BBC America Sets Up Comedy Block

NEW YORK: The grid of BBC America is set to include a two-hour comedy block, Ministry of Laughs, featuring shows such as The Inbetweeners and Come Fly with Me, starting June 18.

The block will feature an all-new season of the BAFTA-winning comedy The Inbetweeners, along with Come Fly with Me, the new project from Little Britain creators Matt Lucas and David Walliams, and Friday Night Dinner. Other U.S. premiere titles include The Mitchell & Webb Show, The Thick of It and Peep Show. The Graham Norton Show kicks off the first hour of the slot on June 18 at 10 p.m.

Perry Simon, the general manager for channels at BBC Worldwide America, said: "There’s nothing quite like British comedy and since joining last year one of my key ambitions has been to showcase the very best of it here on BBC America. In the early days of the channel, The Office broke the mold and virtually reinvented television comedy on both sides of the Atlantic. Ministry of Laughs will deliver a new generation of talented actors, writers and creators who are taking British comedy to a whole new place, and the brilliant Graham Norton Show is the perfect launch pad for this effort."