Open Mike Gets BBC Commissions

LONDON, May 7: Comedy
indie Open Mike Productions has received a raft of commissions from the BBC,
including for the 90-minute doc Rich Hall’s How The West Was Lost for BBC Four.

Filmed on location in Arizona,
Rich Hall’s How The West Was Lost explores
America’s obsession with the Wild West and delves into what eventually killed
off the genre.

The BBC has also ordered a
third season of Lead Balloon
for BBC Two. In addition to six 30-minute episodes of the series, which centers
on a standup comedian who hosts corporate events, Open Mike will also produce a
40-minute Christmas special.

Additionally, the company
will produce a game-show pilot for BBC One. Hosted by Michael McIntyre, the
show will ask the audience to judge the public and celebrities on first
impressions.

Meanwhile, Open Mike has
been commissioned by Paramount Comedy to produce an eighth season of
20×30-minute episodes of Comedy Story, in addition to three half-hour specials for the channel featuring Ed
Byrne, Micky Flanagan and Shappi Khorsandi. The company has also secured a raft
of DVD commissions from Universal, featuring comedians Dara O’Briain, Sean Lock
and Brendon Burn as well as a DVD of Alan Carr’s Celebrity Ding Dong.

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski