Katherine Parkinson – she of Humans, The IT Crowd and The Boat That Rocked fame – will star in a new legal comedy entitled Defending The Guilty. This six-part comedy series heralds from BBC Two, and its cast alongside Parkinson includes Will Sharpe, Gwyneth Keyworth, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Hugh Coles.

The series is based on a book entitled Defending The Guilty: Truth And Lies In The Criminal Courtroom, which was penned by criminal barrister Alex McBride. Cuckoo co-creator Kieron Quirke has handled the book’s transition onto the screen, and Jim Field Smith of The Wrong Mans has been calling the shots as the director.

BBC Two controller Patrick Holland released this statement about the announcement:

“We only went along for a read through and ended up ordering a whole series! Such incisive writing, cutting humour and a brilliantly rendered world.”

The BBC’s comedy chief, Shane Allen, added this:

“A terrifically vibrant and sure-footed pilot made for a very quick and easy decision on Defending the Guilty going to series. There’s a universal theme of having high ideals when entering this professional world versus the cold hard, cloak and dagger reality of how the legal profession truly operates. The core cast have irresistible chemistry and the writing fires out whip-smart lines in all directions. A very classy addition to the BBC Two canon of comedy.”

We’ll let you know when he hear the premiere date for Defending The Guilty.

Chortle