Scenes from a Marriage: Release date, cast, trailer for HBO series
Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain co-star in this emotional remake.
HBO has no shortage of anticipated prestige dramas coming down the pipeline, but there is particular interest in its Scenes from a Marriage remake, starring Oscar Isaac (Dune) and Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye).
The show was blessed with an attention-grabbing launch event, which saw red carpet footage of the two leads go viral across social media as fans were left in awe of their natural chemistry and close friendship.
No doubt both came in handy as they filmed this remake of Ingmar Bergman's acclaimed Scenes from a Marriage, which was released as both a miniseries and a feature-length film back in the early 1970s.
Filmmaker Hagai Levi, who previously co-created The Affair, is behind this updated version, which will study the nature of American couples through the lens of one struggling marriage.
Read on for everything you need to know about Scenes from a Marriage, including release date, cast, trailer and latest news.
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Scenes from a Marriage UK release date
CONFIRMED: Scenes from a Marriage will premiere on Sky Atlantic on Monday 11th October, with all five episodes available to stream on NOW from that same date.
We are a little behind our friends across the pond right now, as Scenes from a Marriage made its US debut on Sunday 12th September 2021, and is heading towards a finale date on 10th October.
Scenes from a Marriage cast
Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain lead the cast of Scenes from a Marriage, with the two sharing a decades-long friendship having attended college together. They previously shared the screen in 2014 crime drama A Most Violent Year.
Isaac is perhaps most widely known for his blockbuster work in the most recent Star Wars trilogy as fighter pilot Poe Dameron, but cinephiles will be familiar with him from indie hits like Inside Llewyn Davis and Ex Machina.
Meanwhile, Chastain has also maintained a good balance between awards fare and mainstream crowdpleasers, with work ranging from Oscar contenders Zero Dark Thirty and The Help to sci-fi epics The Martian and Interstellar.
The supporting cast of HBO's Scenes from a Marriage includes Corey Stoll (Ant-Man), Nicole Beharie (Sleepy Hollow), Sunita Mani (GLOW), Tovah Feldshuh (The Walking Dead), and child actor Sophia Kopera.
Scenes from a Marriage trailer
In August 2021, HBO dropped the first full-length trailer for its Scenes from a Marriage remake, featuring numerous emotionally charged moments shared between Isaac and Chastain's characters. Watch below.
Previously, the network had released a shorter teaser trailer, which sees Isaac's lullaby to his young daughter placed over scenes of explosive arguments and happier memories.
Scenes from a Marriage reviews
Scenes from a Marriage has already started airing in the United States, allowing television critics across the pond to weigh in on whether the series is worth your time.
Generally, the reception has been a positive one, with the internet's foremost review aggregate sites – Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes – each giving Scenes from a Marriage a nod of approval.
Rotten Tomatoes declares it "certified fresh" with an 84 per cent rating, while Metacritic denotes "favourable reviews" with an average score of 70 out of 100.
Most of the praise has been directed towards the performances of Isaac and Chastain, with Vulture noting it is them who "make this thing live" and hailing them as a "totally believable couple".
The Wall Street Journal agreed that the acting in HBO's remake is "largely superb", but criticised the plot as being "absurd", which proved to be a recurring feeling across many other reviews too.
Indeed, the general consensus seems to be that while its two lead actors are undeniably "spectacular" in the show (via Rolling Stone), the actual story bringing them together is considerably less interesting.
The Hollywood Reporter places blame at the feet of showrunner Hagai Levi for approaching the existing material in an unambitious way, with Variety adding it's closer to an "acting exercise" than any examination of modern love.
What is Scenes from a Marriage about?
Scenes from a Marriage explores the rollercoaster romantic relationship between Jonathan (Isaac) and Mira (Chastain) over a number of years, as they attempt to cope with raising a child, evolving feelings and infidelity.
As the reviews above note, the series is more character-focused than story-focused, intent on understanding the complicated dynamic between its two lead characters.
Is Scenes from a Marriage a remake?
Yes! The original Scenes from a Marriage was written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, released first as a television miniseries in Sweden and then as a feature film internationally.
The characters in the original are named Johan and Marianne, played by Erland Josephson and Liv Ullmann respectively, with the latter earning nominations at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes for her performance.
A key difference between Bergman's version and the remake is a flip in gender roles, with the new series picturing Chastain's character as the primary breadwinner and Isaac's as the stay-at-home caregiver to their child.
Scenes from a Marriage premieres on Sky Atlantic later this year. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
