Fresh Meat Information

Fresh Meat is a British sitcom and award-winning series created by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, who also created Peep Show. The first episode, directed by David Kerr, was broadcast on Channel 4 on 21 September 2011, and aired on Wednesdays at 10 pm. Fresh Meat marked the acting début of comedian Jack Whitehall and also stars Kimberley Nixon of Cranford and Joe Thomas of The Inbetweeners. Channel 4 described the show as a comedy drama. The second series started airing on 9 October 2012, and comprised 8 episodes. On 22 November 2012, a third series was commissioned.

Plot

The plot revolves around the lives of six students who are freshers (with the exception of Howard) at the fictional Manchester Medlock University, Manchester. They live in a shared house off-campus in Rusholme rather than university halls of residence, due to their late application.

Production

Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain created Fresh Meat's characters and wrote the first episode whilst watching The Young Ones on VHS; subsequent episodes were written by other writers. Bain has explained the reasons for this approach: "We always imagined this as a team-written show partly for practical reasons because Peep Show has been recommissioned, and moving forward if we're lucky enough to get another series of Fresh Meat we simply couldn't write two shows at once. So we always knew we wanted to bring other writers on board, some are more experienced, some very talented women writers, and one who had just graduated when we started writing."

Fresh Meat is produced by Liverpool-based Lime Pictures and London-based Objective Productions. The programme was filmed at The Sharp Project in Manchester, a recently built £16.5 million studio facility to fill the void when Granada Studios closes in 2013. The programme is also set in Manchester, specifically at the fictional Manchester Medlock University. Some scenes are filmed on location on the campus of the real life Manchester Metropolitan University, and scenes set within the students' union are filmed in MMUnion. In series 2 the University of Salford's library and many exterior parts of the campus was used as a set.

In October 2011, Channel 4 announced that a second series had been commissioned. The second series was completed in August 2012, and started broadcasting the following October.

In November 2012 Jack Whitehall hinted in an interview with GQ that a third series of Fresh Meat is being written. Channel 4 confirmed the third series on Twitter following the second series finale.

Characters

Main characters

• Zawe Ashton as Violet "Vod" Nordstrom: A literature student and former Forces child, she is studying at the university on an RAF Officer Bursary. Vod is streetwise, forthright and alludes to having Anti-establishment views. She is the life and soul of any party, and often drinks and take drugs. Her university grades are poor, due to her tendency to be work-shy, and she regularly copies Oregon's work. Whenever she is challenged on these things, though, she tends to respond defensively.
• Greg McHugh as Howard MacCallum: A Scottish geology student. Howard is eccentric, socially inept and has many strange mannerisms. He is also the only non-fresher in the house. With the exception of his housemates, he has few friends, mostly due to his eccentricity and his blunt and direct remarks. Despite this, he is usually friendly and well mannered.
• Kimberley Nixon as Josephine "Josie" Jones: A dentistry student from Cardiff. While initially coming across as sensible and sweet natured, Josie has a fierce temper, a strong unwillingness to concede defeat, and can get aggressive very easily. This is most often seen in her interactions with Kingsley, with whom she has a tortured relationship, mostly due to their mutual attraction to one another. She is hurt by his decision to sleep with drama student Ruth midway through the first series, causing a rift to form between them. This rift doesn't recover very well over the winter break, and she becomes upset in the second series when Kingsley forms a relationship with her friend, Heather. In Series 2, she is thrown off her Dentistry course later on in the series due to her turning up to a practical exam drunk, and accidentally drilling through a patient's cheek, forcing her to transfer to the University of Southampton. It is indicated in a recent episode that she is on Beta blockers, suggesting she has anxiety issues.
• Charlotte Ritchie as Melissa "Oregon" Shawcross: Oregon is a literature student and, like JP, from a privileged background; but unlike him, attempts to hide it, out of concern for her appearance in front of her peers, as well as changing her name. She immediately befriends Vod, the most outgoing and party-loving of the housemates, and attempts to emulate her. She ends up giving herself away by revealing she has a car, and later when she returns home with the gang to visit her dying horse.
• Joe Thomas as Kingsley Owen: A geology and drama student from Essex, who has only just been let off the leash after having spent many years living on a council estate, caring for his sick mother. He is much more helpful than JP, and much less selfish, although he is nevertheless quite cocky and, like Josie, unwilling to concede defeat. His tortured relationship with Josie is a result of the two both sharing a mutual attraction to one another, and a rift was formed between them when Kingsley made the decision to sleep with Drama student Ruth, and later when he formed a relationship with Josie's friend, Heather. Despite claiming to have had many sexual encounters in the past, he later reveals to Josie that he is a virgin. He and Josie briefly recognised their feelings and had sex in the final episode of series 2, but the two are unsure as to how to proceed, as Josie is moving to Southampton. However, just as Josie leaves Manchester for good, Kingsley is seen racing through the crowd after her bus, revealing that it is Josie he wants to be with, rather than Heather.
• Jack Whitehall as Jonathan "JP" Pembersley: JP is a geology student and an Old Stoic who failed to get into a 'proper' university. He is very arrogant, and tends to look down on his fellow students, and his privileged background is often mocked by Kingsley. Unlike Oregon, he is open about his privileged background, and speaks with a posh accent. Nonetheless, his efforts to appear cocky and 'cool', which include sucking up to Ralph, an old classmate, often lead him into more trouble, including financing the 'Love Cloud' disco, and getting drugs. His father dies midway through the first series, and in the aftermath, his old house is sold, and he becomes distant from his mother. With his privileged life crumbling around him, he decides to buy the house in Manchester from the University, allowing him to reside there with his friends.

Other characters

• ? as Paul Lamb "The Invisible Man", unseen former housemate. Paul was never seen but had interacted with the housemates, although none of them ever saw him either. In the last episode of season 1, Howard meets Paul's mother. She reveals that Paul had had some sort of mental breakdown and had left college and moved out for an unknown period of time, but returned for the final few days of term. Although no one had ever seen him or even knew he was gone, she tells Howard that Paul spoke very highly of the others and considered them friends. (series 1)
• Tony Gardner as Professor Tony Shales, English lecturer, ex-boyfriend of Oregon and husband of Jean Shales (series 1–)
• Sara Stewart as Professor Jean Shales, English lecturer and wife of Tony Shales (series 1–)
• Robert Webb as Dan, Geology lecturer (series 1–)
• Emma Rigby as Rachel, student (series 1)
• Gemma Chan as Ruth, drama student (series 1)
• Ben McGregor as Dave, Josie's ex-boyfriend/fiance (series 1)
• Jack Fox as Ralph, schoolmate of JP (series 1–)
• Adam Gillen as Brian, Geology student (series 1)

• Jelka van Houten as Sabine, former housemate and Paul Lamb's replacement (series 2)
• Sophie Wu as Heather, Josie's friend and fellow dentistry student, and later Kingsley's girlfriend (series 2–)
• Gwilym Lee as Giles, JP's friend (series 2)
• Ronan Raftery as Dylan Shales, Oregon's boyfriend and son of Tony and Jean Shales. (series 2–)

Episodes

Series 1 (2011)

"?-	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.K. viewers (millions) </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= Five new students arrive at Manchester Medlock University to share a house. The girls are the sweet-natured Josie, streetwise and forthright Vod, and Oregon, who is anxious to appear cool. The boys are JP, an ex-Stowe public schoolboy who failed to get into a 'proper' university and tends to look down on people, and kind-hearted Kingsley, off the leash at last after years of caring for his sick mother. Already in residence is Howard, a Scotsman of indeterminate age who seems to have lived at the house longer than a second-year student should. At the pub Kingsley thinks he has scored with Rachel (Emma Rigby), only to discover that she is recruiting for a Christian group. In fact Josie is attracted to him but somehow ends up in bed with JP. Once the term has started Oregon loses no time in arguing with her English tutor Professor Tony Shales, though somehow Vod seems to have claimed ownership of her essay. Howard is happy that he now has some friends and is no longer a social outcast.	LineColor=F5DEB3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= Josie catches JP putting his weights in the room occupied by unseen housemate Paul, and tells him she regrets that they slept together. The housemates realise they are in 'social Siberia' so they decide to throw a party, spearheaded by Josie in the hope that she and Kingsley will get together " a plan scuppered when her long-term boyfriend Dave turns up unexpectedly. JP unsuccessfully tries to impress two of his old schoolmates by inviting them to the party, where he gets stoned and then finds Paul throwing his weights out of the window. Vod gets Howard to pose as her boyfriend to get rid of someone she accidentally kissed in the pub, and Oregon's attempts at cultivating an 'alternative' image are dented by the revelation that she has a car. Geology lecturer Dan's attempts to fit in at the party culminate in him embarrassing himself by throwing up and falling over.	LineColor=F5DEB3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= After an encounter with seductive drama student Ruth, Kingsley switches to her course, upsetting Dan in the process. Josie enrols everyone in a charity dating scheme but her own date does not turn up, which she later discovers was because he recently died. JP falls asleep whilst having sex with his date and a misunderstanding leads him to worry that he raped her, and Vod and Howard's charity date at an all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant ends badly when Howard's 'beat the buffet' tactics backfire. Tony Shales invites Oregon to his house, supposedly to do his cleaning " Vod warns her not to get romantically involved with him, but Oregon ends up embarking on a secret affair with him anyway. Kingsley's frustration at not being able to get close to Josie inspires his performance piece on his new course.	LineColor=F5DEB3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= As the housemates are drinking and revealing how they lost their virginity, Kingsley shocks everyone with a far-fetched story about losing his virginity aged 12. When she talks to him about it later, he admits to Josie that it was made up and that he is still a virgin, which she tells Vod and Oregon despite promising not to. When Kingsley finds out, Josie offers to have sex with him as a way of making it up to him (as she plans to break up with Dave), much to Kingsley's delight. Oregon and Tony Shales' affair becomes strained when he books them into a hotel but says he will not be able to stay the night, and Vod finds herself actually enjoying writing an essay after Oregon refuses to let her copy her work anymore. Before Kingsley can meet up with Josie for their planned encounter, he ends up sleeping with Ruth, whilst Josie fails to break up with Dave, due to him being at a party to celebrate his grandmother's birthday. Neither of them confesses to the other, and they sleep together as planned. JP continues to try and impress his old schoolfriends by obtaining drugs for them, using Howard as a 'wingman'. They continue to shun him and he returns to the house depressed, only to be amused by the discovery that Kingsley has only just lost his virginity.	LineColor=F5DEB3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= The housemates are attending an anti-tuition fees protest with JP planning to use the demo as a free trip to meet up with his friends in a bar. At the demo, Kingsley gets kettled with both Ruth and Josie and the truth about him losing his virginity is revealed, leading he and Josie to fall out explosively. Vod is furious when she finds out about Oregon and Tony Shales' affair, and Oregon promises to end it " but she finds herself unable to, and she and Tony Shales sleep together again, although she tells Vod she broke it off. Meanwhile, JP ends up being dragged back to the coach by the police after getting carried away at the demo, and Howard spends the trip bonding with his new friend Brian.	LineColor=F5DEB3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary=JP is devastated when his emotionally distant father tells him that he recently suffered a heart attack, and Oregon learns that her childhood horse is dying. Vod accidentally overdoses and is taken to hospital where she is told she should enter rehab, but JP talks her into going back to the house instead. JP, Oregon and Vod decide to take acid, but before the girls can take their tabs JP gets a call saying that his father has had another heart attack and that JP needs to return home. As Oregon and Vod are driving JP home whilst he is high on acid, Oregon's mother calls to say her horse is fading fast. They make a detour to her house where Vod is shocked by Oregon's privileged background, and that her name is in fact Melissa. An emotional JP sits with the horse and projects his feelings about his dying father onto it. By the time they reach JP's house his father has died. Meanwhile, Josie accepts a marriage proposal from Dave, and competes with Kingsley to write an article for the student newspaper " Kingsley's article about Vod's overdose is printed whereas Josie's piece is not. However, Kingsley opens the "Rejected" folder while at a party at the student newspaper's headquarters, and discovers that Josie's article is titled "When a friend won't listen to good advice" and, realising it is not just about Vod, he tries to call her, though she doesn't hear her phone. Howard asks Lauren, a girl on his geology course, on a date, but this is sabotaged by his jealous friend Brian, leading Howard to end their friendship.	LineColor=F5DEB3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= Kingsley is dismayed when Dave moves into the house, and further annoyed when Dave wins the other housemates' admiration by fixing the dishwasher. When he complains about Dave's untidiness Josie accuses him of just being jealous because he blew his chance with her, but when she becomes tired of it herself, she suggests Dave stay in Wales until they get married. JP is in denial about his father's death and goes to see a counsellor just to try and get out of his end-of-term exam, but later decides to take the exam after he bribes Dan to reveal the questions. Vod is in danger of being expelled from her course, and Oregon secretly persuades Tony Shales to increase Vod's grade. Tony Shales' wife Jean Shales, thinks her husband is having an affair with Vod and arranges to meet with her to discuss it. Oregon goes instead and confesses, and is surprised when his wife is happy for the affair to continue. Brian accosts Howard in the pub and makes a move on Josie, and gets headbutted by Dave after revealing that Josie slept with Kingsley. Dave storms back to the house to confront Kingsley, who is hiding in the bathroom with JP, and finds out that Josie slept with both of them. In JP and Howard's geology exam, JP discovers that Dan lied about the questions. Howard and Brian's friendship is resumed after Brian fakes an urgent note to get Howard out of the exam. The next day, Josie tearfully reveals that Dave has broken up with her, and Vod angrily tells Oregon she knows about the grade change, and tells everyone Oregon's real name and background. Oregon is horrified when Tony Shales turns up on the doorstep and tells her that he has left his wife for her.	LineColor=F5DEB3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= Vod is unconcerned by her impending expulsion from university, despite Oregon's attempts to persuade her to appeal. Josie starts binge-drinking and sleeping with random strangers in an attempt to embrace single life, much to Kingsley's annoyance. Paul Lamb's mother asks Howard to keep an eye on her son, who has apparently had a nervous breakdown. Howard does this by installing cameras around the house and inadvertently records an embarrassing video of Paul, which JP gets hold of. JP finds himself agreeing to pay for Ralph's 'Love Cloud' club night in return for a DJ slot, and when he discovers it clashes with his father's funeral he tries to make arrangements to attend both with the help of a lift from Ralph's friend. Tony Shales expects Oregon to move into his new apartment, but she is unsure and decides to spend time both at the apartment and at the house. During an awkward dinner party at the apartment, attended by the housemates and Tony Shales' middle-aged lecturer friends, Josie and Kingsley's initially subtle sniping at each other erupts into an all-out argument. The housemates come to JP's rescue when Ralph's friend lets him down, and they all accompany him to his father's funeral. Afterwards, Kingsley resolves to confess his true feelings for Josie, after learning she always talks about him when she's drunk. At the Love Cloud night, JP finds his DJ slot has been given to someone else, and that Ralph is claiming to have paid for the night himself. Vod is outraged and tells everyone that it was funded by JP, who then dedicates the night to his father and finally stands up to Ralph. Meanwhile, Vod agrees to appeal her expulsion and Oregon abandons Tony Shales. Ralph's friends have got hold of the video of Paul, and Howard claims it is in fact him in the video to save Paul from the embarrassment. Kingsley is unable to find Josie to tell her how he feels, and gets kicked out of the club after being hit by Ralph. He returns home, to find Josie and JP having sex " which a surprised Josie miserably tells Kingsley was because 'I couldn't find you'. In the final scenes, Oregon and Vod reconcile and prepare for her appeal, JP finally begins to mourn his father, Josie goes to Kingsley's room, presumably to reconcile with him, but is upset to find that a frustrated Kingsley has left early, and Howard is blow-drying a Peking duck (as shown in the opening scene in the series) " a thank-you gift from Paul.	LineColor=F5DEB3	TopColor= }}

Series 2 (2012)

"?-	#	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date	U.K. viewers (millions) </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary=It's a new term and the flatmates are back at the house. Josie attempts to make peace with Kingsley, which he casually waves aside as unnecessary. Vod is skint, and repeatedly asks Oregon to lend her money, while a friend and former classmate of JP's, Giles, has transferred to Manchester Medlock from Exeter, and is staying with him. Howard, meanwhile, has taken a job in an abattoir, and starts bringing back unused pieces of meat, to the disgust of the housemates. Meanwhile, Paul Lamb, the invisible housemate, has flown the nest, forcing the group to start looking for a new tenant. When Kingsley sleeps with Josie's friend Heather, Josie is hurt. Meanwhile, JP is distressed to discover that Giles is openly gay, since he had an encounter with him at Stowe. Giles, however, explains that he isn't attracted to JP, and the two reconcile. Tony Shales is bitter at being dumped by Oregon, who is taking an internship with his wife, and unsuccessfully attempts to blackmail her into taking him back. Oregon then discovers that Vod is borrowing money from all of the housemates, and the group confront her. However, she eventually offers items of her own in recompense. JP announces that he wants Giles to become their new housemate, only to discover that they have already rented Paul's room out to Sabine, a Dutch mature student working at the university, and have already given her the key.	LineColor=0076B3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary=The university has been gripped by a spate of muggings, and this leads to Howard becoming increasingly paranoid about setting up defences around the house. JP, who has been confined to his bed by a case of mumps, begins to use his to call Vod, decides to freeze his sperm when he is informed of the possibility of being rendered sterile by the disease. At the same time, Vod and Oregon are both struggling with their finances, and while Oregon's parents simply wire her more money, Vod is forced to take a cleaning job at a local hotel. To add further to the flatmates' woes, Sabine quickly begins to instil a system of order into the house after they eat a cake of hers. Later, Oregon discovers that the money that was wired to her account actually came from Tony Shales, and she promptly returns the money to him. Meanwhile, Kingsley has begun to run into Heather, Josie's friend, across the campus, and becomes convinced that she is stalking him. However, Kingsley then meets Heather in a pub, and, after she provides plausible explanations for the stalking, the two then go for a drink, and end up forming a relationship. Josie, upset at Kingsley's relationship, accidentally breaks Heather's arm while Sabine is showing everyone (minus Kingsley and JP) self-defence techniques.	LineColor=0076B3	TopColor= }}	ShortSummary= There is a potentially lucrative internship on offer from BP, which Howard and JP immediately compete for, but when JP is caught stealing, the representative takes an interest in Kingsley, inviting him to an upcoming BP event. Kingsley is excited, but his relationship with Heather is damaged by her opposition to it. Howard and JP are jealous of Kingsley, and resolve to get into the event themselves. Josie, still upset over Kingsley's relationship with Heather, moves rooms with Sabine, and gets a job at Vod's hotel, only to get fired. Later, Kingsley decides not to attend the event, after discovering that the image of him on one of their posters has had his soul patch airbrushed out. He gives his ticket to Howard. Howard, Vod and JP all attend the event, and after Vod impresses the representative, they all look set to get internships. However, Vod stages an anti-BP protest, by standing on a table and spilling oil everywhere. The three of them are ejected. At the house, Josie and Kingsley have a civilised conversation, and Josie makes a subtle but impassioned attempt to convey her feelings to him. Before he can respond, Heather turns up and the two reconcile, leaving Josie hurt. Meanwhile, Oregon's new magazine comes under threat when Jean Shales hires an arrogant new intern to join her team, and she gives him the funding for the magazine Oregon was organising. Desperate, Oregon asks Tony Shales for help, and he eventually finds some funding from the Jewish Society, while finding the university statute necessary to have Oregon's rival magazine closed down. When Oregon thanks Tony, he attempts to persuade her to have sex with him, but she turns him down, leading to an angry outburst from him.	LineColor=0076B3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= JP has invited the gang to stay at his mother's country house in Cornwall for Study Week. Kingsley initially decides to stay in Manchester with Heather, but she persuades him to join them, and Howard stays behind in order to call his computer company's customer services. After Howard spends the whole weekend on the phone, Sabine gets bored and persuades him to have sex with her. In Cornwall, JP's mother reveals she is selling the house. Enraged, JP resolves to barricade the gang inside the house to prevent potential buyers from viewing it, while drinking all 147 bottles of his father's wine. Oregon finds herself receiving abuse on Twitter for Tony Shales having an LGBT magazine closed down, and tries to persuade Vod to engage in lesbian experimentation with her in an effort to dispel the rumours that she is homophobic, but Vod turns her down, saying she is "too straight," so she instead takes a photograph of herself kissing Josie. Kingsley becomes concerned when Heather mentions a man named Mike in one of her texts, while Vod discovers some letters of JP's father's to an illicit lover, revealing that he was not what JP thought he was. Josie, meanwhile, is bitter because her ex-fiance, Dave, is getting married, and she drunkenly tries to steal Oregon's car to gatecrash the wedding. When Kingsley tries to stop her, she confronts him for his role in Dave breaking up with her, and orders him to drive her up to Wales himself. There, she changes her mind about Dave, and reassures Kingsley that Heather likes him. However, she overhears him telling Heather that he loves her over the phone, and her eyes fill with tears. Back in Cornwall, JP is burning the last of his possessions, tearfully resolving to give up on the house and return to Manchester with his father's ashes. Vod and Oregon console him, and Vod discreetly throws JP's father's letters onto the fire so that he will not find out about them.	LineColor=0076B3	TopColor= }}	ShortSummary= After Josie accidentally leaves her front door key in the door before going for a night out with Heather, the house is broken into. Among the things that are stolen are Oregon's camera and the urn containing JP's father's ashes. To ensure that the insurance covers it, Josie smashes a window to make it look like a forced entry. Vod falls madly in love with Al, the man who is repairing the lock, but Howard convinces Oregon that he is a potential perpetrator. JP sees an opportunity to make a new friend with him, and Vod eventually has sex with him. Oregon, meanwhile, meets an attractive librarian named Dylan, and falls for him. Josie's problems get worse when she turns up to her dentistry practical drunk, and makes a horrific mistake, for which she is summoned before a disciplinary hearing and presumably kicked off her course. Kingsley is suspicious, and eventually forces Heather to confess that the break-in was caused by Josie. Howard embarks on an investigation into the break-in, and accuses Sabine - whom he resents because of the previous episode - of having left the door unlocked. Kingsley takes Josie outside and tells her that if she doesn't confess, he will do it for her. Before she can protest, he tells her that he knows what she did, and that he thought she was better than that. Josie, seeing all the hurt her actions have caused, breaks down and cries into his shoulder. She eventually searches in a nearby skip, and finds the urn containing JP's father's ashes. Unfortunately, she accidentally spills them.	LineColor=0076B3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= Kingsley is dissatisfied with the quality of Dan's teaching, and makes an official complaint. However, JP and Howard do not back him up - JP because he had changed his mind, and Howard because Dan had got him a summer internship with Shell. Things come to a head on a field trip in the Pennines when JP gets trapped on a ledge, and admits to Kingsley that Heather had walked in on him in the shower, which is why he's been acting awkward around her. As a result, Kingsley refuses to help him down, and the two get into an argument. Howard, meanwhile, abandons them when Sabine texts him saying she wants to have sex, only to come home and find the offer is no longer standing, to his fury. Dan is infuriated to learn that he has had a complaint lodged against him, and even angrier when he learns that it was Kingsley, and deliberately drives off without him, though not before forcing him to chase the van on a broken leg (which JP had fallen on in an effort to escape the ledge). Oregon, meanwhile, is happily in a relationship with Dylan, and Vod, initially suspicious of him, proclaims him to be "Mr. Perfect." However, when his father calls, she discovers that he is Tony Shales's son, and throws his phone into a lake whilst panicking. Vod, meanwhile, is relieved that her RAF bursary has finally come through, but learns that she must now pass a drug test to qualify for it. She borrows some "clean" urine from Josie, but it doesn't pass because Josie is on anti-stress medication. Josie, meanwhile, has been kicked off her course for her irresponsibility in the previous episode, though she is hiding this from the housemates. When an attempt to petition herself an appeal fails, she asks Heather to do the same thing she did on a willing subject, to 'normalise' the mistake in the eyes of the other students. Heather is hesitant to take the risk, and after seeing Josie and Kingsley being affectionate towards each other, becomes suspicious that she still harbours feelings for him. When the time comes to do the deed, Heather refuses, and the pair end up arguing over Kingsley, before uneasily reconciling.	LineColor=0076B3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= Heather unexpectedly signs Kingsley up for an open mic event at the Student Union, but after his performance does not go well he recruits Oregon as a bandmate. Sabine has become fed up with the housemates and returns to Rotterdam, leaving a heartbroken Howard taking his frustration out on the housemates by cutting off their electricity, so Kingsley can't have band practices in the house. JP, following one dig too many at his privileged background, accepts Ralph's offer to join "The Stoweaways" - a dining club of Old Stoics at the University. JP becomes infatuated with Celeste (Clare Fettarappa), the French cousin of one of the Stoweaways, but Ralph 'claims' her by calling shotgun and asks JP to keep an eye on her for him while is away. JP tries to resist but eventually kisses her. Ralph finds out and kicks him out of the group, and Celeste angrily accuses JP of treating her like a piece of meat. Vod and Kingsley spot Josie wandering around the city when she should be in lectures, and Heather eventually reveals that Josie was kicked off her course. Vod bonds with legendary American poet John Frobisher after she gatecrashes the drinks reception of his lecture, but is horrified when he dies the next day because of the amount he drank with her. She is shocked when Tony Shales hints that he contributed to Frobisher's death just so he could raise his own profile by writing the poet's obituary. Oregon has not yet told Dylan about her relationship with his father, and Tony Shales unsuccessfully continues to try and win her back. Kingsley is annoyed to find that Oregon is a better musician than him and so he quits his own band at their gig. Outside he finds Josie, who has been refused entry as she is no longer a student. He comforts her after she confesses she is scared about her future, and the pair almost kiss, but do not do so.	LineColor=0076B3	TopColor= }} </ref>	OriginalAirDate=	OriginalAirDate=	ShortSummary= As the end of the academic year approaches, JP purchases the house, regarding it as his only home now that his old home has been sold and his father is dead, but is distressed to learn that Oregon and Dylan are planning a backpacking trip around the world, Kingsley and Heather are moving into a small bedsit, and Vod is reluctant to stay in a house with him. Howard, meanwhile, has learnt that Sabine is pregnant, and adopts a baby pig. However, Oregon is frightened when Jean threatens to tell Dylan about her relationship with Tony Shales at her book launch, and Vod lies to Tony Shales about the actual meaning of the late John Frobisher's "Red Lady," forcing him to rewrite his book. Despite JP's best efforts to unite them, everyone seems to be splitting up. At the book launch, though, Dylan learns about Oregon's affair with his father, following which Vod reveals the actual meaning of John Frobisher's "Red Lady," effectively leaving his academic career in tatters. Dylan initially decides to stay with Oregon, but after kissing her, decides that it is too weird, and breaks up with her. After learning that Sabine was not pregnant, Howard pours his heart out to her, but is rejected. Devastated, he decides to leave the University, but JP convinces him to stay. Kingsley, meanwhile, is horrified to learn that Josie, despite her earlier statement that she is staying in Manchester, is transferring to Southampton to study Zoology. While having a conversation later on, the two finally share a kiss, and have sex in an upstairs bathroom. That night, the housemates party in their house, with Oregon sobbing on the couch. Kingsley, however, is nervous about breaking up with Heather if Josie does not want a relationship with him, and is transferring to Southampton. Josie tells him that it is up to him, and leaves just as Heather turns up, and Kingsley is left in a dilemma. The next morning, as Howard and JP relax in their new hot tub and Oregon and Vod head off travelling, Josie boards her coach to return to Cardiff. Kingsley suddenly rushes through the crowd at the bus station, just as the bus pulls away, revealing that it is Josie he wants to be with.	LineColor=0076B3	TopColor= }}

Series 3 (2013)

A third series has been commissioned. No timescales have been announced, but it is likely that Series 3 will debut in the autumn of 2013.

DVD release

Series 1

The Complete Series 1 DVD was released in the UK on 8 October 2012.

Series 2

The Complete Series 2 DVD will be released in the UK on 23 September 2013.

Reception

Critical reaction to the first series' opening episodes was mixed, with reviews becoming more positive as the series progressed. The Guardian gave the opening episode a very positive review, finding it "sharp" and "refreshingly gag-dense". The Independent's review was also positive, saying "what really holds the thing together is an underlying sympathy, the sense that these characters might be comically foolish but they aren't (with some exceptions) contemptible."

However, Michael Deacon in The Daily Telegraph called the opening episode's script "a torrent of prattling self-hatred" and found the episode "drainingly bleak". Rupert Christiansen, also in the Telegraph, was similarly unimpressed, calling it "[p]athetically laboured and over-acted" and "limply written and predictable". Rachel Cooke of New Statesman felt the opening episode was a "damp squib" and commented that this might be because "the writers failed to remember that going to university is also rather melancholic, what with all the loneliness, the strange and soon-to-be-shed new friends and the general exhaustion of trying to act cool and grown-up".

By the end of the first series, the Radio Times said the show had been "full of well-worked plotlines and gorgeous character comedy", and The Daily Telegraph praised "the series' admirable habit of stirring pathos into the flow of gags" as well as complimenting the scripts and performances. The Guardian felt it had "managed to live up to sky-scraping expectations", and Metro said "Originally billed as a university version of The Inbetweeners, Fresh Meat has developed into something much more sophisticated than its more-established sibling."

The second series continued to receive positive reviews, with The Observer declaring the second episode "almost an hour of laugh-out-loud comic astuteness that single-handedly restored faith in the British ability to be funny", while The Independent on Sunday said "First time round, the student sitcom was chipper but clunky fare. But, just as its fresher gang have grown up, so the whole thing has become sharper, wiser, and more lovable".

Awards and nominations

Series 1

Year	Awards	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Notes
2011	British Comedy Awards	Best New Comedy
2011	British Comedy Awards	Best Comedy Drama			Won by Psychoville.
2011	British Comedy Awards	Best TV Comedy Actor	Jack Whitehall		Won by Darren Boyd.
2012	NME Awards	Best TV Show
2012	Loaded LAFTAs	Funniest TV Show
2012	Royal Television Society Awards	Best Scripted Comedy
2012	Royal Television Society Awards	Best Writer - Comedy	Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain		For episode 1.
2012	Broadcasting Press Guild TV and Radio Awards	Breakthrough Award	Jack Whitehall		Won by Olivia Colman.
2012	Broadcasting Press Guild TV and Radio Awards	Best Comedy/Entertainment			Won by Rev.
2012	South Bank Sky Arts Awards	Best Comedy
2012	BAFTA Craft Awards	Breakthrough Talent	Tom Basden		Won by Kwadjo Dajan for Appropriate Adult.
2012	BAFTA Television Awards	Situation Comedy			Won by Mrs Brown's Boys.
2012	BAFTA Television Awards	YouTube Audience Award			Won by Celebrity Juice.
2012	The British Comedy Guide Comedy.co.uk Awards	Best British TV Comedy Drama

Series 2

Year	Awards	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Notes
2012	The British Comedy Guide Comedy.co.uk Awards	Best British TV Comedy Drama

See also

• List of television programmes set, produced or filmed in Manchester