BBC Four in a tight spot

BBC Four will show four new comedies during the New Year as part of a Tight Spot series. "This is a brilliant chance to showcase both new and established acting, production and writing talent on the channel, with four stand-out comedies that have a distinctive BBC Four flavour. Single dramas have worked fantastically well on the channel - now it's comedy's turn," says Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Four.

The four one-off, half-hour comedies have been commissioned both from BBC in-house comedy and from independents. "Freezing" is pitched as a modern, urban comedy about what happens when fame and promise start to fade away. It is written by James Wood, directed by Simon Curtis and produced by Kenton Allen and Simon Curtis. Written by Nigel Williams and executive produced by Jon Plowman, "HR" is the story of two white middle-aged men: one is a middle manager, the other is his HR person. Both of them are under threat from the brave new world of management consultancy.

"Lift" is a Hartswood Films Production, written by the Edinburgh 2006 if.comeddie Panel Award winner Mark Watson, executive produced by Beryl Vertue and Sue Vertue and produced by Mark Freeland. It centres around four ill-fitting people who want to be as far away as possible from one another. Unfortunately this isn't possible. They're stuck in a lift. Finally, in "Stuck", Adrian (forty-something, well groomed, sharp-suited Ad Executive) is driving. He's pompous, pernickety and tense. Simon (late twenties, creative-looking in his hip-casual clothes) is in the passenger seat. He's laid-back and doesn't want to be there. The two have nothing in common except work. Simon's on the way up the career path, Adrian is on the way down. Stuck is a Baby Cow production written by Mark Warren. Executive producers are Henry Normal and Lindsay Hughes.