Sky Living Bulks Up Comedy Slate

LONDON: Two new comedies are headed to Sky Living HD, Gates and The Spa.

The 5×30-minute comedy Gates stars Sue Johnston (The Royal Family), Tom Ellis (Miranda), Joanna Page (Gavin and Stacey) and Adam Deacon (Kidulthood). Ellis and Page play parents who moved to the South East, where their 9-year-old daughter is starting school. They soon discover what happens when your children choose your friends.

The Spa is written by Derren Litten (Benidorm, The Catherine Tate Show). The comedy is set in a Hertfordshire spa that claims it can cure anyone—the fat, the thin, the lazy—but the truth is quite to the contrary.

Jane Johnson, the director of Sky Living, said: “I am thrilled to be able to announce Gates and The Spa on Sky Living, our first original scripted comedies which set the tone and ambition of what we’re looking for on Sky Living for future projects. Both shows will sit at the heart of our autumn schedule and further demonstrate Sky’s commitment to producing original British content across the whole channel portfolio. With fantastic talent both in front of and behind the camera, we hope our customers love these shows as much as we do.”

Lucy Lumsden, the head of comedy at Sky, added: "Following our recent comedy successes, including Stella, Spy and Trollied, it’s an extremely exciting time for Sky. This latest wave of announcements today across Sky Arts and Sky Living demonstrate that we are hungry to work with the best talent at home and abroad and expand our ambitions for comedy across our other channels."