On March 18th, 1996 This Life made a low-key entrance onto the screens of BBC viewers. With producers World Productions and the British Broadcasting Corporation, whose reputation in television programming is undoubted, it was financially in safe hands.

"Loathed by the Establishment, adored by the eternally youthful."
- Daily Express

The first series of 11 episodes of This Life was broadcast in 1996, chronicling the daily lives of five twentysomething professionals sharing a house in the Southwark district of London. These first episodes offered something new to the viewing public. Never before had television drama dealt with so many important and topical issues in such a frank and realistic manner. Relationships, drink, drugs and sex along with financial and family matters were included in the excellently plotted and acted episodes. The characters were real and believable with problems and experiences truthful to their situations.

"The destruction of young minds proceeds apace"
- Yorkshire Post

Not everyone was delighted by this new series on the BBC. The Media were quick to jump on the band-wagon. Newspapers feared for the innocence of the youth who were being exposed to This Life. Fears over the explicit simulated sex scenes and the drug consumption within the professional classes were expressed in uneducated reviews and articles. However, the interest in This Life did not cease and by the time the extended 22-episode second season began to air, This Life had grown from a cult hit to an established cornerstone of popular television in the British Isles. Since then This Life has reached audiences all over the world, with television networks as far abroad as Canada and Australia broadcasting this unique critically acclaimed show.

"... appalled at the drugs, booze and, worst of all, simulated sex between homosexuals ..."
- Daily Mail.

Some people attribute This Life's appeal to it's realistic quality, where each individual episode has the appearance and feel of a real 'slice-of-life'. The hand-held camera work and the earthed performances of This Life give it a true sense of realism missing from most television of today. With it's original primetime slot on the award winning channel BBC 2 in the UK and it's subsequent repeat schedules on Irish television and the many other counties around the world, This Life has appealed to a vast audience. Through it's truthful and genuinely interesting storytelling, This Life has managed to transcend geographical and cultural boundaries unlike many other television series.

"The programme that made BBC 2 cool again."
- Daily Express

The continuing debate among fans, about the possibility of a third season highlights the lasting immense interest in This Life as a landmark in 1990's television. As a mark of it's quality and artistic worth, This Life was honoured by the BAFTA film and television Awards in Britain.

"... shows young people behaving as they actually do behave ..."
- Financial Times