Small Prophets is a British comedy drama television series created, written and directed by Mackenzie Crook. Filmed in the Manchester area, it stars Pearce Quigley as a man who turns to alchemy and homunculi in an attempt to learn what happened after his partner disappeared, with the cast also including Crook, Michael Palin, Lauren Patel, Sophie Willan and Jon Pointing. The series premiered on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on 9 February 2026. In September 2026, Small Prophets was renewed for a second series.
Small Prophets is a British comedy drama television series created, written and directed by Mackenzie Crook. Filmed in the Manchester area, it stars Pearce Quigley as a man who turns to alchemy and homunculi in an attempt to learn what happened after his partner disappeared, with the cast also including Crook, Michael Palin, Lauren Patel, Sophie Willan and Jon Pointing. The series premiered on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on 9 February 2026. In September 2026, Small Prophets was renewed for a second series.
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Small Prophets is a British comedy drama television series created, written and directed by Mackenzie Crook. Filmed in the Manchester area, it stars Pearce Quigley as a man who turns to alchemy and homunculi in an attempt to learn what happened after his partner disappeared, with the cast also including Crook, Michael Palin, Lauren Patel, Sophie Willan and Jon Pointing. The series premiered on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on 9 February 2026. In September 2026, Small Prophets was renewed for a second series.
Premise
Michael Sleep is still struggling after his girlfriend, Clea, vanished seven years earlier. Sleep works in a DIY store, visits his dad Brian and hopes for Clea’s return. After receiving an alchemical recipe to create homunculi, he awaits their prophecies, hoping for answers about whether he will ever see her again. As he pursues this, he is helped by a colleague, Kacey, hindered by their unpopular boss, and drawn into conflict with nosey neighbours who become suspicious of what he is doing in his shed.
Sophie Willan as Bev, Michael's neighbour and Clive's wife
Charlotte Mills as Hilary, an employee at Brian's care home
Adam Wright as Elliot
Shola Adewusi as Olive, Michael's neighbour
Howard Gossington as Bob
Kathryn Drysdale as Bea
Rhiannon Clements as Professor Drinkwater
Production
In May 2025, the BBC commissioned the six-part sitcom Small Prophets, created, written and directed by Mackenzie Crook. The series is produced by Treasure Trove, Blue House and Hot Olives Productions, with Gill Isles as producer, and Crook serving as an executive producer alongside Lisa Thomas, Christine Gernon, and Emma Strain. Crook has said his idea for the series part-came from a footnote in a book about Swiss alchemist Paracelsus. The theme tune "The Wise Man's Song" is written by musician Cinder Well exclusively for the series.. American electronic musician Steve Roach created the "mystical atmospheres for the prophet revealing creatures".
The series includes animation by Ainslie Henderson and Will Anderson. It was filmed in Greater Manchester, with scenes shot on location in residential streets in Urmston, at the Wickes store and Covent Garden café in Stockport, the Garrick's Head pub in Flixton, and along the Bridgewater Canal under the M60 at junction 7.
On 8 September 2026, the BBC confirmed that Small Prophets would return for a second series, which will move from BBC Two to BBC One. The six-part series will be written and directed by Crook and produced by Isles.
Release
The series premiered on BBC Two on 9 February 2026, with new episodes airing weekly. All episodes were released on BBC iPlayer the same day in the UK.
The series made its American and selected international regions debut on the Apple TV streaming service; the first two episodes were released on 7 October 2026.
Viewership
The show averaged 6.3m over 28-days. The first episode attracted 7.7 million viewers over 28 days, up to 9.2 million as of 8 September 2026.
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 100% approval rating, based on 22 reviews. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 87 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
The series received five stars in The Guardian, where it was described as a "show full of gorgeous surprises" and "pure, pure pleasure". The series was given four stars in The Daily Telegraph, where it was described as "eccentric, funny, sweet, and sad – often all at once" with praise for the performances of Quigley and Palin. The series also received five stars in The Times with Crook praised for his "joyous storytelling" that "can make you feel strangely and intensely alive". The show won the award for "best series in the international panorama competition" at Series Mania 2026.
