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Channel 4 Announces Susan Wokoma, Matt Berry and Freddie Fox's Year Of The Rabbit, Rufus Jones' Home and the Return of Gameface

Published Thu, 07 Jun 2018 18:00:18 -0500

Channel 4 has just announced (at a swanky party at Shoreditch House which I totally got invited to) two new comedies and the return of an old favourite.

YEAR OF THE RABBIT

A new 6 X 30' comedy starring BAFTA Award-winning actor Matt Berry (Toast of London, House Of Fools, Garth Merenghi's Darkplace, Snuff Box, The IT Crowd) which is irreverently and profanely inspired by the unhinged chaos of Victorian-era London. This brand new series follows Detective Inspector Rabbit (Berry), a hardened booze-hound who's seen it all, and his new, hapless, by-the-books partner Freddie Fox (Cucumber, Banana, Patrade's End, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword). While they're investigating a local murder, the lewd but insightful adoptive daughter (Susan Wokoma – Chewing Gum, Crazyhead, Porters) of the chief of police joins them, becoming the country's first female officer. Together, the trio must fight crime while rubbing shoulders with street gangs, crooked politicians, Bulgarian princes, spiritualists, music hall stars and the Elephant Man.

Matt Berry is an amazing performer and his last Channel 4 sitcom, Toast, basically all but starred me as Clem Fandango so I am invested. And Susan Wokoma is amazing – loved her so much in Crazyhead, and in the recent Labour Of Love stageplay. And in the preview we saw tonight, she throws a mean punch against Matt. Um, Freddie's not bad either.

HOME

A new 6 X 30' comedy written by and starring Rufus Jones (W1A, Inside No. 9, Camping, Hunderby), Home is a warm, touching and deftly surprising modern sitcom which gets to the very essence of home and family. When new couple Peter (Rufus Jones) and Katy – and Katy's son John – go on their first family holiday to France, the plan is to bring back a tan, a few happy memories and six crates of vintage champagne. What they actually bring back is going to come as a big surprise… Home follows the experience of Sami, a Syrian refugee who enters Britain illegally to claim asylum. Living in with Peter, Katy and John, Sami and his adoptive family discover and come to terms with what a home really means.

And they confirmed that Roisin Conaty's comedy GameFace will be returning, and to Channel 4 proper as well.

GAMEFACE

Channel 4 has commissioned a second series of Roisin Conaty's self-penned sitcom GameFace. This new 6 X 30' series will air on Channel 4. Conatystars as the series' gung-ho heroine, Marcella, a 30-something aspiring actress with a chaotic life and big dreams. The first series swooped between laugh-out-loud silliness and tender, truthful observation as Marcella grappled with her career, overcame heartbreak and dealt with her eccentric family. All with her questionable life-coach, best friends and long-suffering driving instructor by her side.

We saw so much good stuff tonight and I am currently typing this looking down across London, with members of the cast and crew. Let's press that publish button…

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