Jamie Demetriou to guest star in Funboys
New sitcom Funboys is coming to BBC Three in February, and British Comedy Guide can reveal that Jamie Demetriou is amongst the cast list.
Originally piloted in 2023 as part of the BBC Comedy Short Films strand, Funboys focuses on three emotionally-unassembled young men in small-town Northern Ireland.
The new four-part series sees friends Callum (Ryan Dylan), Jordan (Rian Lennon) and Lorcan (Lee R James) attempt to navigate through the hardships of life. From first girlfriends to dead pet pigs, the lads are put through the psychological ringer. But will their shared love of innocent fun and wholesome mucking about land them in hot water?
The series also stars Ele McKenzie as love interest Gemma Wilton, with Stath Lets Flats star Jamie Demetriou appearing in the fourth episode as David Wilton, Ele's brother who befriends Callum.
Demetriou says: "The Funboys pilot blew me away. Their dedication to making something genuinely funny and specific is deeply exciting and very rare. Getting to see it in person on set was a career highlight for me."
Also appearing in the episodes are Brian Devlin, Owen Colgan, Paul Bazely, Richard Croxford, Emer O'Connor, Amanda Hurwitz, James Martin, Vanessa Ifediora, Walter Chigui and Brendan Quinn.
The show is written by Rian Lennon and Ryan Dylan, with This Country producer Simon Mayhew-Archer as the story writer and executive producer.
The BBC explains: "Funboys, filmed and set in Northern Ireland, with support from Northern Ireland Screen takes a fly-on-the-wall approach, prioritising authentic, naturalistic comedy whilst exploring modern themes of male vulnerability, religious dogma and handjobs."
Rian Lennon says: "We were very lucky to have such a uniquely funny assortment of actors who understood the show's specific tone. Each person brought their own colour and verve and the result is a lovely collaborative finger painting of silly wholesome comedy that we're very excited to stick up on the nation's fridges."
Simon Mayhew-Archer, who produces the show via his company Mayhay Studios, says: "Rian, Ryan and Lee are three of the funniest, most inventive people I've worked with and I really hope this show brings as much happiness to others as it has to me."
Jon Petrie, BBC Director of Comedy Commissioning, comments: "Rian, Ryan and Lee have a completely original and hilarious comic vision, so we're delighted to see their debut series arrive on screen and to have exciting new Northern Irish voices on the BBC."
The four episodes were filmed in Northern Ireland, with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
Eddie Doyle, Head of Commissioning for BBC Northern Ireland, says: "It's been fantastic to see this project develop from a BBC iPlayer short we co-commissioned with BBC Comedy, into a four part network series. Rian, Ryan and Lee are uniquely brilliant in their comedy and Funboys is quite unlike anything else out there."
Funboys starts on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer in February. The exact broadcast date will be announced nearer the time.