The First Team
- TV sitcom
- BBC Two
- 2020
- 6 episodes (1 series)
Comedy following three young football players at a fictional Premier League team. Stars Jake Short, Shaquille Ali-Yebuah, Jack McMullen, Will Arnett, Chris Geere and more.
Episode menu
Series 1, Episode 1 - Selling Shirts
Further details
Mattie strikes up a friendship with fellow team member Benji Achebe, who fancies himself as a ladies man despite the fact that he still lives at home with his mum. And they both agree to help out the shy number 16 Jack Turner in an attempt to solve an embarrassing problem.
Broadcast details
- Date
- Thursday 28th May 2020
- Time
- 9:30pm
- Channel
- BBC Two
- Length
- 30 minutes
Cast & crew
| Jake Short | Mattie Sullivan |
| Shaquille Ali-Yebuah | Benji Achebe |
| Jack McMullen | Jack Turner |
| Will Arnett | Mark Crane |
| Chris Geere | Chris Booth |
| Theo Barklem-Biggs | Petey Brooks |
| Tamla Kari | Olivia Talbot |
| Paolo Sassanelli | Cesare |
| Yetunde Oduwole | Mrs Achebe |
| Ossian Perret | Pascal |
| Bobby Hirston | Garlic |
| Marvin Brown | Bootz |
| Greg McKenzie | Sports Reporter |
| George Potts | Doctor |
| Bronte Terrell | Jourdane |
| James Craze | Policeman 1 |
| Paul Richard Biggin (as Paul Biggin) | Policeman 2 |
| Jason Williamson | Kit Man Martin |
| Jolyon Young | Caretaker Steve |
| James Groom | Man in Cash and Carry |
| T'Jean Uter Dinh | Boy 1 |
| Tyler Crossinggum | Boy 2 |
| Guy Rhys | Daniel |
| Ali Iqbal | Delivery Man |
| Sally Nugent | Self |
| Jürgen Klopp | Self |
| Jonathan Pearce | Self (Football Commentator) (Voice) |
| Gary Lineker | Self |
| Damon Beesley | Writer |
| Iain Morris | Writer |
| Robert Popper | Script Editor |
| Tyrell Williams | Script Consultant |
| Damon Beesley | Director |
| Iain Morris | Director |
| Sam Pinnell | Producer |
| Tom Werner | Executive Producer |
| Caroline Leddy | Executive Producer |
| Gregor Sharp | Executive Producer |
| Damon Beesley | Executive Producer |
| Iain Morris | Executive Producer |
| Jane Harrison | Line Producer |
| Charlie Fawcett | Editor |
| Jeff Sherriff | Production Designer |
| Nadira Seecoomar | Casting Director |
| Jacqueline Mills | Costume Designer |
| Simon Tindall | Director of Photography |
| Line Kolaasaeter | Make-up Designer |
| Mike Skinner | Composer |
| David Scott | 1st Assistant Director |
Press
There was a BBC Two offering called The First Team, about an (unnamed) Premier League kickball club, which sounded initially unappealing. It is delightful, or at least as delightful as anything about football that sets itself up as a comedy might ever manage to be.
Written by the people behind The Inbetweeners, it focuses on the losers of the bunch: keen young woke Yank, stoic scouser, blingy gawk who believes anything posted is good publicity. It is joyous and eventually moving, in its explorations of greed, hashtags, bullying, crap management, unentitlement, and the average 20-grand-a-week bloke's grasp of the #MeToo movement. It is far from perfect but it's punchy, and, crucially, funny.
Euan Ferguson, The Observer, 31st May 2020The First Team review
The First Team just isn't ready for the big time. Back to the training ground.
Christopher Stevens, Daily Mail, 29th May 2020The First Team review
On paper, this pitchside sitcom should be an open goal - but it isn't quite there yet.
Nick Reilly, NME, 29th May 2020The First Team review
Unlikely lads make this slow-burn sitcom not just for football fans.
Susannah Butter, Evening Standard, 28th May 2020TV review: The First Team, BBC2
We might have to wait a bit longer for the real Premier League to start but you can get an early football fix with this new sitcom set in the world of soccer's top flight written by Inbetweeners writers Iain Morris and Damon Beesley. Although a word of warning if you are having really bad withdrawal symptoms, there is no actual football shown. This is pretty much a workplace comedy that happens to be set in the football world. Same shit, shinier cars.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 28th May 2020Review: The First Team
The Inbetweeners rightly raised Iain Morris and Damon Beesley to the comedy nobility. But with The First Team - another examination of young male relationships - they've missed the goal, certainly judging by a relatively flat opening episode.
Steve Bennett, Chortle, 28th May 2020The First Team - a football sitcom fit for relegation
This new comedy from the writers of The Inbetweeners boasts Will Arnett and trademark 'banter' - but there's only so long you can watch bored footballers playing Fifa.
Rebecca Sayce, The Guardian, 28th May 2020The First Team, review: second division comedy
The German Bundesliga and reruns of classic matches have been trying valiantly to fill the football-shaped hole in our lives. Could new pitchside sitcom The First Team (BBC Two) further plug the gap? No, it couldn't. Viewers were left sick as a parrot, rather than over the moon, Clive.
Michael Hogan, The Telegraph, 28th May 2020The First Team review: boys, balls and banter
Is The First Team football's answer to The Inbetweeners? Luckily for the BBC Two sitcom, yes it is.
Louisa Mellor, Den Of Geek, 28th May 2020The First Team review: football sitcom hits the post
New comedy series from the creators of The Inbetweeners fails to score big laughs.
Patrick Cremona, Radio Times, 28th May 2020Iain Morris and Damon Beesley on The First Team
The duo that skewered lad culture with The Inbetweeners are back and want to show us that football is not all toxic masculinity.
Jay Richardson, i Newspaper, 27th May 2020