Across BBC One, Two and Three, a dozen new comedy pilots have just been ordered by the corporation, with the aim of getting them to series. The pilots feature talents such as Tim Vine, Rob Beckett, Tom Hardy and Spencer Jones.
Scheduling details have yet to be announced for any of these shows, but here’s what we’ve got to look forward to. This information is taken direct from the BBC’s media announcement. It saved an awful lot of typing…
Mister Winner
Mister Winner is a sitcom starring Spencer Jones (Upstart Crow, Tim Vine Travels Through Time) as Leslie Winner, a well-meaning but hapless chap who is prone to accidents, complications and landing himself in unusual and often somewhat dangerous situations.
Leslie plans to propose to his girlfriend, Jemma Smith (Aimee-Ffion Edwards – Skins, Peaky Blinders), but unknown to him, she is having doubts about their relationship as he doesn’t take life seriously enough. Jemma is a young professional from Croydon, who loves Leslie, but doesn’t know if that’s enough as he doesn’t have a job, any money, or ever take her anywhere. But he makes her laugh more than anyone else ever has.
Jemma’s parents, Chris and Teresa, (Shaun Williamson – EastEnders, Extras and Dorothy Atkinson – Call The Midwife, Mum) have stuck together through 30 years of marriage. Chris is managing stress with colouring books (although he didn’t realise there were ‘adult’ ones so is frequently seen colouring in pictures of elephants and children with balloons) and Teresa refuses to take life too seriously. Both are supportive of Leslie’s endeavours to win Jemma’s hand in marriage, even after Leslie has an accident with Chris’s prize possessions, his Koi Carp.
Leslie attempts a big proposal on a weekend break to London. After an eventful open-top bus tour, questionable accommodation and a surprise trip to the aquarium, this all results in an impromptu swim in a shark tank. Will Leslie win Jemma over?
Guest starring Romesh Ranganathan (Asian Provocateur).
Written by Matt Morgan (Hospital People), directed by Ben Palmer (The Inbetweeners, Man Up) and produced by Michelle Farr (Bluestone 42)
Tim Vine Travels Through Time
Master of the pun Tim Vine journeys back in time to the days of Robin Hood in a quest to mend a golden arrow and a broken heart.
Tim is in search of a celebrity for the grand opening of his antique shop. It just so happens that his very first customer is presenter and Strictly Come Dancing champion, Ore Oduba, who asks Tim if he can mend his ancient golden arrow. Tim steps inside his very special Grandfather clock which travels him back in time to Sherwood Forest in the days of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. On arriving, Tim is greeted by Robin himself (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ore Oduba). Robin is suffering from a broken heart. He has mysteriously lost his famous bullseye aim, and with it the love of Maid Marion. Tim must get to the bottom of the mystery but local tyrant and shouty killjoy, the Sheriff of Nottingham, is determined to drive him out of town. Can Tim get to the bottom of this skullduggery and help Robin regain his archery prowess and win back the love of Maid Marion? Will he be able to repair the broken arrow and secure Ore Oduba to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Tim’s Antiques? Only time travel will tell…
Tim Vine says: “I’m looking forward to travelling through time on the BBC. I like to think of this show as Doctor Who with puns.”
The cast includes: Ore Oduba, Sally Phillips, Tim Key, Spencer Jones, Mandeep Dhillon, Kayode Ewumi, Marek Larwood, John Archer and Tony Green.
Written and created by Tim Vine and John Archer, produced by John Pocock, directed by Barbara Wiltshire, the Executive Producers are Christine Langan and Paul Schlesinger for Baby Cow Productions.
Static
Static is a sitcom all about twenty-something Rob (Rob Beckett) who jacks in a job in London to move back in with his parents in their southeast London family home, only to discover they’ve just sold the house and moved to a static caravan park in Margate.
Not only is Rob now jobless, but he’s now having to live on a sofabed in his parents’ caravan in a holiday park 80 miles from London whilst he figures out his next move.
It seems like a disaster to begin with, but his mum’s delighted to have someone to cook for, and his dad’s figured out how to get thousands of football channels on the telly. Before long Rob’s getting used to being with mum and dad again, and through them he’s quickly drawn into the world of the park, not to mention the extraordinary characters within it.
The question is – how quickly can Rob get back on his feet and back to London? And, as time goes on – how much does he really want to? Because despite the crippling FOMO Rob feels whenever he Facetimes his best mate back in the city, there’s definitely some benefits to living like a retired person when you’re in your twenties. Not least when there’s a smart and sassy girl working behind the clubhouse bar.
Static is at heart a family sitcom – warm, working-class, multi-generational and broad, with acutely and affectionately observed characters. And some cracking nicknames.
Static is written by comedian and 8 Out Of 10 Cats captain Rob Beckett, and Shaun Pye (The Rack Pack, A Young Doctor’s Notebook and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret). It is produced by Zeppotron (8 out of 10 Cats, The Rack Pack, Would I Lie To You?), part of Endemol Shine Group. John Pocock will produce, and Ed Bye will direct. Rachel Ablett, Peter Holmes and Ruth Phillips will executive produce for Zeppotron
BBC TWO
Famalam
A new comedy sketch show where no area of the universe is off-limits.
Famalam shines a comedic light on everything – from alien encounters in the outer reaches of the galaxy to what happens when a man is left on his own in a house for 10 minutes holding only a phone and a remote. With a dazzling array of accents, cultural observations and colourful costumes, Famalam gives us a glimpse of the latest Nollywood blockbuster, reveals who might be responsible for internet spam and introduces us to the real rulers of the world – spoiler alert – it’s not the G20…
The show stars Vivienne Acheampong (The Aliens), Gbemisola Ikumelo (Sunny D), Roxanne Sternberg (Emerald City), Samson Kayo (Youngers), John Macmillan (Dark Knight Rises, Chewing Gum) and introducing former Vine superstar Tom Moutchi .
Producer – Akemnji Ndifornyen, Director – Tom Marshall, Executive Producers – Ben Caudell and Chris Sussman.
The Other One
The Other One is a narrative comedy about a girl called Catherine Walcott. And another girl called Catherine Walcott. Sisters who had no idea the other existed until their father drops dead.
Cathy has a fiancé, a Duke of Edinburgh Award and a pension. Cat has a pay-as-you-go phone. The only things they have in common are their names (a smart move if you’ve got a secret daughter). Both of them have always wanted a sister – just maybe, not each other.
The 30 minute comedy pilot stars Siobhan Finneran (Downton Abbey, Happy Valley), Rebecca Front (The Thick of It, War and Peace), Ellie White (Inside No 9, The Windsors), Lauren Socha (Misfits, Catastrophe) and Amit Shah (Hospital People, Stag, W1A).
The Other One has been filmed in Manchester and is written by Holly Walsh (Motherland, Crackanory, Psychobitches).
BAFTA award winning Dan Zeff (Hattie, Inside No 9, Ideal) will direct and Pippa Brown (Bad Education, Psychobitches, Bounty Hunters) will produce. The Executive Producer is Tiger Aspect’s Joint Managing Director Ben Cavey.
The Pact
Two teenaged friends make a pact. If they’re both still single aged 35, they’ll marry each other. Amy doesn’t think it’ll ever happen. Andy, who’s secretly in love with Amy, desperately hopes that it will.
Twenty years later, Amy (Sarah Solemani – Him & Her, Bridget Jones’ Baby) and Andy (Brett Goldstein – Superbob, Derek) have drifted apart. Andy is divorced with a four year old son, but in a new relationship with a woman named Kelly. Amy, meanwhile, has managed to avoid growing up entirely. She lives in a flat-share, works behind a bar, and her relationships never seem to go beyond drunken one night stands.
When Andy and Amy bump into each other again, it’s life-changing for both of them. Face to face with their pasts, they’re forced to reconsider their futures. Is it time for Amy to take responsibility for her life? Should Andy throw caution to the wind and pursue his childhood crush? Whatever happens, they’re going to end up together, right?
Needless to say, it’s a bit more complicated than that.
The Pact is a comedy drama created and written by James Britton and Rick Laxton. The Executive Producer is Chris Sussman. Directed by Tony Dow, produced by Sam Ward.
BBC THREE
Chinese Burn
There’s a common assumption about Chinese girls; Studious. Conservative. Polite. Well think again!
Chinese Burn smashes all the stereotypes and with a round-house kick, busts opens the door to the messy, hilarious, unbridled reality putting an eastern twist on the western world.
This brand new BBC Three sitcom follows the escapades of three ‘normal’ Chinese girls –Elizabeth the failed Chinese daughter, Jackie the feisty struggling actress and Fufu the Buddhist princess, fresh off the plane – as they negotiate the trials of modern life in the capital. From sex to relationships, failing careers to just about paying rent, getting drunk to getting in fights – they’re visitors from a scary superpower and they’re taking over London.
The pilot sees Elizabeth’s crazy-rich childhood friend Fufu visiting London for the first time. It shouldn’t be a problem but Elizabeth has lied about her job to avoid shaming her parents. So she deals with the situation like she deals with any situation, by lying some more and getting drunk. Jackie has a big casting for the role of a lifetime, instead of the usual ‘Chinese prostitute, DVD seller or takeaway girl’ and this is the worst time to be babysitting a kooky new arrival. The Fufu problem isn’t going away.
Chinese Burn is written by brand new writing talent, Yennis Cheung and Shin-Fei Chen. They lead the cast alongside Yuyu Rau and the show features a guest performance from Felicity Montagu (Alan Partridge).
A Roughcut production, Producer – Alex Smith (Trollied, Adolf the Artist), Executive Producer – Ash Atalla (The Office, People Just Do Nothing), Director – Chris Cottam (Carter’s Get Rich, Sunny D).
Hailmakers
Saz and Sol are eager for success. If there’s money in it, they’ll do it, but on one condition: they will only work for themselves. No jobs. No bosses. No problem. Except Saz and Sol have lost their only office cleaning contract, and with just £40 left in the coffers, they need to gamble big in order to keep a roof above their head.
Hailmakers follows Saz and Sol, the country’s lowest-rent entrepreneurs, as they find out that there’s nothing harder than easy money.
Hailmakers cast includes Akemnji Ndifornyen (The Javone Prince Show, Ackee and Saltfish) as Saz, Samson Kayo (Timewasters, Youngers) as Sol, and Jason Barnett (Porridge, PhoneShop) as Diggins.
Created and written by Jon Macqueen. Director – Jim Owen. Producers – Jon Macqueen and Inez Gordon.
Sticky
Animated sitcom Sticky follows four best friends (Tom Hardy, Javone Prince, Kayvan Novak and Charlotte Riley) who attend a college located in London’s mythical borough of Shatford. This deceptively boring scenario serves as a launchpad for epic adventure, heart-rending friendship, and increasingly sticky situations.
All forms of life depend on having a Wi-Fi connection, so when the internet suddenly disappears the world is thrown into chaos. Can the friends cope offline? Who would kidnap the web and why? How long do we really expect the planet survive without Internet Porn? Questions only the gang can solve as they embark on a thrilling rescue mission to infiltrate the headquarters of the mysterious perpetrators of this heinous web-based crime.
Although based in reality, the freedom that animation brings allows Sticky to present an unlimited range of diverse characters and epic locations. Be prepared for the weird to collide with the epic. Plus Putin and Trump make guest appearances.
Sticky stars Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant), Javone Prince (Phoneshop, The Javone Prince Show), Kayvan Novak (Fonejacker, Four Lions), Charlotte Riley (Edge Of Tomorrow, Peaky Blinders), Tony Way (Drunk History, Game Of Thrones), Tom Davis (Murder In Successville, Very Important People), Arthur Darvill (Doctor Who, DC’s Legends Of Tomorrow).
Created, directed and produced by Ed Tracy (Fonejacker, Facejacker). Written by a team of writers lead by Steve Burge.
Celebrity Voicemail
BAFTA award-winning Kayvan Novak has adapted his critically acclaimed Radio 4 comedy, The Celebrity Voicemail Show, for BBC Three.
The Celebrity Voicemail Show imagines what it would be like to listen to the voicemails left on a celebrity’s answerphone. Over the course of each episode the viewer sees a number of characters leaving messages for that episode’s celebrity and a narrative is constructed. Often what’s happening in the background is as important as the message itself.
In this episode Kayvan imagines the answerphone messages that might have been left for George Lucas midway through his hectic, and often shambolic, first phase of shooting on Star Wars in the Tunisian desert. From Alec Guinness’ agent quibbling over a percentage of the unfinished film’s gross profits, to an inept special effects technician struggling to find a sound suitable for ‘the electric swords’. This episode provides a hilarious and informative alternate viewpoint on an audacious project that flirted with complete disaster, yet managed to achieve success beyond its young director’s wildest dreams.
The Celebrity Voicemail Show has been running for two series on BBC Radio 4 and was nominated for a Rose d’Or. The radio series featured such diverse and recognisable targets such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Barack Obama, Katie Hopkins and Sadiq Khan.
Producer – Matt Stronge, Executive Producer – Ben Caudell, Directed by Kayvan Novak and Ed Tracy.
Wannabe
Back in the girl-power heyday of the 90s, a hit single would easily get you 15 minutes of fame. But 15 minutes just isn’t long enough for some people…
Maxine never made it to the big time as part of teenage girl group Variety and now, as a middle-aged failing music manager, she finds herself in crisis, when the one act she looks after threatens to drop her.
But Maxine has come up with a plan. A come back. This time bigger, bolder and, well… older. Who cares about a hip young girl group anyway?! What the world is really missing, is Mum Pop …
Wannabe is the story of unfinished business, one last shot at fame and struggling to let go of a lifelong dream.
Wannabe stars Lily Brazier (People Just Do Nothing) as Maxine, alongside a cast including Nicholas Burns (Nathan Barley, Uncle), Jim Howick (Yonderland, Peep Show), Ryan Molloy (Jersey Boys) and introducing Savannah Steyn, Karla Simone Spence and Imogen Gurney as Sweet Gyal. Oh and there’s a cameo from Dane Bowers …
From part of the team behind the BAFTA winning BBC Three hit People Just Do Nothing, Wannabe is written by Lily Brazier and Ben Murray and directed by Ben Murray and Steve Stamp. Produced by Richard Webb (Porridge).
Enterprice
Enterprice is a new comedy written and created by Kayode Ewumi, co-creator of online smash #HoodDocumentary. Kazim and Jeremiah are two young entrepreneurs in the early stages of rolling out their home delivery service, Speedi-Kazz. Both are blessed with different skill-sets: Kazim has the energy and confidence, Jeremiah has the brains – but on occasion these differences can leave them at loggerheads. We follow their fledgling business, and this awkward bromance, as it makes its way into the homes of Kazim and Jeremiah’s fellow Londoners.
Cast confirmed so far include Kayode Ewumi, Daniel Ezra (Undercover), Ivanno Jeremiah (Humans), and Femi Elufowoju, Jr (Borgen).
When we have transmission dates for these, we’ll let you know….