'California Avenue' Preps for Canneseries with First Images
The BBC's 'California Avenue' has released the first images from the six-part series ahead of it's premeire at Canneseries.
We don’t have the bandwidth to cover British premieres at film festivals the way we used to (at least, not yet), but while we may be skipping the Cannes Film Festival lineup, Canneseries is another matter. The TV offshoot of the famous festival is a hotbed of British and European shows seeking international distribution, and this year’s closing-night headliner, California Avenue, is almost certain to land somewhere on American streaming.
The six-episode series originally started life under the working title Clifftops, with Bill Nighy (Lazarus) attached to star. However, the major selling point was that the scripts came from Hugo Blick, the British autuer behind 2022’s The English, which starred Emily Blunt, in his first return to the small screen since then.
By the time filming got underway in the summer of 2025, the name had changed to California Avenue, with Blick officially confirmed to direct all episodes as well as having penned them. “Over the past few decades, whether through comedy, political dramas, or even a western, I’ve looked to explore what television fiction can be,” Blick said as part of the announcement. “California Avenue is an exploration of the people who inspired me to want to do this.”
Here’s the series synopsis:
Set in the 1970s in a secluded canal-side caravan park deep in the luscious English countryside, its peace is irrevocably disrupted by the arrival of Lela and her 11-year-old child, Bee, both on the run, looking for refuge in this hidden world. It is here that a fractured family will come together, ghosts of the past will firmly be put to rest, and an unexpected love is forged.
Bill Nighy, Helena Bonham-Carter, Erin Doherty, and Cammie Liebreich in 'California Avenue' (BBC/Robert Viglasky)
The series boasts an all-A-list cast, with Erin Doherty (Adolescence) as Lela, newcomer Cammie Liebreich as her son, Bee, plus Nighy and Helena Bonham Carter (Nolly) as Lela’s parents, Jerry and Eddie, former 1930s era ballroom champions who became wartime runaways and are still hiding, three decades on.
The rest of the ensemble includes Kate Robbins (Unforgotten) and Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones) as Priscilla and Kevin, the owners of the caravan park, and Tom Burke (War & Peace) as fairground outcast and fellow resident, Cooper.
Kate Robbins, Paul Kaye, and Tom Burke in 'California Avenue' (BBC/Robert Viglasky)
The series is created, written, and directed by Blick, with Colin Wratten producing. Blick also executive produces for Eight Rooks, alongside Nighy and Bonham-Carter. Other executive producers include Greg Brenman for Drama Republic and Lucy Richer for the BBC.
California Avenue is expected to premiere on the BBC sometime in the latter half of 2026. The series does not yet have an American distributor, but that is expected to be resolved in the coming weeks.
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