Dave Lines Up Original Scripted Comedy Zapped!

LONDON: Zapped!, a new fantasy comedy series from comedian Steve Coogan’s Baby Cow Productions, is slated to begin airing on UKTV’s Dave channel later this year.

Created by Black Dog Television, Zapped! centers on an online data marketing assistant who is transported to a parallel world filled with magic. The 3×40-minute show will star James Buckley (The Inbetweeners), Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones), Sharon Rooney (My Mad Fat Diary), Ken Collard (Cuckoo) and Louis Emerick (Benidorm), with a guest appearance from Coogan, who will also executive produce. The UKTV original begins production this month for broadcast on Dave in the fall.

Coogan commented: “Zapped! is fantasy, heightened reality and lots of escapism, with one foot firmly in the real world. It has all the requisite elements to take the audience on a journey to this slightly mad world; from wizards and spells to mermaids, psychopathic fairies, smartphones and then back to the boring office job. We have a great cast on board, led by the brilliant James Buckley. We’re excited to be working with UKTV on another original comedy series and we feel this is a great example of Baby Cow at its best.”

Simon Lupton, UKTV’s senior commissioning editor who will also serve as an exec producer, noted: “Everyone at UKTV is very excited to be working with Baby Cow on Zapped!, the latest addition to our growing scripted comedy slate on Dave. It has already been loads of fun collaborating with the writers as they created this fantastical world and array of extraordinary characters. We know that the Dave audience loves their comedy to give them big laughs and offer escapism in a bold, joyful and distinctive way—and we really believe Zapped! will do that. The scripts have a wonderful blend of great storytelling and humor, combined with an extremely high-quality cast and director [Dave Lambert].”

Steve North, the general manager of Dave, added: “Zapped! combines very funny scripts with an exceptionally talented team making it. The casting is superb and brings a wealth of comedy talent to Dave, which is genuinely exciting. We have an ongoing commitment on Dave to developing and launching original scripted comedy—we continue to take risks, developing high-concept comedies that broaden our entertainment slate.”