New Olivia Colman Dramedy Set for Seeso, Channel 4

NEW YORK: Flowers, a new comedic drama starring Olivia Colman (Broadchurch, The Lobster, Peep Show) and Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh, Nathan Barley), will be available starting this spring on Seeso in the U.S. and on Channel 4 in the U.K.

Written and directed by Will Sharpe (Black Pond), Flowers is about an eccentric and dysfunctional family struggling to hold themselves together. The series is produced by Kudos (Humans, Utopia, Broadchurch).

Sharpe said: “I feel very lucky to be making Flowers with Kudos, Channel 4 and Seeso. They’ve been really supportive and pushed me to make bold decisions on a show that aims both to celebrate and challenge the traditional family sitcom format. The characters in this show are all trying to break free in some way. In part, it’s a comedy about the different ways of feeling trapped or alone and how difficult it can be to admit that’s how you’re feeling.”

Evan Shapiro, the executive VP of digital enterprises at NBCUniversal, said: “If Augusten Burroughs wrote a sitcom, it might be Flowers. Will’s dark, bizarre, tragic comedy is singularly delicious, made even more so by Julian and Olivia and the amazing cast. Flowers is the epitome of a ‘Seeso show.’”

Channel 4’s deputy head of comedy, Nerys Evans, said: “Flowers is the kind of deliciously dark world we love at Channel 4. The word ‘dysfunctional’ doesn’t come close to describing quite how brilliantly peculiar the Flowers family are. Will Sharpe’s wonderful writing and direction coupled with an amazing cast has led us to an unbelievably original piece and we are delighted to have it on the channel.”

Naomi de Pear, who developed and produced the series for Kudos, said: “Flowers is perhaps the saddest comedy I’ve come across but it’s also very silly. Working with the very talented Will, Channel 4, Seeso and the extraordinary cast to bring to life this emotional and unique vision about the awful and funny pain of being in a family has been brilliant fun. Flowers has an other-worldly quality to it, even though it’s about real characters and real emotions.”