BBC Two orders new comedy Quacks
- BBC Two has ordered a new comedy series about Victorian medical pioneers
- Quacks has been created by Rev. writer James Wood
- The show will star Mathew Baynton, Rory Kinnear and Tom Basden
BBC Two has ordered a new comedy series called Quacks.
Based around the Victorian era, the series will follow the adventures of three medical pioneers.
The show is set in the 1840s, and, as the BBC explains, it's an era "when medical science as we know it was still in its infancy, when doctors were just as likely to kill their patients as cure them, when they experimented on themselves and each other. The show explores an era of surgery when the operating theatre was just that: a theatre, full of spectacle and showmanship, where people would come to watch revolutionary procedures, or a surgeon try to beat his amputation speed record."
The six-part series will star Mathew Baynton as a fledgling psychiatrist, Rory Kinnear as an arrogant showman surgeon, Tom Basden as a hedonistic dentist turned anaesthetist, and Lydia Leonard as a headstrong social campaigner. Rupert Everett will also guest star during the series.
A full series of the show has been ordered from production company Lucky Giant following the filming of a non-broadcast pilot in September. At the time the pilot was filmed, the then controller of BBC Two said the show was "quite intriguing", adding "it's not like anything we have got on BBC Two, or anything else".
Quacks has been written by James Wood, the writer who previously had success on BBC Two with church-based sitcom Rev.. As reported earlier today, Wood is also currently working on adapting Evelyn Waugh's 1928 novel Decline And Fall into a series for the channel.
James Wood says: "Quacks is a comedy series about three colourful, energetic, young Victorian doctors who enjoy a lurid social life of drink, drugs, and complicated relationships. In other words, they're just like every other young doctor you've ever met. I couldn't be more excited about working with this incredible cast on a show set during a fascinating period of medical history."
BBC commissioner Shane Allen comments: "This is a dream comedy cast allied to a very dynamic period in British social history which lends itself well to raucous high adventure and inappropriate behaviour, all in the name of progress. We follow the often maverick doctors from one misguided cock-up to the next with the very occasional (and mostly accidental) success. It's a timely comedy flag in the often po-faced world of period settings."
Justin Davies from Lucky Giant adds: "James Wood has done a masterful job of mining our gory medical past to create wonderful characters for this story. These are the would-be rock stars of the medical world, and while their intentions are sincere, the results are often brilliantly deranged and funny. We can't wait to bring this to life and there will be plenty of treats in store."
Rachel Hillman from WellcomeTrust, the medical research charity which is involved in the filming, says: "We are so excited to be part of this unique project - a laugh-out-loud comedy rooted in genuine research. Wellcome is delighted to be working with such a talented team to bring our 'stranger than fiction' medical history to life."
Meanwhile in other news, Radio Times is reporting that You, Me And The Apocalypse, the Sky comedy drama starring Mathew Baynton, would not be returning to the broadcaster for a second series. The network told the magazine "a story with the end of the world at its heart was always going to be hard to bring back and has reached its natural conclusion". However, the series - a co-commission with American network NBC - is still airing in the US, so could yet return via another broadcaster.
Quacks will begin filming later this year. It is expected to be broadcast on BBC Two towards the end of the year, or early next year.