(courtesy IMDb)
SNAPSHOT
Small Prophets is a comic tale of the eccentric Michael Sleep (Pearce Quigley) who, since his darling Clea disappeared seven years ago, has lived a very ordinary life. He works in a DIY store, visits his dad Brian (Sir Michael Palin) and hopes for Clea to return. One day Brian shares an old recipe involving rainwater, horse manure & more than a little alchemy. With recipe in hand, Michael sets out (albeit with skepticism) to create homunculi — magical spirits that can predict the future — in the hope they have the answer to his burning question: “will I ever see Clea again?” Michael gets help from his young coworker Kacey (Lauren Patel), an unlikely friendship that blossoms partly (but not wholly) through their mutual dislike of store manager Gordon (Mackenzie Crook). Their friendship adds to the frustration & intrigue of nosy neighbors (Sophie Willan, Jon Pointing) who are obsessed with trying to find out what the hell’s going on in the shed.Small Prophets is a series created and written and directed by British comedy actor / writer Mackenzie Crook, also director on series Britannia, Worzel Gummidge, Detectorists, The Change previously. The full series is written & directed by Crook. Produced by Gill Isles. Made by Treasure Trove, Blue House, Hot Olives Productions. Executive produced by Mackenzie Crook, Lisa Thomas, Christine Gernon, Emma Strain. This originally debuted in the UK on BBC iPlayer in February 2026. (courtesy First Showing)
I love small-scale quirky charactery study TV shows.
It’s something the British in particular do very well; they masterfully mix magically real or idiosyncratic elements in with the very human stuff of day-to-day life and the result are shows that are delightfully and beautifully odd but brimming with grounded down-to-earth and quite affecting humanity.
Small Prophets has actually been on the Australian national broadcaster’s streaming platform for some time and this will spur me to watch it because the trailer suggests a show that is all kinds of wonderful.
And honestly with the world doing its best impersonation of a dumpster, hellscape apocalyptic nightmare right now, I think we could all use some meaningful, emotional resonant whimsy right now.
Small Prophets debuts on AppleTV on 7 October; currently available on Australia’s ABC TV’s iView service.