A raft of sitcoms are returning, BBC comedy director Jon Petrie confirmed today at the BBC Comedy Festival in Glasgow.
Not Going Out, the longest running sitcom in Britain still on air, is set to make a comeback for its 14th series. Lee Mack (8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown) stars in and co-writes the show, which he also created. It follows a fictional version of the comedian as he bumbles, lazily, through marriage and parenthood, armed solely with his wits.
The show recently celebrated its 100th episode, which saw Lee and wife Lucy (Sally Bretton) invite lonely pensioner Wilfred (Richard Wyms) into their home for Christmas. Their plan to make merry seems to be coming together, until it emerges that Wilfred can’t drink alcohol.
Mammoth and The Power of Parker have both been commissioned for a second series. Mammoth follows a PE teacher whose body, lost in 1979, is discovered in the present day, frozen in time. Once thawed out, he gets a second chance at life. By the end of series one, Mammoth has lost a close friend and realised he doesn’t want to die alone. Might love finally bloom in series two?
The Power of Parker follows the exploits of an electrical store owner in 1990s Stockport, his wife and his former mistress. The series one finale saw the shop burnt down as part of a life insurance scam. The business has been relaunched, now with Martin’s (Conleth Hill) wife Diane (Rosie Cavaliero) at the helm. It falls to her husband to rebuild his reputation.
Outnumbered will also be making a comeback for a Christmas special.
“Mainstream comedy is what viewers love best,” said Petrie. “It’s written right through our comedy heritage and is so close to our hearts. It can tell our stories and bring us together like nothing else. That’s why audiences and critics feel so passionately about it and have such a strong sense of ownership.
“We want producers to take risks and create the next generation of classic sitcoms and immortal characters that audiences will keep returning to for decades to come.”
Not Going Out, The Power of Parker and the Outnumbered Christmas special will air on BBC One and be available on iPlayer. Production for Mammoth will begin in 2025, with further casting details to be announced in due course. It is a BBC Studios Comedy production for BBC Two, BBC One Wales and iPlayer.
