BBC Comedy

BBC orders second series of RTS Award-winning comedy Dreaming Whilst Black

Salmon (Chivalry) stars in the series as Kwabena, a recruiter with big dreams of being a filmmaker. Loosely inspired by Salmon’s life, Kwabena embarks on a series of opportunities trying to get his start in film, whilst also paying rent, dealing with love, and battling his own daydreams.

BBC Comedy commissions full series of Dreaming Whilst Black with Big Deal Films and A24

 Dani Moseley as Amy and Adjani Salmon as Kwabena (credit: BBC/Big Deal Films/Anup Bhatt)

Loosely inspired by true life events, Dreaming Whilst Black follows aspiring filmmaker Kwabena, a man stuck in a dead-end job who spends his time flitting between reality and a fantasy world of success. Kwabena is desperate to make it in “Babylon”, the only problem is he's broke, Black and born into a Jamaican family who wishes he was an accountant.

The pilot, adapted from the hugely popular web series co-written by Adjani Salmon and Ali Hughes, saw Salmon scoop the RTS Breakthrough award at this year's Programme Awards back in March. 

BBC Two commissions brand new comedy Henpocalypse!

Caroline Moran (credit: BBC)

Told through the eyes of five women on the ultimate hen weekend, the high-energy six-part comedic romp sees the hens fighting for survival when the weekend goes very wrong.

When Zara’s hen-do is interrupted by the end of the world, the bridezilla-to-be is left to wait out the breakdown of human civilisation from an isolated holiday cottage in Wales, alongside her four fellow working-class West Midlander best mates.

Matt Berry to star in BBC One’s Toast Of Tinseltown

Matt Berry (Credit: BBC)

Written and created by Arthur Matthews and Matt Berry, the six-part series will follow Steven Toast, a pretentious and quirky actor who moves to Hollywood in an attempt to become a film star and gain the fame and adoration he mistakenly thinks he deserves. 

Berry previously played Toast in three series of Toast Of London and the new series will see new and returning cast. 

David Tennant and Michael Sheen to return for series two of Staged

David Tennant and Michael Sheen (Credit: BBC)

The new series will once again follow Tennant and Sheen as they settle into their ‘new normal’ and navigate living with their increasingly agitated family in a world that now involves Zoom, face masks and social distancing.

The pair will also need to try to manage their ever-increasing fragile egos and try to stay relevant in a Hollywood that has now gone virtual.

Georgia Tennant, Anna Lundberg and Lucy Eaton are set to return, and they will be joined by new addition Ben Schwartz, who will play Tennant and Sheen’s American agent.

BBC commissions new comedy PRU

Credit: BBC

The series follows a group of tearaway teens who are struggling to adjust to life in a pupil referral unit, a school that is the last resort for excluded children.

The reality of life in a pupil referral unit is one the public seldom sees, and the erratic and volatile nature of the experience will be told through the eyes of four kids who lack inhibitions and often turn to self-destruction.

PRU is produced by Fully Focused, a youth-led production company that focuses on online content creation and champions underrepresented young voices.

BBC Two comedy Mandy announces cast

(credit: BBC)

The comedy series follows Mandy: a woman with huge dreams, namely breeding Doberman Pinchers. From dodgy Airbnb rentals to surviving short-lived employment in the gig economy, she grapples with overcoming the struggles of modern life.

The six-part series will see Morgan joined by a regular cast comprised of Michelle Greenidge (After Life), Alistair Green (Flowers), Mark Silcox (Man Like Mobeen) and Michael Spicer (The Mash Report).

The Young Offenders are back for a third series

Hilary Rose, Chris Walley and Alex Murphy (Credit: BBC)

The Young Offenders tells the story of loveable tearaways Conor (Alex Murphy) and Jock (Chris Walley) growing up in Cork, Ireland, under the watchful eye of their mother Mairéad (Hilary Rose), who tries to keep them in line. 

Created by Peter Foott, Conor and Jock are best friends trying to survive their awkward teenage years and find their place in the world when they are expelled from school.

Jock has recently become a father, introducing baby Star into the unconventional family, and the pair are both excited yet underprepared to support a newborn.

David Tennant and Michael Sheen to star in new BBC comedy series

David Tennant and Michael Sheen (Credit: BBC)

The six-part series is based on an original idea by Simon Evans and Phin Glynn, with the series written and directed by Evans.

Staged follows the cast of a play forced to halt their upcoming West End Production and sent home on furlough.

Classed as some of the best British actors of their generation, the cast try to keep up rehearsals at home during lockdown.

The series finds the comedy and challenges of creating a drama in lockdown both on and off stage.

BBC announces new bursary for comedy writing

Galton and Simpson (credit: BBC)

The bursary has been named after Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the comedy writing duo who after first meeting in a TB sanatorium back in 1948 went on to create Hancock and Steptoe & Son.

Driven by boredom and alienation as a pair of young men in a sanatorium surrounded by older occupants, Galton and Simpson turned to writing. The duo went on to become one of the best loved and most enduring writing partnerships in comedy history.