Friday Night Dinner - Series 1

First I've heard of this:

http://www.robertpopper.com/2010/10/08/3632/

You may have noticed that I've been a little quiet on my site recently. Well, I've been in the thick of rehearsals for my new Channel 4 show, Friday Night Dinner, which we start filming a week on Monday.

The show focuses on two brothers - played by Simon Bird and Tom Rosenthal - who see their mum and dad (Tamsin Greig and Paul Ritter) every Friday night. It's really about how we all seem to revert to being kids again the minute we step back into our parent's home.

The dialogue's snappy and the action is fast. I want the whole show to feel really pacy. It's all semi-autobiographical, I guess, in that it features a dad who sometimes eats out of the bins.

I have a fantastic, lovely, and also very silly cast, and along with director, Steve Bendelack, we've been working and mucking our way through the scripts for the past two weeks.

Sounds good? Anything with Popper involved certainly piques my interest.

Here's all the info you need, Kevin: https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/friday_night_dinner/

The premise, Jewish boy hanging round his parents house every week, is pretty similar to Grandma's House really, isn't it. Though I notice he mentions it being pacy, which GH wasn't!

I'll definitely give this a look, if Popper's involved there's a decent chance of it being good.

I saw a preview of this show at the recent Broadcast Comedy Forum.

It's single camera, no laughter track, "real looking", just like most modern sitcoms. Looks like it's shot in real time too.

Robert told us that in the scene preceding the preview, the son (Simon Bird) saw his dad looking down the front of his trousers at his bits, looking worried.

And then the preview began...

We see the dad asking the son to come into the bathroom with him. Reluctantly, the son does, thinking he's going to show him his wotsits.
But no.
It's for a father-to-son birds and bees chat, all because his son hasn't got a girlfriend.
The mum also enters. And the brother.
Four people in a bathroom.
(Five if you include the cameraman)

It didn't really appeal to me as I don't like these real type shows.
But fans of Simon Bird will probably like it.

You heard it here first.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ October 8 2010, 10:45 PM BST

The premise, Jewish boy hanging round his parents house every week, is pretty similar to Grandma's House really, isn't it.

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Hmmmm, mumble, mumble, mumble, moan, moan, groan, mumble, grumble...being taken over by them, fipping bbc and their friends...mumble, mumble, rumble...

Preview video...

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/tubetalk/a303340/fancy-a-new-friday-night-sitcom.html

As noted above, parallels between this and Grandma's House are likely to be made. I'm rather hopeful that this might be the Jewish family-based sitcom for those of us who didn't quite click with that show. The fact that it's written and directed by Robert Popper also leads one to be optimistic. And it's got Mark Heap in it, so that's already a plus point.

Watching the preview video though, one does wonder whether Tamsin Greig got her North London Jewish mother voice-coaching from Rebecca Front?

I hope Grieg is more likeable than she is in Episodes. Can't take many more characters-with-faces-like-a-slapped-arse from her.

Quote: chipolata @ February 14 2011, 12:02 PM GMT

I hope Grieg is more likeable than she is in Episodes. Can't take many more characters-with-faces-like-a-slapped-arse from her.

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I'm hoping that as well. Failing that, I know she is due to appear in the forthcoming radio comedy Brian Gulliver's Travels so no-one will be able to see her face.

From the preview on YouTube, it really does seem like an Inbetweeners spin-off. Without the fit Mum, obviously.

Doesn't look promising at all from the admittedly small amount I've seen so far.

I think it looks good, from what I've seen.

If it is similar to The Inbetweeners, wouldn't that be a good thing? Since The Inbetweeners is massively popular.

But by the same token it's been done, very recently. It may be because Simon Bird was brilliant in that show, but every line he says in the clips I've seen for this new show could easily have been said by Will.

I am looking forward to this. Popper is ace, great cast, promising looking clips; can't wait.

Who is the genius who decided that this programme should go out on a Friday night? Guess what - many Jewish people, who would probably love to see it, will be unable to watch if they observe the Sabbath rules. And before anyone says the title relates to an appropriate screening time may I mention Saturday Night Fever, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, etc etc etc! Will each episode be repeated later in the week? Let's hope so.

Aw, I never thought of that!

Hopefully it will get a repeat.

Trailers didn't look too bad, although I wonder about the wisdom of tying yourself to such a limited set-up.