The Syndicate, a new British TV series

"5 poor workers in a supermarket in Leeds whose lives turn upside down after they jointly win the lottery." - Sourced from IMDb

Ah. Winning the lottery. It's the ultimate dream, isn't it? Millions of dollars waiting to be spent, to be lavished with...heck, I could even bathe in all that cash money. All the mansions and fast cars and clothes and shit that I could buy, right at my fingertips. Not just reachable, instantly available. Everything that I have ever wanted and craved for.  

The Syndicate is a new British drama TV series starring Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter films), Lorraine Bruce, Matthew Lewis (the frog-turned-prince Neville Longbottom from the Harry Potter films), Joanna Page and Matthew McNulty (Seth from yet another brilliant British TV series Misfits). 

The cast of The Syndicate (From L-R: Lorraine Bruce, Matthew Lewis,
Timothy Spall, Joanna Page & Matthew McNulty)

Drama is the right way to describe the pilot of the series (it was aired on the 27th of March 2012 in the UK). We are introduced to each character and a brief background detail so we know exactly where their lives stand before they'd won the lottery. This is one of the things I really like about British TV series, characters' backgrounds and personalities do not go over-the-top like some US ones do. With the British, things really do look 'real' and you don't just believe, you KNOW there are people like how they are portrayed as by the actors. I may be biased because I have always preferred British actors' training to the Americans' 'method' acting, but that's just my own (unpopular) opinion.  

The asthmatic Stuart (L) and Jamie (R).

In the first episode, the staff of the local Right U supermarket are faced with an uncertain future when the store is bought out by a larger corporation and threatened with closure. Desperate for cash and faced with the prospect of losing his young family if he doesn't get cash fast, assistant manager Stuart Bradley (brilliantly played by Matthew McNulty) and his younger brother Jamie (Matthew Lewis) decides to take matters into their own hands, resulting in unforeseen consequences for the store's manager, Bob (Timothy Spall). 

And baby makes four.

Fate doesn't seem to understand that it's a rhetorical question when you ask, "Can things get any worse?" Fate really loves a challenge. So what does It do? Fate (and destiny) dumps 18 million pounds onto their laps. Now, to answer the ultimate question: Is the money going to be the answer to all their problems, or is life about to get a whole lot more complicated?" 

The lottery syndicate
From L-R: Stuart, Leanne (Joanna Page), Denise (Lorraine Bruce) and Jamie.

It's a little too intense for me but I'm actually looking forward to future episodes. I am especially excited about the next episode, [SPOILER ALERT] when the overweight Denise's husband leaves her and she screams, "I CAN CHANGE!" and then goes off for plastic surgery. Stuart and Jamie are also in some serious shit for taking matters into their own hands, coz the cop sure is one hell of a Sherlock. [SPOILER END] Also, why is Leanne so apprehensive about the media coverage? 

We'll find out very soon in the next few episodes, I hope.