Demetriou described the show as “birth to death in songs and sketches."^[2] The show was commissioned prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and had a delayed production until after the outbreak.^[3] The project was produced by BBC Studios Productions and Guilty Party Pictures with Demetriou writing and starring.^[4]

Cast

Jamie Demetriou
Ellie White
Emma Sidi
Katy Wix
Kiell Smith-Bynoe
Sian Clifford
Bella Glanville
Christopher Jeffers
Mark Silcox
Jonny Sweet
Jon Pointing
Phoebe Walsh
Will Hislop
Al Roberts
Raphale Sowole
Seb Cardinal
Lloyd Griffith
Matthew Colthart
Nathan Geal

Broadcast

The show was available on Netflix from February 28, 2023 in the United Kingdom.^[5]

Reception

Critical reception

Stuart Heritage in The Guardian said he “laughed harder and for longer than I can remember”.^[6] Isobel Lewis in The Independent said the comedy was “decidedly British but with a Netflix sheen...silly, but lacking the sharpness of Stath or his live sketch characters. It's that attempt to straddle both worlds that leaves Demetriou’s comedy feeling surprisingly watered down.”^[7] Chris Bennion in The Daily Telegraph called it “a wild, ribald sketch comedy special that... shows, in flashes, its creator’s sublime genius, offering moments of sheer joy, punctuated by longer, more baffling sections that ultimately disappoint.”^[8]

Accolades

In February 2024, it was nominated in the Best TV Show category at the Chortle Awards.^[9] In March 2024, Demitriou was nominated in the Male performance in a comedy programme category at the 2024 British Academy Television Awards.^[10]

References

^ "A Whole Lifetime With Jamie Demitriou". Chortle.co.uk. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "Jamie Demetriou on Netflix Sketch Special 'A Whole Lifetime' and the Future of 'Stath Lets Flats'". Hollywood Reporter. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "Jamie Demetriou - "My new sketch show is about things I'm scared of"". Virginradio.co.uk. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "Netflix Greenlights Comedy Special 'A Whole Lifetime With Jamie Demetriou'". Variety. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "What's on TV and radio tonight: Tuesday, February 28". The Times. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou: 'I laughed harder – and for longer – than I can remember'". The Guardian. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demitriou: Not as brilliantly silly as Stath". The Independent. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demetriou, review: ribald sketch comedy with flashes of sublime genius". The Daily Telegraph. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "Final Chortle Award nominees revealed". Chortle. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
^ Richardson, Hollie (20 March 2024). "Bafta TV awards 2024 nominations: full list". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 March 2024.