It’s a good day to be a Sharon Horgan fan, as Channel 4 has announced two new comedy series from the Irish writer/comedian/actress/producer. The boffins behind this terrestrial channel have given £10 million of new budget to the comedy genre, and it seems like they’re spending it wisely.
One of Horgan’s new shows is going by the working title Happy AF. The series was created by Aisling Bea, who will star as Aine, a woman “who is trying to pull her life back together after a nervous breakdown.” Horgan will executive produce (through her Merman production company) and play a supporting role in the series as Aine’s sister, Shona.
Horgan (again through Merman) will produce a pilot entitled Next Week’s News, as well. It’s led by Deborah Frances-White, creator of The Guilty Feminist Podcast, and it will be a studio-based show where viewers are “encouraged to speak out on a range of issues.”
These new shows exist as part of Channel 4’s new “comedy sandpit”, which is a big programming idea from Ian Katz, the channel’s new content chief. He wants Channel 4’s 11pm slot to be the “most creative space on British TV”, and launching big new comedy shows like this will certainly help to make that vision a reality.
More as we hear it.