Deep breaths, everyone – you might feel old when you read the next sentence. It’s been 25 years since the cast of The Full Monty bared all in the hit Brit comedy-drama, Peter Cattaneo’s film tackling such serious topics as suicide, depression, parental rights and unemployment with an extra dose of Sheffield-centred stripping. (26 years, actually, this summer.) And while that might leave you feeling like you’ve drunk from the wrong grail in The Last Crusade, there is good news – it’s officially a long enough interval to warrant the now-obligatory legacy sequel. Yes, The Full Monty is back, with the full cast – including Robert Carlyle – in tow, for a Disney+ series set two and a half decades after the film. Watch the first trailer here:
The series comes from original film screenwriter Simon Beaufoy, with producer Uberto Pasolini back too, joined by incoming writer Alice Nutter. And alongside Carlyle are returning stars Mark Addy, Lesley Sharp, Hugo Speer, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, Wim Snape and Tom Wilkinson. As the official synopsis has it, the series follows “the same band of brothers as they navigate the post-industrial city of Sheffield, and society’s crumbling healthcare, education, and employment sectors. The comedy-drama will uncover what happened to the gang after they put their kit back on, exploring their brighter, sillier and more desperate moments. It will also highlight how the fiercely funny world of these working-class heroes – still residing in Sheffield – has changed in the intervening decades.”
While there’s little sign of more stripping here, the show seems to largely focus on Carlyl’s Gaz and his relationship with his teenage daughter Destiny, played by Talitha Wing. Find out of it teases the heart and mind as much as the original when the eight-part series begins streaming on Disney+ on 14 June.