Dylan Moran sitcom Stuck coming to BBC Two
- Dylan Moran has written and stars in a new sitcom for BBC Two called Stuck
- The inverted rom-com about a stagnant relationship co-stars Morgana Robinson and consists of five 15-minute episodes
- The comedy is Moran's first lead role in a sitcom since Black Books
Dylan Moran writes, and stars with Morgana Robinson, in a new BBC sitcom about a couple in a stagnant relationship, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
Filming on the "sometimes dark, sometimes surreal" sitcom Stuck begins in Belfast this month, with five 15-minute episodes set to air on BBC Two and iPlayer later this year.
It is Moran's first lead role in a television comedy since Black Books finished in 2004. His and Robinson's characters, Dan and Carla, are described as being "at a cross-roads".
Dan has been recently made redundant, while Carla is wondering whether this is all she can expect from life. Add their age gap to the mix, and the re-emergence onto the scene of Carla's ex-girlfriend Maya, and it's no wonder that they're feeling stuck.
The short-form series is directed by Ian FitzGibbon (Moone Boy, Hullraisers) and produced by Nick Coupe (BBC Three Quickies, Hidden Ireland podcast) for Hat Trick Productions (Derry Girls, Have I Got News For You).
"I'm delighted to be working with the smartypants comedy wonks at Hat Rack, going to Belfast to shoot our crazy little series" said Moran. "Morgana is a one woman army of comic power, and the little gang of loons we found make a very lumpy talent piñata. Terrifying. I'm only ok with this because I know our brilliant director Ian FitzGibbon specialises in coaxing magic even from clumps like me who breathe through their foreheads and bang into the walls. Check us out."
Moran has been developing the idea for Stuck since at least 2016, when he told Canadian newspaper The Times Colonist that he was writing a pilot about mental health. Last year he told the i newspaper that "I'm trying to write about modern pressures. Well, not modern pressures. I'm trying to write about people under pressure, some kind of pressure."
Hat Trick's Jimmy Mulville, who is executive producing, said: "I can't think of a better way of beginning a new year than working on a Dylan Moran comedy. In Stuck he turns the traditional rom-com on its head with some hilarious and painfully honest observations.
"And with Morgana Robinson as his co-star it promises to be a masterclass in comic writing and performing."
The commissioning editors for BBC Comedy are Seb Barwell and Gregor Sharp and the commissioning editor for BBC Northern Ireland is Eddie Doyle.
"Dylan is one of the great comic minds of our time," said Barwell, "so it's hugely exciting that he's created this new narrative series, tackling love, relationships and a very current sense of limbo, with all the finely-honed insight and humour of his stand up shows."
Hat Trick piloted a separate sitcom called Stuck for Sky One in 2017. Written about an Antarctic explorer by David O'Doherty, who starred alongside Jennifer Saunders and Joe Thomas, it was neither broadcast nor commissioned for series.
Moran begins his We Got This stand-up tour with a three-night run at the Norwich Playhouse on 6th March and appears in Netflix's upcoming fantasy prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin, alongside Michelle Yeoh and Lenny Henry, playing the intriguingly named Uthrock One-Nut.
Robinson appears in Toast Of Tinseltown on BBC Two, recently shot the comedy mini-series Newark, Newark for Gold and in March will be seen in the film The Martini Shot, about an ailing film director, alongside John Cleese, Matthew Modine and Derek Jacobi.
Meanwhile, Stuck is only one of several Northern Irish comedies that the BBC has announced this week.
The corporation has also ordered an as-yet-untitled show from double act Conor Grimes and Alan McKee about a fictitious Gaelic Athletic Association sports and social club, St Mungo's. Made by Long Story TV, it will air on BBC One Northern Ireland later this year.
The Paddy Raff Show also returns for a new four-part series later this month, while sketch show Dry Your Eyes, originally created by Hole In The Wall Gang, has been revived after 16 years, with a new team of performers including Michael Stranney, Niamh McAllister, Bernadette Brown, Diona Doherty and Cailum Carragher.
Long-running satirical show Give My Head Peace returns tonight, while panel show The Blame Game is back later this year, hosted by Tim McGarry, with panellists Doherty, Neil Delamere and Colin Murphy.
Broadcast and further casting details for Stuck have yet to be announced.