New Comedies Coming to BBC Four

LONDON: There are a slew of new comedies coming to BBC Four's schedule this year, including Detectorists, starring and directed by Mackenzie Crook.

Crook stars as a wannabe archeologist who, alongside his friend Lance, dreams of striking it rich and solidifying his place in detecting history. Detectorists is a Channel X/Lola Entertainment co-production.

The Walshes is a three-part series co-written by Graham Linehan (The IT Crowd, Father Ted, Count Arthur Strong) and the comedy troupe Diet of Worms. Tony (Niall Gaffney) and Carmel (Philippa Dunne) are the parents to Ciara (Amy Stephenson) and Rory (Rory Connolly), who are both still at home because the state of the Irish economy has forced them all back together. The Walshes is a Boom Pictures production for the BBC and RTE.

BBC Four also lined up the rock doc parody The Life of Rock with Brian Pern. It comes from documentary-maker Rhys Thomas and Fast Show comic Simon Day. Brian Pern (Day) is an aging rock star and former front man of a groundbreaking progressive-rock group. The BBC have asked him to front a major new documentary where he presents his guide to "The Life of Rock." The show is an In-house BBC Comedy production.

In and Out of the Kitchen is a three-part series based on the BBC Radio 4 comedy created, written by and starring Miles Jupp. It is about a cookery writer Damien Trench (Jupp) and everything that happens to him both in and out of the kitchen. It, too, is an In-house BBC Comedy production.

Shane Allen, BBC's controller of comedy commissioning, said: “This quartet of comedy treats is testament to BBC Four’s unique legacy in bringing the audience big-name comedy talents in surprising and inventive shows that follow in the footsteps of award-winning predecessors like Getting On, The Thick of It, Twenty Twelve and Screenwipe.”

Cassian Harrison, BBC Four's channel executive, said: “It's terrific to have such a strong roster of new comedy for BBC Four. From Brian Pern to The Walshes, we're home to a fantastic spread of innovation and some of the finest talent working in comedy today—exactly what comedy on BBC Four is all about.”