ITV2 orders new topical comedy show @elevenish
- @elevenish is a new topical comedy series for ITV2
- Acts taking part include Natasia Demetriou, Lolly Adefope, Adam Hess and John Kearns
- The 11-part series will launch on ITV2 on Thursday 17th March
ITV2 is set to launch a new topical comedy format featuring up-and-coming talent.
@elevenish is described as "a brand new, late night comedy series that challenges stand-up comedians, character comics and sketch groups to deliver quick-fire comic monologues, sketches and commentary".
Producers Talkback explain: "Each episode is driven by a set of @elevenish 'rules' devised by the show's producers that will incorporate what people have been sharing, posting and talking about over the last 7 days.
"With slots on @elevenish available right up until the week of transmission, the series offers a unique opportunity for comedians to respond to topical issues, with the most successful acts given the chance to develop ideas and return in future episodes."
ITV has ordered 11 half-hour episodes of the show, with the series set to launch later this month. Content for the episodes will be filmed throughout the week, "to ensure the show reflects and reacts to the very latest events."
Comedians confirmed for the show already include Bobby Mair, Dane Baptiste, Natasia Demetriou, Rhys James, Lolly Adefope, Adam Hess, John Kearns and Luke McQueen.
Claire Zolkwer from ITV comments: "@elevenish gives a unique opportunity for new comedy talent to reach an ITV2 audience and we look forward to welcoming them."
Executive Producer Leon Wilson adds: "Talkback prides itself on discovering new talent so we're really excited to offer this platform to the next generation of comedians. The idea behind @elevenish is to create a programme to complement the immediacy of the internet - where a story can break and go global within minutes. Writing and producing content up until the day of transmission means the show will always be relevant for the ITV2 audience."
The format and ethos of @elevenish has been compared to The 11 O'Clock Show, Channel 4's late night 1990s new talent showcase, which gave the likes of Ricky Gervais and Sacha Baron Cohen some of their first TV appearances, and gave new writers such as Mitchell & Webb and Charlie Brooker an early career break.
Talkback has been working on the format for @elevenish for some time. In 2014 a non-broadcast pilot was filmed for BBC Three under the title The Vacuum, but was not picked up. Many of the acts who appeared in the pilot will be given slots on the new series. At the time of writing, some scenes from the pilot can be viewed on Vimeo. Footage includes Bobby Mair conducting interviews with the public in Camden, and Natasia Demetriou providing a guide to visiting a cinema whilst in character (pictured above).
@elevenish will launch on Thursday 17th March, following on in the schedule from the new series of Celebrity Juice, which is set to launch with a live episode.