Tags: blog, tv, fantasy, comedy, essential, 2026
Author: KickingK
Date: Sunday February 15th, 2026
As the actress said to the alchemist
British pagan folklore rarely gets to feature prominently in British media, at least outside of the Arthurian knights and their derivatives. It sometimes finds a home in horror (like the films of Ben Wheatley or the pages of 2000AD) where the low budget, grimey nature and askew weirdness work well together.
Which means MacKenzie Crook is working, figuratively and literally, in a field of his own, making tv that is steeped in old English folklore. Sitcom the Detectorists was set in the ghosts and echoes of British peasant history. Family comedy/drama Worzel Gummidge positively dives into the ancient magic and superstitions of the British countryside. And now Crook is back with Small Prophets, set in English suburbia which, as anyone who's paid time and attention in such places will have noticed, has never quite managed to remove itself from the ancient pagan culture that birthed it.
Pierce Quigley, finally and deservedly getting a leading role, plays Michael Sleep, a man who's partner disappeared seven years ago and has effectively put his life on pause ever since. Waiting for her to come home, unable to grieve, unwilling to give up hope. Lauren Patel is Kacey, his younger work colleague who forms a bond with him over their shared dislike of their DIY store boss, played by Mackenzie Crook.
On the instructions of Michael's dad (Michael Palin at his jovial best) the pair set out to grow Homunculi in a garden shed, for the purpose of divinating the whereabouts of Michaels missing love.
The way the two of them form a friendship is beautifully drawn. His grief and her thwarted dreams are dealt with in two completely different ways, which it turns out is exactly what the other needs.
In fact, the entire cast of characters are superbly written and acted, each of them being represented as whole human beings with loves and flaws. Only Clive, Michael's neighbour, is portrayed as a complete arse. Never has bedroom decor been employed as such a devastating indictment on someone's character.
Having worked in retail management, I can attest that Crook's depiction of store manager Gordon is eerily accurate. That awkward juxtaposition between being in a position of authority and having almost no actual power is mined for comedy gold. Hopefully I wasn't quite such a dick about it but it was an enjoyably uncomfortable watch to see my profession portrayed so deftly.
Where it really starts to shine is with the introduction of the Homunculi themselves. They are weird, creepy, magisterial and etherial. Nothing like what you would expect and never fully explained, their presence asks profound moral questions. Is it right to grow them, to keep them, to use them? The characters are so wrapped up in their own problems that these questions are barely asked, let alone answered, so there's a deep sense of moral doubt that hangs over the show. A darkness and sadness that maybe the characters are digging themselves into a much deeper hole and an act of self preservation in the final episode could have some dark consequences in the next series. A series I am very eagerly awaiting.
Brilliantly funny, profoundly melancholic and unlike anything else being made right now. A wonder.
