The BBC has commissioned three new shows in the wake of its Landmark Sitcom Season over the summer
A Brief History of Tim, Motherland, and Porridge will all return to television with a full series. Each programme was piloted as part of the BBC's celebration of 60 years of the sitcom, marking the anniversary of the first TV episode of Hancock's Half Hour.
Porridge was brought back by the creative time behind the original 1974 sitcom of the same name. A reimagining of the BBC One favourite, the new Porridge stars Kevin Bishop as the cyber criminal grandson of Ronnie Barker's iconic inmate Fletcher.
Bishop said he "never thought it would go further than just the one-off homage. To be welcomed back by Porridge fans and the BBC to make a full series, is one of the proudest moments in my career."
Meanwhile, Motherland was introduced as part the broadcaster's New On Two strand and stars Anna Maxwell-Martin and Diane Morgan as outsiders navigating the minefield of the school mum social group.
The pilot was watched by two million viewers, penned by Father Ted's Graham Linehan and Emmy Award nominee Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe), BBC Comedy controller Shane Allen lauded the team as a "wish-list writing powerhouse".
Online channel BBC Three will renew for a full series A Brief History of Tim, the sitcom vehicle of Memphis-born stand up Tim Renkow. Renkow plays an exaggerated version of himself as a rebellious disabled man, wreaking havoc on society and using his cerebral palsy to excuse his outrageous behaviour.
“I'm very excited to be working with the BBC. I just hope I can beat my old employment record of two days," said the Edinburgh Fringe star.
Damian Kavanagh, controller of BBC Three, said: “We are all about the best new British comedy at BBC Three and are very happy to give A Brief History of Tim a home.”
A cumulative audience of 50 million watched the Landmark Sitcom Season over its run, with Allen declaring the new commissions to come out of it as an example of "our mission to keep nurturing the very best of new talent and to cherish the great talents we’ve championed over the years.”
