Scenes From A Marriage Already Has A UK Air Date

Starring Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac, HBO’s five-part series Scenes From A Marriage is a new spin on the 1973 Ingmar Bergman classic of the same name. Written, directed, and executive produced by The Affair’s Hagai Levi, this take on Bergman’s depiction of love, marriage, and divorce will flip the original on its head by reversing the gender roles and changing the dynamics between a contemporary American couple. The series is already receiving praise from critics across the Atlantic, so here’s how to watch Scenes From A Marriage in the UK.

The series initially premiered in the U.S. on Sep. 12, and is currently airing on HBO and its streaming service HBO Max. Thankfully, British viewers won’t have long to wait as all five episodes of Scenes From A Marriage will be available to watch from Oct. 11 on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV via the Entertainment Pass.

Levi’s version of Bergman’s series focuses on Mira and Jonathan, played by Chastain and Isaac, respectively, a couple raising a young daughter together. An ambitious tech executive, Mira is feeling unfulfilled by her marriage while Jonathan, a philosophy professor, is desperate to keep their relationship afloat. The drama stems from this dilemma, which only worsens as they start to become involved with other people.

Originally approached about re-making the series by Bergman’s youngest son David, Levi wasn’t entirely sure how to replicate the raw and emotional feel of the Swedish series. The original characters, Johan and Marianne, weren’t exactly relatable, as Levi explained to Variety. “I didn’t know what to do with it,” he said, adding that he couldn’t put characters on screen that viewers wouldn’t identify with.

Six and a half years after being asked, Levi had a lightbulb moment. Why not flip the gender roles? This was the catalyst for him to start writing the series, which also became a commentary on “the price of separation” rather than the price of marriage and divorce. “The fact that you’re locked in marriage – it’s not true anymore,” Levi explained. “But what’s true is this unbearable lightness of separation. People are just leaving and moving on, because this is the society we live in. I mean, if you changed your iPhone every year, why not change your spouse?”