Being Human creator reveals cancelled movie plans
The beloved supernatural drama ran for five seasons.
Many shows have had the movie ending treatment over the past decade - Breaking Bad, Sense8, Veronica Mars, Sex and the City even had two! It's now been revealed that beloved supernatural drama Being Human almost joined their ranks.
This strategy allows the ending of a show to feel like a true event, alongside giving that final story a supercharged budget that allows some wiggle room for concepts the show itself may never have been able to justify.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com as Being Human turns 15, creator Toby Whithouse revealed that a movie was once on the cards.
“We were in the position that, as the show was approaching its end, someone said, ‘Oh, you should do a movie of Being Human!’ We thought, 'Ooh', and we all started to get a bit carried away - it was a very exciting idea," he told us at the Being Human reunion at BFI Southbank, as part of its In Dreams Are Monsters season.
While TV shows gaining feature film send-offs has become more common now we’re deep into the era of streaming, back in 2013 this was still a rarity for only the biggest and strongest of shows - Doctor Who had its feature-length 50th anniversary in cinemas across the UK, for example - so it’s clear that Being Human had a monumental impact on not just fans and broadcasters, but perhaps big Hollywood studios too.
“We talked to a very prestigious film production company who were quite interested, but I just couldn’t come up with an idea,' Whithouse continued.
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"They wanted three new characters, but by this point, I’d done about four different versions of the trio. There were the two main versions in the show, the trio in the web series [Becoming Human], there was even a historical trio!
"Every time you create that new group, there’s a very specific dynamic you have to establish between them. There came a point where I thought, ‘Well, I don’t think there is another version of this trio!'"
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Whithouse was known for constantly reinventing the show while it was on, as a new cast replaced the initial three of Aidan Turner, Russell Tovey and Lenora Crichlow - somehow, every trio he introduced were welcomed by the Being Human fandom and eventually became favourites, so it’s understandable why he would be hesitant to break such a strong streak.
It’s clear that Whithouse isn’t fully ruling out a return to the Being Human world. Although a one-off Christmas special - an idea previously floated by the original cast members - may not be on the cards, it’s just a matter of the right idea coming to him to return to Honolulu Heights once more.
Celebrate Being Human's 15th anniversary with RadioTimes.com on Saturday 18th February with a full interview with creator Toby Whithouse.
Being Human is available to stream on ITVX. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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