Black Books: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Black Books is a second-hand bookshop in London run by an Irishman named Bernard Black. He is probably the planet's worst-suited person to run such an establishment: he makes no effort to sell, closes at strange hours on a whim, is in a perpetual alcoholic stupor, abhors his customers (sometimes physically abusing them) and is often comatose at his desk. Help comes in the lumpy shape of Manny Bianco, a hairy, bumbling individual who (almost by osmosis) becomes Bernard's assistant. Manny is not exactly great at the job either but he is a million times better than Bernard. Next door is Fran, an anxious, frustrated woman who runs a sort of new-age shop selling the most unlikely bits of arty junk. Fran is friends with Bernard and, through him, with Manny; together the trio become embroiled in escapades that are sometimes extreme or violent or fantastically ludicrous, and always bizarre.

Series details

• Title: Black Books
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Comedy
• Premiere date: 2000-09-29
• Final broadcast date listed: 2004-04-15
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: Channel 4
• Network country: United Kingdom
• Typical episode runtime: 25 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 8.4/10
• TVMaze ID: 1641

Cast and credited roles

• Tamsin Greig — Fran Katzenjammer
• Bill Bailey — Manny Bianco
• Dylan Moran — Bernard Black

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2000-09-29; final listed air date 2000-11-03; episode order: 6.
• Season 2: premiered 2002-03-01; final listed air date 2002-04-05; episode order: 6.
• Season 3: premiered 2004-03-11; final listed air date 2004-04-15; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from Black Books on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.