The Split is a British legal drama television series, written and created by Abi Morgan, that first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One from 24 April 2018. The first series, commissioned in August 2016, follows the lives of the Defoe family, who all work in divorce law for the family firm, aside from eldest sister Hannah (Nicola Walker), who works for rival family law firm Noble & Hale, with their youngest daughter being a nanny. The series co-stars Stephen Mangan, Fiona Button, Annabel Scholey and Barry Atsma.
Series two saw the return of the Defoe family at newly-merged law firm Noble Hale Defoe, with most of the original cast confirmed. The third and final series premiered on 4 April 2022. For this performance, Walker received a TV Choice Award nomination for Best Actress and a National Television Award nomination for Drama Performance while The Split was nominated for Returning Drama. It was later announced the series would return for a two-part special on 29 December 2024.
Cast
Main
- Nicola Walker as Hannah Stern, a divorce lawyer working for Noble & Hale
- Stephen Mangan as Nathan Stern, Hannah's husband, a barrister
- Fiona Button as Rose Defoe, Hannah's youngest sister
- Annabel Scholey as Nina Defoe, Hannah's younger sister, a fellow divorce lawyer for Defoe's, the family practice
- Deborah Findlay as Ruth Defoe, Hannah's mother, the director of the family firm
- Barry Atsma as Christie Carmichael, Hannah's former boyfriend who also works for Noble & Hale (series 1-3)
- Stephen Tompkinson as Davey McKenzie, a millionaire divorcing his wife (series 1)
- Meera Syal as Goldie McKenzie, Davey's wife and his company's secretary (series 1, 3)
- Anthony Head as Oscar Defoe, Hannah's long lost father (series 1)
- Rudi Dharmalingam as James Cutler, Rose's fiancé, later husband (series 1-3)
- Chukwudi Iwuji as Alexander 'Zander' Hale, director of Noble Hale Defoe (series 1-3)
- Donna Air as Fi Hansen, a famous presenter divorcing her abusive husband Richie (series 2)
- Ben Bailey Smith as Richie Hansen, Fi's abusive and controlling husband (series 2)
- Damien Molony as Tyler Donaghue, Zander's fiancé, later husband (series 2-3)
- Ian McElhinney as Prof Ronnie, a friend and later love interest of Ruth Defoe (series 2-4)
- Lara Pulver as Kate Pencastle, a child psychologist and Nathan's new partner (series 3)
- Kobna Holdbrook-Smith as Glen Peters, the vicar performing Rose and James's wedding ceremony (main series 4; supporting series 1, 3)
- Elizabeth Roberts as Olivia 'Liv' Stern, Hannah and Nathan's elder daughter (main series 4; supporting series 1-3)
- Alex Guersman as Gael, Liv's fiancé (main series 4; supporting series 3)
- Romina Cocca as Valentina Carrillo, Gael's mother (series 4)
- Manu Fullola as Álvaro, Gael's father (series 4)
- Toby Stephens as Archie Moore, a lawyer and old friend of Álvaro's (series 4)
- Tibu Fortes as Julian, Nina's partner (series 4)
- Amanda Goldsmith as Wren Dinae, Archie's plus-one to the wedding (series 4)
Supporting
- Maggie O'Neill as Yvonne Duchy, Goldie's best friend, who is having an affair with her husband (series 1)
- Josette Simon as Maya, Oscar Defoe's second partner (series 1)
- Mathew Baynton as Rex Pope, a stand-up comedian (series 1-2)
- Mollie Cowen as Tilly Stern, Hannah and Nathan's younger daughter
- Toby Oliver as Vinnie Stern, Hannah and Nathan's son
- Ellora Torchia as Maggie Lavelle, a junior solicitor at Noble & Hale (series 1-2)
- Amaka Okafor as Chloe, Nathan's pupil (series 2)
- Brenock O'Connor as Sasha, Liv Stern's boyfriend (series 1)
- Kerry Fox as Judge Joyce Aspen (series 1)
- Anna Chancellor as Melanie Aickman, a family lawyer (series 2-3)
- Karen Bryson as Leonora 'Lennie' Hale, Zander's sister who is seeking to divorce her husband (series 3)
- Clarence Smith as Felix Sanderson, Leonora's husband (series 3)
- Lindsay Duncan as Caroline, the ex-wife of a deceased earl (series 3)
- Jemima Rooper as India, the young fiancée of the late earl (series 3)
- Radhika Aggarwal as Prisha, wife of the recipient of James's heart (series 3)
- Gerald Kyd as J. J. Johnson, a family lawyer (series 3)
- Lily Cole as Bella (series 3)
- Dariam Coco as Lola, an employee of Valentina and Álvaro's (series 4)
- Pedro Gutiérrez as Xavier Santos, a court clerk and old friend of Valentina's (series 4)
Production
Production for the first series began in July 2017 in London. On 13 January 2017, SundanceTV announced that it would be partnering with the BBC to produce the series. SundanceTV will thus hold exclusive rights for broadcast in the United States. Series 1 was released on DVD on 4 June 2018.
A second series was commissioned in May 2018 with production beginning in March 2019. Donna Air and Ben Bailey Smith joined the cast for the second series as high-profile clients for the law firm and Damien Molony as the character Tyler Donaghue. The first episode of series 2 aired in the UK on BBC One on 11 February 2020 and in the United States on Sundance TV beginning on 15 May 2020. During filming Series 2, production visited Maidstone TV Studios to film a studio show segment.
Series 3 premiered on BBC One on 4 April 2022. All six episodes were released on BBC iPlayer on the same day. Season three premiered on AMC and Sundance Now in the US on 23 June 2022 in full a week ahead of its linear broadcast premiere, with the show moving from SundanceTV to sister network BBC America, starting 27 June, with each episode airing weekly. It is unknown if series 3 will air in simulcast on both networks or not.
Episodes
Series overview
Series 1 (2018)
Series 2 (2020)
Series 3 (2022)
Special (2024)
The Split briefly returned for a two-part special, set in Barcelona, Spain. The first part aired on 29 December 2024 on BBC One and the second the following night.
Halted spin-off
On 22 February 2024, it was announced there would be a spin-off series, The Split-Up, set in Manchester and to be written by Ursula Rani Sarma. In September 2024, it was announced production had been suspended amid creative issues, though the BBC reaffirmed commitment to producing the series.
References
External links
- The Split at BBC Online
- The Split at IMDb
- The Split at epguides.com
