Comedy

UKTV’s Zapped and Porters to return this Autumn

Supernatural comedy Zapped sees the return of James Buckley (The Inbetweeners) as unassuming office worker Brian who is transported to a fantastical land named Munty, where magic is real but restricted by a police state. Here he meets wizard Howell (Paul Kaye) and a whole host of magical beings, the third series picks up from the a cliff-hanger ending, with Brian and Howell in dire straits.

BBC mockumentary This Country renewed for third series

The series which was written by siblings Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper, who also serve as the leads is about the day-to-day of two cousins living in a rural village in the Cotswolds. 

The show has recently won three RTS Programme Awards; for Comedy Writer, Comedy Performance and Best Scripted Comedy. The show has also been nominated four times at the upcoming BAFTA and BAFTA Craft Awards.

Urban Myths returns for more 'true-ish' tales to Sky Arts

What happens when you give writers with big imaginations a kernel of truth? Sky Arts’ Urban Myths, that’s what – charming, half-hour comedies that dramatise true, or “true-ish”, tales from the worlds of Hollywood, music, arts and literature.

The second series – which features stories ranging from Agatha Christie’s 11-day disappearance to the first meeting of the teenage David Bowie and Marc Bolan, and Johnny Cash duelling with an ostrich – airs this month on the channel and on-­demand. A third installment is in the pipeline.

This Country: Charlie Cooper discusses this year's comedy hit

It’s been a hectic series for the show’s stars, cousins Kerry and Kurtan, played by Daisy May and Charlie Cooper. There’s been fishing, tadpoles spawned in the pond, there was an incident with some aggressive sheep… A busy six weeks in the Cotswold town the pair call home – or rather it hasn’t. And that’s sort of the point.

What's on TV this week: 9 - 15 April

Auction

Monday: Sky Arts, 7pm

Take a peek inside some of the great art sale houses in the world in this new documentary series. From masterpieces of art to personal letters and artefacts, there’s sure to be a lot of money changing hands and this is a first class view of a world most mere mortals can only dream of. This season sees a rare Picasso go under the hammer.

 

Michaela Coel: How Chewing Gum got made

RTS Award winner Michaela Coel sits down with us at the RTS Programme Awards 2018 to reflect on two years of success since winning the inaugural RTS Breakthrough Award in 2016. 

Chewing Gum won three awards at the 2016 RTS awards, and has since gone on to win Baftas. The show is shown around the world, however it was Michaela's work on the recent series of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror that really shot her to international attention. 

Musical comedy group The Horne Section to film TV special

The Horne Section

The ‘unlikely jazz/comedy hybrid’ will feature guest performances from some of the biggest names in comedy and music.

The two hour show will be recorded live at The London Palladium later this year.

Alex Horne said, “I’m pretty sure no-one’s ever tried combining music with comedy before, let alone filming the whole thing and putting it on TV, so we’re pretty excited to see how Twitter will cope with jazz and jokes for two hours.”

First look at Idris Elba’s new comedy In the Long Run

In The Long Run

The comedy features an ensemble cast with Elba at the helm as family man Walter Easmon, alongside wife Agnes (Madeline Appiah), son Kobna (Sammy Kamara), Walter's younger brother Valentine (Jimmy Akingbola) and Walter’s best mate Bagpipes played by comedy favourite Bill Bailey.

The series, loosely based on Idris Elba’s own childhood, follows the story of Walter and Agnes Easmon whose life is all about quiet routine. They arrived from Sierra Leone 13 years ago and work hard to pay the bills, raise son Kobna as well as support their family back home.