With the great fug making London too smelly to stay in Will and his friends have all come to Stratford. Will hopes for some peace and quiet so he can write but when Kate stands in for Sue at the masked ball she accidentally sets of a chain of events.

Upstart Crow

Will struggles to find inspiration for Romeo while at the same time having to deal with an angry actor, a very annoying house-guest, and his family's not-terribly-helpful script suggestions.

Upstart Crow - Series 1 - Episode 1

Episode 1

upstart-crow

EPISODE

Will's controversial new play is about to be presented to Queen Elizabeth when it goes missing. As the finger of suspicion points at his best friend Marlowe can Will come up with a way to recover his stolen masterpiece?

Upstart Crow - Series 1 - Episode 2

Episode 2

Will hopes to move up in the world when he is invited to Lord Southampton's party. But what should a poorly-educated country boy wear to London's poshest do?

Upstart Crow - Series 1 - Episode 3

Episode 3

Will has completed his final sonnet and senses literary immortality just around the corner. But will the fair youth and the dark lady like them as much as he hopes?

Upstart Crow - Series 1 - Episode 4

Episode 4

The plague leads Will and his friends to escape to the family home in Stratford. On the way they meet three witches who have some surprising predictions to make about Will's future, leading to a very serious case of house envy.

Upstart Crow - Series 1 - Episode 5

Episode 5

There's money to be made investing in cargos from the New World: but while Marlowe invests in tobacco and potato products, Will would rather invest in building a new theatre.

Upstart Crow - Series 1 - Episode 6

Episode 6

Series 1

David Mitchell stars in Ben Elton's Shakespeare sitcom. Will wants to up his family's social standing, so when a Moorish Prince comes to town he plans to use him to impress the nobility. But things go very awry when a hanky gets into the wrong hands.

Upstart Crow - Series 2 - Episode 1

When Will's bullying former school teacher invites himself to stay Will has to confront the demons of his childhood, but it soon turns out there's a lot more at stake, including Will's life.

Upstart Crow - Series 2 - Episode 2

Will has to write a romance set in an exotic foreign location. Meanwhile Kate has fallen for Marlowe but he's off to an exotic foreign location. Is inspiration on the way? All aboard for Verona!

Upstart Crow - Series 2 - Episode 3

Will's invented an amazing new dramatic form: the musical. Problem is he needs the help of the greatest songwriter of the age, Thomas Morley, and he's got some ideas of his own.

Upstart Crow - Series 2 - Episode 4

Will's pleased with his new play The Taming of the Shrew. But for some reason the story of a strong-willed lady humiliated by a man doesn't go down well with any of the women in Will's life.

Upstart Crow - Series 2 - Episode 5

Will has finished Romeo and Juliet but now there's a lot of competition for who will play Juliet. Kate feels the part should be hers. If only lady-acting weren't against the law.

Upstart Crow - Series 2 - Episode 6

Series 2

Will Shakespeare has been working on his masterpiece. His friends tell him it is his greatest comedy yet, but Will insists that Hamlet isn't actually meant to be funny.

Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be!

Upstart Crow - Series 3 - Episode 1

1. Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be!

London is full of anti-immigrant rioting. Will looks forward to an age when such sentiments are long-gone, but in the meantime he and the players plan to do their bit to help those worse off than themselves with a fund-raising charity gala night.

Wild Laughter in the Throat of Death

Upstart Crow - Series 3 - Episode 2

2. Wild Laughter in the Throat of Death

If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed?

Upstart Crow - Series 3 - Episode 3

3. If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed?

Will has decided to write a play about the life of Julius Caesar. The only problem is how to deal with his assassination.

Sigh No More

Upstart Crow - Series 3 - Episode 4

4. Sigh No More

The day of Will's son Hamnet's Confirmation is approaching and Anne has made sure it's been in Will's diary for months. The only problem is this also turns out to be the night of the first ever London Theatre Awards.

The Most Unkindest Cut of All

Upstart Crow - Series 3 - Episode 5

5. The Most Unkindest Cut of All

Go on and I Will Follow

Upstart Crow - Series 3 - Episode 6

6. Go on and I Will Follow

Series 3

The Shakespeares are planning a cosy Christmas up in Stratford with just the family. Until Kit wangles himself an invitation to join them. And then so does Kate.

A Christmas Crow

SPECIAL

Christmas Special 2020. The plague has hit London, forcing everyone to stay inside for Christmas. Will is desperate to write a play, but lacks inspiration. He better write something soon though or the new King might chop off his head!

Upstart Crow Christmas Special 2020: Lockdown Christmas 1603

Will has promised his wife Anne that he will be home in good time for a quiet Christmas with just the family.

Upstart Crow Christmas Special 2018: A Crow Christmas Carol