Has Sky become the unexpected saviour of the British sitcom?
In the wake of a recent spate of original commissions, Jake takes a look at Sky’s contribution to UK sitcom…
It would be too easy to say that the British sitcom is in decline and just leave it at that. Yet a casual look over the last five years brings up recent hits such as the fantastic The Inbetweeners, Simon Amstell's Grandma's House, the love-it-or-hate-it Miranda, Outnumbered and the sublime Rev. There was also a new series from Ricky Gervais but we don't talk about that. Along with continuing favourites such as The Thick of It, Outnumbered and Peep Show, the UK sitcom is still capable of pulling an audience and critical praise.
But it's clear that narrative based comedy isn't the priority it once was. The new controller of BBC Three, Zai Bennett, has cancelled Ideal, Lunch Monkeys and the excellent Mongrels. ITV has yet to commission any narrative comedy since No Heroics and FM. Channel 4 has dropped its Comedy Labs pilot scheme which recently featured Milton Jones's very promising House of Rooms. And Channel 5 has only ever commissioned two sitcoms in its 15 year existence, Angelo's and Respectable. Several months into 2012, only one brand new sitcom has been aired. The lacklustre Pramface on BBC three.
With a small number of new sitcoms and comedy dramas being commissioned over the next year by, it's hard not to feel saddened at this state of affairs. Particularly when the US is in the middle of a golden age with Community, Parks and Recreation, Louie, Delocated and recent export, the Zooey Deshcanel vehicle New Girl.
The problem with narrative comedy is the amount of risk that's involved. Get it right like the The Inbetweeners and you have a show that finds a growing audience via word of mouth and becomes must-see TV. Get it wrong and it'll be buried very quickly (with bizarre levels of vitriol) like The Persuasionists. In this multichannel age, there's just not enough room for failure or to let a series grow naturally. ITV's director of television admitted that the network had lost its nerve when it came to comedy which is a shame considering its rich history in the genre. But the smaller cable channels are starting to fill the gap with their own productions.
Repeats-centric channel Dave are behind the Red Dwarf revival with forthcoming new episodes, though it'll have to work hard to erase memories of the final two series. And the UK arm of Comedy Central has ordered another series of its first homegrown production Threesome from Doctor Who writer Tom McRae.
But the biggest investment into the future of British narrative comedy has come from Sky, with six brand new series broadcast in 2011 and plenty more to come in 2012.
Sky's brightest move was in hiring ex-BBC comedy controller Lucy Lumsden as its first head of comedy. Her first commission for Sky was the series of quirky short autobiographical films, Little Crackers. Based on anecdotes from various comedians and actors such as Harry Hill, Catherine Tate and Victoria Wood, Little Crackers was a Christmas hit and the start of Sky's biggest UK production investment.
Through 2011, Sky broadcast several brand new series, their first since Time Gentlemen Please and Baddiel's Syndrome. Making sure this isn't a token effort, Sky has put its whole weight behind their recent commissions with widespread promotion and recommissioning the majority of their new programming.
Putting aside this writer's reservations about the Murdoch empire along with its recent revelations, Sky is doing something right. And what's more they're doing it better than the big three networks. Time will tell if this initiative lasts beyond the first couple of years but there's a real chance that this could help bring the British sitcom back out of its fallow period and into the mainstream again.
Here's a quick look at the highlights of Sky's recent commissions:
Trollied
Jane Horrocks stars as the manageress of Valco supermarket. Produced by Ash Atalla (The Office, The IT Crowd), Sky purpose-built a replica of a supermarket especially for filming. This paid off when the first episode managed the biggest multichannel comedy launch in history.
This is Jinsy
Originally piloted on BBC Three, newcomers Chris Bran and Justin Chubb write and star in the adventures of Sporall and Arbiter Maven. Residents of the Mighty Boosh and Spike Milligan-coloured world of Jinsy island. Peppered with guest stars such as Peter Serafinowicz, Harry Hill, Kevin Eldon and a great turn from David Tennant.
Spy
Darren Boyd, recently seen as John Cleese in the BBC Four drama Holy Flying Circus, stars as Tim Elliot. A luckless divorcee held in high contempt by his hyper-intelligent son Marcus who becomes a secret agent by accident. Featuring Robert Lindsay channelling a psychopath Alan Sugar as Tim's boss, 'The Examiner'. With Spy, Sky have succeeded in producing a pre-watershed family sitcom that is fresh and most importantly laugh out loud funny.
The Cafe
Gentle bittersweet comedy set in a family run beach cafe in Weston-Super-Mare. Co-created by and starring Ralf Little (The Royle Family, Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps) and Michelle Terry who stars as Sarah Porter. A wannabe writer who's had to return home from London but still dreams of the bigger life.
Stella
Sky's big hope. Ruth Jones writes and stars as the super-mum Stella in this Gavin & Stacey flavoured slice of life series set in the small town of Pontyberry, South Wales.
But what next?
The future of Sky's comedy initiative is in healthy shape with Chris O'Dowd's Moone Boy and Kathy Burke's Walking and Talking, both based on their Little Crackers entries. What's especially intriguing about Burke's series is it's the return to TV of the legendarily offensive stand-up magician Jerry Sadowitz.
There's also the Charlie Brooker spoof detective film A Touch of Cloth and the new sitcom from Simon Bird, Joe Thomas and Jonny Sweet, Chickens. It was originally piloted on Channel 4 and featured the misadventures of three men who refuse to fight in World War 1. Come 2013, we could see a very healthy comedy portfolio from the most unlikely of sources.
On the main networks, the current trend is for showcasing stand ups with a proven track record on the live circuit, with stand-up showcases and panel shows. It's early days but hopefully Sky's big gamble will pay off. Maybe then we could start seeing the results spread across other channels...
