{"id":1254,"date":"2026-06-03T10:37:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:37:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T10:37:26","slug":"california-avenue-producer-on-new-bbc-drama-starring-helena-bonham-carter-and-bill-nighy-its-a-love-letter-to-television-from-the-1970s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254","title":{"rendered":"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n

\n\t\u201cCalifornia Avenue\u201d is the new show from Hugo Blick, the brains behind some of modern TV\u2019s most impressive dramas, including Emily Blunt starrer \u201cThe English,\u201d \u201cThe Honourable Woman\u201d with Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michaela Coel-fronted \u201cBlack Earth Rising.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Nearly 70% of Americans Play Video Games for at Least an Hour Each Week, New Report Finds<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tUnsurprisingly, \u201cCalifornia Avenue\u201d features an equally star-studded cast in the form of Bill Nighy (\u201cLove Actually), Helena Bonham Carter (\u201cFight Club\u201d), Erin Doherty (\u201cAdolescence\u201d) and Tom Burke (who\u2019s currently shooting Alex Garland\u2019s \u201cElden Ring.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\n\tProduced by Blick\u2019s production company Eight Rooks and Drama Republic for the BBC, the series is set at an English mobile home park in the summer of 1975, when Doherty\u2019s character Lela returns home after a long absence with her 11-year-old daughter in tow. It was in part inspired by Blick\u2019s own experiences of staying with his beloved grandparents in a mobile home community.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSet in the bucolic British summer of 1975, with a fabulous period soundtrack, this is a warm and witty story about a family on the run from the past and themselves who end up in a community of outsiders,\u201d Blick tells Variety<\/em>. \u201cWhether these people live in trailers, caravans or RVs, their (non)status as outcasts and misfits is universal. But like \u2018The Darling Buds of May,\u2019 or \u2018Schitt\u2019s Creek,\u2019 sometimes it\u2019s the folk with nothing who have the most to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile the series will air in the U.K. on BBC, Mediawan Rights and Entourage Media are distributing the six-episode drama internationally.<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing a warmly-received preview of the first episode at Canneseries last month, Greg Brenman, a producer on the show and co-founder of Drama Republic, sat down with Variety<\/em> to discuss how \u201cCalifornia Avenue\u201d got off the ground and whether it might return after the first season.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhat was the genesis for \u201cCalifornia Avenue\u201d?\t<\/h5>\n

\n\tThis show started in development with the BBC a few years ago, and I remember we pitched it to [the BBC\u2019s former head of content] Charlotte Moore, who loved the idea of this community of people living in a mobile home environment in the mid \u201870s, all escaping the world in one way or another.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a love letter to television from the 1970s because [as a child, Blick] spent a lot of his time in a caravan with two people that he absolutely adored, particularly his grandfather \u2014 represented to a degree, but not entirely, by Bill Nighy\u2019s character \u2014 and watching a lot of TV.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd I think for him it was a sort of window into an entertainment industry that was going to sit with him and blossom many, many, many years later.<\/p>\n

Read more JioHotstar Goes on AI Hiring Spree as India\u2019s Largest Streamer Bets on Homegrown Tech (EXCLUSIVE)<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhat is the show about?\t<\/h5>\n

\n\tThe story starts with Erin\u2019s character, called Lela, running away from a mansion where she lives with what we will discover is quite an abusive husband. We only hear him off camera screaming and shouting at her. She runs away with her 11-year-old daughter and travels overnight and turns up in a mobile home community in the middle of British countryside, and we will discover that actually she\u2019s coming home. She ran away to live with the man in the mansion, she had a child with the man in the mansion, and she is returning home where her mum and dad live, which is Bill and Helena\u2019s characters, and she will introduce her daughter, their granddaughter, to them for the first time.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo it\u2019s about a fractured family coming back together and healing the wounds of her departure, of Erin\u2019s character\u2019s departure, and it\u2019s also a place where she meets Tom Burke\u2019s character. He\u2019s also there for his own reasons, escaping some incidents in his life, and they fall in love. And then, of course, it\u2019s the love story of Erin reunited with her mum and dad, and the love story, actually, of Helena and Bill, their [characters\u2019] enduring relationship. And for the 11-year-old kid, which I think is loosely the age Hugo was in 1975, being with this family, and enjoying the warmth of this community, albeit considered an off-grid, bunch of misfits.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tHow did you get such an impressive cast?\t<\/h5>\n

\n\tHelena and Bill came on very early. They absolutely fell in love with the material. I think one of the benefits of working with Hugo is he attracts a lot of top talent, if you think about Maggie and Emily Blunt and Michaela, because he writes shows unlike anybody else. I think that when actors of that calibre read these scripts, as they\u2019ve done in the past with other shows, they find a world and a level of skill and character insight that maybe they\u2019re not always getting in other projects.<\/p>\n

\n\tTo put it bluntly, you know, there are a lot of genre shows around, aren\u2019t there? Dead bodies and fast car chases, and that is not this world. This is a world of huge love, huge humor, huge emotional journeys for all four characters, and I think it\u2019s a testament to their loyalty, but also really to the scripts that they stuck with it.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhy do you think they all signed up to it?\t<\/h5>\n

\n\tWell, they\u2019re not doing it for the money! And if you strip that out, you go, well, what\u2019s left? The experience of working with the other cast, the scripts, Hugo Blick, reading something unusual, unique, special. That\u2019s all you could hope for, isn\u2019t it, when you aim big with modest resources?<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhen you\u2019re doing something that\u2019s very set in a particular period in a particular place, do you have to think about how the show is going to travel internationally?\t<\/h5>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s a tricky one. I mean, I produced \u201cBilly Elliot,\u201d the film, years and years ago, and you could put all of those questions to that project. And I think the answer is, you just have to tell a story that matters to you, that\u2019s got universal emotion, that is told with the best cast, the best direction, the best scripts, the best design, and hope that it means something to a broad, global audience. Obviously, with \u201cBilly Elliot,\u201d we didn\u2019t have a clue at the time, but it chimed and you realize, of course, as you would with this show, that who doesn\u2019t have differences with their parents? Who doesn\u2019t want fractures to be healed? Who doesn\u2019t want a better understanding of the fallibility of the people who brought you up? Who doesn\u2019t want to fall in love? So all of those things are universal.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tDoes \u201cCalifornia Avenue\u201d have the potential to be a returning series?\t<\/h5>\n

\n\tIt definitely could return. It hasn\u2019t necessarily been designed to return, but it\u2019s about, ultimately, a group of people who are in a better place at the end of it than they are at the beginning so they all survive to tell the tale.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Virginia Woolf\u2019s Night & Day\u2019 Review: Haley Bennett Is Starry-Eyed in a Literary Adaptation With Much Heart and a Heavy Hand<\/a><\/p>\n

\nThis interview has been edited and condensed.
<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018California Avenue\u2019 producer Greg Brenman says new BBC drama starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy is a \u2018love letter to television.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1253,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[1209,1210,1211],"class_list":["post-1254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv","tag-drama-republic","tag-helena-bonham-carter","tag-mediawan-2"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019 - Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 producer Greg Brenman says new BBC drama starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy is a \u2018love letter to television.\u2019\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Observer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T10:37:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"headline\":\"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T10:37:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254\"},\"wordCount\":1247,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/915d6b8df21f37387013ee810d994508.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Drama Republic,\",\"Helena Bonham Carter,\",\"Mediawan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"TV\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254\",\"name\":\"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019 - Relocation Observer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/915d6b8df21f37387013ee810d994508.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T10:37:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/915d6b8df21f37387013ee810d994508.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/915d6b8df21f37387013ee810d994508.webp\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?p=1254#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Observer\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationobserver.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019 - Relocation Observer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019 - Relocation Observer","og_description":"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 producer Greg Brenman says new BBC drama starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy is a \u2018love letter to television.\u2019","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254","og_site_name":"Relocation Observer","article_published_time":"2026-06-03T10:37:26+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"headline":"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019","datePublished":"2026-06-03T10:37:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254"},"wordCount":1247,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/915d6b8df21f37387013ee810d994508.webp","keywords":["Drama Republic,","Helena Bonham Carter,","Mediawan"],"articleSection":["TV"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254","name":"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019 - Relocation Observer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/915d6b8df21f37387013ee810d994508.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-03T10:37:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/915d6b8df21f37387013ee810d994508.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/915d6b8df21f37387013ee810d994508.webp","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=1254#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u2018California Avenue\u2019 Producer on New BBC Drama Starring Helena Bonham Carter and Bill Nighy: \u2018It\u2019s a Love Letter to Television From the 1970s\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/","name":"Relocation Observer","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2243ff062b31c5195cd0d9f83884e83e","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationobserver.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1254"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1254\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}