‘Two Weeks to Live’ Season One Review: A British Comedy Series with a Dark Twist

Spoilers Below

Two Weeks to Live Season One, executive produced by Morwenna Gordon, stars Maisie Williams as Kim Noakes, a young woman who ran away from her overprotective survivalist mother, Tina (Sian Clifford). Tina raised her off the grid in rural Scotland. Kim’s an expert hunter, fighter, and markswoman, but she is naïve about everything else. The funny, wild story begins when Kim mistakenly thinks that the world is ending in two weeks.

The British dark comedy’s humor comes out during the show’s darkest moments. The prime example of this is when Kim breaks into the home of her father’s killer. A mobster hitman named Jimmy. The mood is entirely serious as she points her gun at Jimmy’s head. Kim asks the hitman if he remembers her. Jimmy has no idea who she is, so she reveals her father’s name is Bill Noakes. Kim cocks the gun expecting him to remember the assassination. Jimmy asks if her father was small or big. She curses. Jimmy explains how he is getting old, so it’s hard for him to remember. He asks for a picture, which Kim doesn’t have. The characters are serious, but the scene is funny because it turns the revenge motif on its head. Kim can’t seek revenge since the killer literally can’t remember her father. Two Weeks to Live is a great dark comedy because it finds levity amongst the most violent moments.

Kim’s whole life unravels in the series. A vital part of the story is Tina’s secrets being slowly revealed. One of the lies involves the box full of Bill’s ashes. At the start of the series, Kim plans to briefly leave her hideout to cross some things off her bucket list with her dead father, Bill. Kim only knew Bill as a small child, but her Dad means a lot to her. She brings his ashes with her. Kim crosses off drinking a pint at the bar where her parents met from her bucket list. 

Later on, Nicky persuades Tina to let Kim experience one of the other bucket list wishes before heading back to their hideout. They have a fun day at the local theme park. Afterward, Nicky shows Kim that the anti-pollution medicine she was taking for years are mints. Outraged, Kim runs away to the beach, where she plans to spread her father’s ashes. Nicky tracks her down. The two discuss how the more time Kim spends at Bill’s hometown, the less she feels that she knows her father. 

Nicky comforts Kim. And when she opens the box to spread Bill’s ashes, there is only a Cricket game DVD inside. Tina lied to Kim for years. The build-up of Kim’s emotional connection to the ashes made the discovery of the DVD more poignant. She has been speaking to a DVD all these years, not her father.

Family and relationships are a vital part of Two Weeks to Live. The most important relationship is between Kim and her mother, Tina. They have been living alone all of these years. Tina lied to Kim to keep her safe, but also for companionship. But even with all their problems, the two love and protect each other. 

Nicky spends most of the show lying to his older brother Jay. Jay thinks they’re building a landscaping business together, but the younger brother plans to move to London for an internship. He feels guilt for abandoning Jay, who relies on him to one day help run their business since he is an oblivious person. 

All Jay wants is to raise his future baby with his pregnant career-driven girlfriend, Beth. He is scared about losing Beth because she refuses to tell him about the pregnancy. Jay thinks that if he doesn’t open the business with Nicky, Beth will leave him for not being ambitious enough. Though in the end, Beth and Jay discover they want the same thing. 

All of the relationships are complicated but full of love. The least important relationship in the series is the possible romance between Nicky and Kim. Unlike most meet-cutes, Kim and Nicky do not end up together. When the two connect at a pub a red flag came went up for me. It would of be an error for the dark comedy to morph into a romantic story. 

Two Weeks to Live complicates romantic comedies. Nicky and Kim share a kiss, but their emotional connection over losing a parent supersedes any romance. He is a crucial friend and confidant who refuses to leave Kim alone even if it puts himself in danger. The possibility of a romantic relationship is ruined when the runaway realizes that Nicky lied about the world ending in two weeks. 

The standard convention, the woman usually forgives the man for betraying her because they are in love. Kim never does. She doesn’t regret the kiss, but in the end, she leaves home alone. Kim needs to find her identity before she can find love.

Two Weeks to Live is a short compact series, so if you enjoy British comedy, it’s an easy, fun watch.