Cast revealed for new football comedy from Inbetweeners writers
- Will Arnett and Chris Geere are amongst the stars in BBC Two's football-based comedy series The First Team
- The main characters will be played by newcomers Shaquille Ali-Yebuah, Jack McMullen and Jake Short
- The series is the first show Damon Beesley and Iain Morris have written together since The Inbetweeners
The cast has been revealed for The First Team, the new football-based comedy from the writers of The Inbetweeners.
Previously announced under the working title Afternoons, Iain Morris and Damon Beesley's six-part series is now in production. It follows three young football players recently signed to a fictional Premier League club.
Whilst they have worked together on developing projects as producers via their production company Fudge Park, The First Team will be Iain Morris and Damon Beesley's first show as co-writers since their massive success with The Inbetweeners series and films. The show is set to air on BBC Two.
The BBC says: "The First Team follows the off-the-pitch misadventures of three young football players as they find themselves struggling with their mercurial Italian manager Cesare, the team's eccentric American Chairman, resident hard-man Petey Brooks and ineffectual coach Chris Booth."
The lead roles will be taken on by relative newcomers Shaquille Ali-Yebuah (In And Out Of The Kitchen), Jack McMullen (The Hatching) and Jake Short (SuperCool).
Arrested Development star Will Arnett will play the team's chairman. He has previously starred in the British-based TV series The Increasingly Poor Decisions Of Todd Margaret.
Chris Geere, who has worked previously with Beesley and Morris's production company Fudge Park on Ill Behaviour and The Festival, will work with them again to play the team's ineffectual coach.
Italian actor Paolo Sassanelli will play the manager, Cesare.
Theo Barklem-Biggs, who recently starred in Sliced and Beasley's White Gold, takes on the role of Petey Brooks.
The cast list also features Tamla Kari (The Inbetweeners), Vadhir Derbez (How To Be A Latin Lover), Phil Wang (Taskmaster), Neil Fitzmaurice (Peep Show) and Yetunde Oduwole (Enterprice).
Iain Morris and Damon Beesley say: "We're so lucky to be working with such an incredible bunch, some new faces and some we've worked with over the years, all making us laugh enormously."
Gregor Sharp, the BBC Commissioning Editor, comments: "Iain and Damon have created a series about a group of ordinary young men in an extraordinary world. It's completely authentic, full of observation and insight, as well as their trademark gift for comic set piece and they've assembled an amazing team to bring it to life. We can't wait to see the results."
Tom Werner, who has worked on American sitcoms such as Roseanne and That '70s Show is working on the project as an executive producer.
Jonathan Blyth, director of comedy at BBC Studios, adds: "Iain, Damon and Tom have pulled together a fantastic international cast that I think audiences around the world will love! This is such an exciting collaboration for us, and I look forward to seeing the cast dazzle on screen."
No transmission details have been announced for The First Team yet, but it is likely to be shown on BBC Two in early 2020.