When Famalam came to our screens in 2018, British television was ready and waiting for a high-profile comedic exploration of the contemporary black British experience. It tapped the same vein as Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum and the 1990s ensemble show The Real McCoy – and another hit sketch show was long overdue.
Originally broadcast between 1991 and 1996, the sketch show was one of the first to feature a primarily Black and Asian cast, exploring matters of relevance to their communities.
Shane Allen, controller of comedy commissioning at the BBC, added: “This seminal sketch show broke down barriers and gave diverse comedy a crucial mainstream platform in the early 90s.
“It laid the foundations for inclusiveness and representation that we’re continuing to build on today.”
