39 and a Half (Polish: 39 i pół) is a Polish-languagecomedy-drama television series aired in Poland on TVN from 4 March 2008 to 1 December 2009. It was directed by Mitja Okorn, Łukasz Palkowski, and Łukasz Jaworski, written by Doman Nowakowski, Dorota Mierzejewska, and Tomasz Cichoń, and produced by Justyna Pawlak. The series consists of three seasons, with 39 episodes, each approximately 45 minutes long. It follows Darek Jankowski, unemployed former amateur punk rock mmusician living in Warsaw, Poland, who grapples with the midlife crisis, as he is about to turn 40 years old.
The series was continued with a short television film titled I pół (Polish:[ˈiˈpuw]; lit.'And a half'), which aired on 1 December 2009, after the premiere of its last episode. It was further continued with the sequel television series 39 and Half Weeks, which aired from 18 February 2019 to 8 June 2019.
Premise
Darek Jankowski is a 39-year-old unemployed former amateur punk rock musician living in Warsaw, Poland, who grapples with the midlife crisis, as he is about to turn 40 years old. He decides to get a stable job and reconnect with his ex-wife and his son, whom he had abandoned 7 years prior.
Cast
Tomasz Karolak as Darek Jankowski, former amateur musician
39 and a Half was directed by Mitja Okorn, Łukasz Palkowski, and Łukasz Jaworski, written by Doman Nowakowski, Dorota Mierzejewska, and Tomasz Cichoń, and produced by Justyna Pawlak. The cinematography was done by Michał Englert, Michał Nowakowski, and Tomasz Naumiuk, the editing by Jarosław Barzan, and Krzysztof Boruń, the music by Łukasz Targosz, the scenography by Joanna Doroszkiewicz, and the costumes by Małgorzata Stefaniak, and Magdalena Jadwiga Rutkiewicz. The series was produced and distributed by TVN, and filmed in Warsaw, Poland. It aired from 4 March 2008 to 1 December 2009, and has 39 episodes in total, spanning 3 seasons. Each episode has a running time of 45 minutes.
In 2008, in an review by web portal Wirtualne Media, published a week after the series premier, it was described as to follow a familiar television formula, with its writing being criticised, and the believability and realism of the main character being questioned. Its first season had an average of around 3.23 million viewers per episode, making it the most popular series in its time slot among the Polish television channels. Its average viewership decreased to around 2.33 million in the second season, and to around 2.26 million in the third season. In 2019, the web portal Onet.pl described 39 and a Half retrospectively as interesting and original series, thanks to focusing on the middle life crisis, an aspect usually marginalised in Polish television at the time, however stating that it eventually "lost its momentum", and was taken of the air after three seasons. The series received awards in 2008 and 2009, for the best comedy series at the Festival of Good Humor in Gdańsk, Poland. The lead actor, Tomasz Karolak, also received the award for the best comedy male actor at the Festival of Good Humor in Gdańsk in 2008, and the Telecamera award for the best actor in 2009. The series were also nominated to the Telecamera awards for the best comedy series in 2008 and for the best original comedy series in 2010.
Continuations
The series was continued with a short television film titled I pół (lit.'And a Half'), which aired on 1 December 2009, after the premiere of its last episode. It was directed by Maciej Szwabe, written by Doman Nowakowski, and produced by Justyna Pawlak. It was further continued with the television series 39 and Half Weeks, which aired from 18 February 2019 to 8 June 2019.
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