Butterfly (TV series)

Butterfly
GenreDrama
Created byTony Marchant
Written byTony Marchant
Directed byAnthony Byrne
Starring
Composers
  • Michael Stein
  • Kyle Dixon
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes3
Production
Executive producers
ProducerLouise Sutton
CinematographySi Bell
EditorJosh Cunliffe
Running time44 minutes
Production companyRed Production Company
Original release
NetworkITV
Release14 October (2018-10-14) –
28 October 2018 (2018-10-28)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Butterfly is a three-part British television drama series that premiered on 14 October 2018. Made for ITV by Red Production Company, the series focuses on the family of 11-year-old Maxine (Callum Booth-Ford), who begins to realise that she is a transgender girl. Anna Friel and Emmett J. Scanlan play her parents, Vicky and Stephen, who reluctantly begin to accept Maxine's need to transition. The programme was also broadcast in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden, and made available on the American subscription service Hulu.

The series was created by Tony Marchant, who met transgender people and their families during the writing process through trans charity Mermaids. Critical reception was very positive, with reviewers praising the actors and scenes that they found particularly emotive. Further praise was given to the subject matter of the story, though this also received some criticism. The miniseries was well received by social media users and several trans commentators, the first episode garnering 2.8 million overnight viewers. A scene in which Maxine attempts suicide was criticised by a gender clinic of the National Health Service.