Masterpiece Gives an Inside Look At 'Us'

Summer is just about here, and with it, a new crop of new shows from Masterpiece. After several years of this being the "summer of mysteries" with Endeavour and Grantchester, 2021 aims for something a little different, kicking off with a family drama titled Us. The series initially aired in four one-hour installments on BBC One back in September of 2020. Now it comes to this side of the pond as a pair of two-hour installments beginning in mid-June.

The new series is based on the book of the same name by English author David Nicholls, who adapted his own work for the screen and was directed by Geoffrey Sax (Endeavour). Starring Tom Hollander (Baptiste), the story revolves around bland-but-kind Douglas Petersen. After 25 years of marriage, he learns his wife, Connie (Saskia Reeves, Belgravia), is planning to leave now their son, Albie (Tom Taylor, The Last Kingdom), is headed off to university. As the family heads to Europe on the "trip of a lifetime" to celebrate Albie's departure, Douglas finds himself frantically working to change his wife's mind about walking out of their marriage now that they've finished raising their son.

British critics have described the show as one part of family drama, one part situation comedy, with some mystery and a lot of travelogue thrown in for good measure. The series hit in the U.K. in the middle of the pandemic when travel was limited, and it did well not just as a Sunday night family drama but also as a way for those trapped at home to vicariously experience traveling in places like Paris and Amsterdam.