BBC Commissions Original Comedy Content for iPlayer

LONDON: The BBC has ordered a slate of new, original comedies for its digital catch-up service BBC iPlayer.

On April 5, comedian Matt Berry premieres his topical comedy series Matt Berry Does…, which will consist of six shorts produced for the online platform. Frankie Boyle will debut the general-election comedy special Election Autopsy in May, while Jo Brand will host a private viewing of Grayson Perry’s new exhibition at the Turner Contemporary gallery, which will go out in May.

In June, the digital hub will celebrate Muslim culture in Fast Cuts (working title), a series of comedy shorts starring established and emerging Muslim comedians. The collaboration between BBC Asian Network and BBC Writers Room will highlight Tez Ilyas and Guzzy Bear, aka Mobeen.

On the non-comedy front, the three-episode drama series My Jihad, about a young Muslim couple, will go live this summer. Meanwhile, filmmaker and journalist Charlie Lyne will produce a horror documentary tentatively titled Fear Itself, set to feature material spanning more than 100 years of horror cinema. That film will launch on iPlayer in October. Additionally, Women Who Spit will spotlight five of the U.K.’s most exciting young female poets tackling a range of tough topics. Those short films will launch on BBC iPlayer to coincide with the BBC’s Young Artist Day this summer.