The Living and the Dead (TV series)

Production

The BBC One series was created by Ashley Pharoah, who also co-created Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. His usual collaborator Matthew Graham was originally involved but left the project to work on Childhood’s End for SyFy. Directing duties were handled by Alice Troughton and Sam Donovan. Colin Morgan and Charlotte Spencer were confirmed as cast members in June 2015.

Production took place at Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol, with Horton Court in Gloucestershire serving as the main filming location. Rehearsals started in late July 2015, and principal photography began in the West Country in early August, with an official series announcement following that same week. Filming wrapped in mid-December 2015. The BBC confirmed in August 2016 that the show would not return for a second season.

The score was written by Bristol-based duo The Insects. The first episode features Elizabeth Fraser performing the traditional song "She Moved Through the Fair" and the hymn "Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise" at a ploughman’s funeral. Another song that appears repeatedly is "The Reaper’s Ghost," composed by Richard Dyer-Bennet in 1935. The theme song’s lyrics are a lightly updated version of the first stanza of the Lyke-Wake Dirge.

Did You Know?

• Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave Series 1 an approval rating of 83% based on 12 critics.
• The site's critical consensus calls it a throwback to classic gothic tales ideal for audiences seeking a spooky sit without intense jolts.
• The average rating on Rotten Tomatoes was 6.33 out of 10.