Country Chronicles

' Country Chronicles' is a British-Australian animated television series created by satirist Ian David Hislop, editor of the satirical newspaper Private Eye, and broadcasting primarily on the BBC. The series is a depiction of global affairs, with countries (or countryhumans) portrayed as humans illustrating ongoing events. The show is set in various settings, but events typically occur in the fictional town of Terra.

Hislop conceived of the series in 1983 after an unfavourable experience at the short-lived chat show Loose Talk, though the idea itself never came into fruition until the show was picked up in an announcement by Channel Four in March 2003. Initially broadcast as a selection of shorts, following positive public reviews, the shorts became a full length series upon the onset of Season Three in 2006. In December 2023, the series was picked up by the BBC for a renewed three more seasons, expected to last until 2027.

The series consistently ranks as one of Britain's most viewed TV shows, and has spawned numerous comic book series, satirical depictions of the show itself, video games, books and various other related media, including the popularization of the countryhumans meme, which has garnered significant attention online. A feature length film, Country Chronicles: Tensions Rise, is planned to be released in theatres in January 2024.

The series has received positive critical and commercial acclaim, though has also faced criticism from parent activist groups calling for the show to be banned due to the topics it discusses (see Controversies), and fundamentalist Islamic groups due to a repeated depiction of the prophet Mohammed in the show.

Premise
The series is centered mostly around the town of Terra (the Latin name for Earth). The town appears to be an idyllic suburban town upon first glance, though it's in reality a facade, and there are significant internal problems within the governance of the town.

Main characters
The United Kingdom (voiced by Sam Dastor), who serves as the mayor, is a well meaning mayor, though is quite incompetent at his job due to a lack of experience, and regularly abuses his power as Mayor, due to being unfamiliar with the town charter. Despite this, he continually gets re elected due to the partisan nature of the town, and overall political apathy. Hislop has stated his message with this was to promote voter participation to avoid being elected with unwanted public officials. A regular quote within the series is that the UK might be a "guy with a little too much power (...) but he sure knows how to keep his wife happy."

The United Kingdom is married to France(voiced by Kimiko Glenn). France is a fiery and passionate individual. She shows compassion wherever possible. However, it is stated that she has suffered from anger issues due to a traumatic childhood experience, witnessing the death of her father, the Western Roman Empire. She rarely has time with her sons since being the wife of the mayor is a "very busy job", though it's intentionally never explained where she actually goes when she's not on screen. It is stated that the lack of a maternal figure has caused issues within the family.

Guest voice personnel
• Paul McCartney, English musician, and also the composer of most of the show's music, makes a regular guest appearance as a countryhuman depicting the city of Liverpool, where McCartney is from.