Mackenzie Crook and Toby Jones play Andy and Lance, forty-something members of the Danebury Metal Detecting Club who treat every bleep in the stubble like a telegram from King Alfred. Their quarry is the mythical Saxon ship-buried ‘treasure’ of local lore; their real finds are ring-pulls, toy cars and the slow-motion pleasure of wasting time. Shot in Framlingham and surrounding Suffolk villages, the series keeps its camera at boot-level, catching skylarks, combine harvesters and the quiet sound of men avoiding the rest of their lives.
Crook writes, directs and scores the show with folk musician Johnny Flynn, whose finger-picked theme song became a silver-certified single. Three series (2014-17) and two Christmas specials (2015, 2022) chart Andy’s drift into parenthood and archaeology, Lance’s guitar gigs in pub car parks, and the club’s turf war with a rival society whose leader drives a Range Rover. Dialogue is delivered in half-sentences over Thermos tea; the biggest laugh in episode one is a dropped pork-pie.
BBC Four premiered the first run; word of mouth moved it to BBC Two for the finale. The show won the 2015 BAFTA for Scripted Comedy and was voted 19th in a Radio Times poll of Britain’s best sitcoms. Its final shot, a golden aerial over harvested fields, leaves the question of buried treasure politely unanswered.
Production Details
BBC Four / 3 Seasons / 18 Episodes / 2014
Created by: Mackenzie Crook
Showrunner(s): Jim Reid, Lisa Thomas, Alan Marke
Writer(s): Mackenzie Crook
Producer(s): Adam Tandy, Gill Isles
Cinematography: Jamie Cairney
Music: Johnny Flynn, Dan Michaelson
Main Cast
Mackenzie Crook as Andy Stone
Toby Jones as Lance Stater
Rachael Stirling as Becky
Gerard Horan as Terry
Divian Ladwa as Hugh
Laura Checkley as Louise
Pearce Quigley as Russell
Sophie Thompson as Sheila
Orion Ben as Varde
Aimee-Ffion Edwards as Sophie
Simon Farnaby as Art
Paul Casar as Paul
