The British White Lotus? A group trip goes wrong in BBC drama Two Weeks in August

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLola SchroerVarious Artists Limited / BBC / Robert ViglaskyThe cast of Two Weeks in August head to a party at a luxury Greek villa "It's a group holiday gone wrong," says actress Jessica Raine about new BBC drama Two Weeks in August. Set on a sun-soaked Greek island, the drama follows a group of university friends reuniting for a long-awaited summer holiday. Now older, the friends are still connected, but marriage, children and mental health struggles have reshaped their relationships. Beneath the cocktails, boat trips and villa life, tensions simmer and emotions rise. Then an illicit kiss threatens to change their lives forever. For its cast, the series felt instantly recognisable. "I've been on this holiday," says Damien Molony. "I know who these people are." At the center is Zoe, played by Raine, a teacher and mother quietly struggling under the pressure of holding everything together. Molony plays her husband Dan, whose depression hangs heavily over the trip, as cracks in their marriage begin to show. Raine says she was drawn in by the script's exploration of modern expectations placed on women. "I think it chimes really well with my generation of people-pleasing," she says. "There's this idea that in order to be a 'good woman', you have to sacrifice yourself for your children or your husband... and the notion that you can have it all is a complete lie." Molony says he was initially struck by how dark his character's early scenes felt when he first read the scripts. "I didn't know it was a comedy at first," exclaims the Irish actor. "It felt quite tragic." He describes Dan as someone who is visibly struggling but unable to express it in a way that helps him. "He's constantly trying to smile for the camera," he says. "But he doesn't really know how anymore." From the outset, Dan's dark and emotional scenes put into motion a series of events that strain the wider group. Antonia Thomas, who plays Jess, says the series captures what happens when people who once knew each other intimately realise how much they've changed. "There's a real hopefulness about booking a nice villa somewhere and thinking everyone's going to have a great time together," says Antonia. "But people change. They're not the same people they were 10 years ago." Thomas says that gap between expectation and reality creates a particular tension within the group. "It becomes a kind of pressure cooker," she explains. "Everyone falls back into old roles, even if they don't fit anymore." She adds that Jess's place in the group reflects that sense of quiet disconnection, "She tries to connect, but doesn't always get it right." You wouldn't be wrong to think of Two Weeks in August as something of a British White Lotus, a comparison its writer Catherine Shepherd has addressed. Speaking in a recent interview with the Royal Television Society, Shepherd said that the tone and intent of the two shows are different. She said that "the White Lotus is about people who are super rich", whereas Two Weeks in August focuses on "relatively normal people with normal concerns". That distinction is key to the series' tone, less glossy satire and more grounded discomfort. Filmed in Malta and Gozo, the series also stars Leila Farzad and Hugh Skinner, whose performances lean further into the show's dark comedy. For Nicholas Pinnock, who plays successful actor Solomon, that realism is what makes the show feel distinctly British in its outlook. "There's a real stiff upper lip Britishness about it," he says. "People are trying to avoid the thing that's staring them in the face and brushing things under the carpet until eventually it all ignites." But as the holiday begins to unravel, Two Weeks in August gradually weaves in Greek mythology increasing the group's tense dynamic. For Raine, that was one of the script's biggest surprises. "It sort of sideswipes you," she says. "You're not expecting it." The actress also points to the mythological figures known as The Fates or Moirai, who appear throughout the series and become increasingly central to Zoe's emotional unravelling. In Greek mythology The Fates are three women who control the thread of human life, deciding how long a person lives. "It's scary," she says. "She starts seeing them in the corner of her eye, almost like ghosts." Two Weeks in August will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on the 23rd May.

The British White Lotus? A group trip goes wrong in BBC drama Two Weeks in August

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