ITV confirms new comedy details
- ITV has announced that Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour will star in new comedy Significant Other
- Guests in the upcoming Plebs finale include Patrick Baladi, whilst Count Abdulla will star Arian Nik and Jaime Winstone
- The Family Pile stars Amanda Abbington, Clare Calbraith, Claire Keelan, and Alexandra Mardell
ITV has confirmed further details and casting for its new comedy series Deep Fake Neighbour Wars, Significant Other, Count Abdulla, Ruby Speaking and The Family Pile.
The five series commissions were revealed in March when the company set out plans for its new streaming platform, ITVX, which will launch this autumn.
Nana Hughes, ITV's Head of Comedy says: "The arrival of ITVX gives us more opportunities to commission a broad range of comedies and a dedicated place for the genre to call home. We want a huge cross section of contemporary, diverse and inclusive comedy. We want to take risks but most importantly we want our audiences to find shows that reflect them and make them laugh."
One of ITVX's launch titles will be the 85-minute final episode of period ITV2 sitcom Plebs, Soldiers Of Rome.
Marcus, Grumio, Jason and Aurelius join the army in peace-time, hoping to win respect, romance and discounts at participating restaurants. But when war's declared, they're sent to fight on the front line for a cause they don't believe in. Now their main interest is the struggle for survival...
The journey takes our new recruits from their humdrum lives in Rome to the army garrison and tribal villages on the Empire's edge.
Shot in Bulgaria and Wales, the backdrop of war allows their adventures to unfold on an epic scale.
Returning as the four plebs are Tom Rosenthal, Ryan Sampson, Jon Pointing and Tom Basden, along with Karl Theobald as Landlord. Guest starring in the special are Patrick Baladi as Roman commander General Diomedes; Tori Allen-Martin as warrior queen Barbronelda; and Kåre Conradi as Barbarian leader Segimundus.
Plebs is directed and written by Sam Leifer and co-written by Tom Basden.
Deep Fake Neighbour Wars
Deep Fake Neighbour Wars will premiere exclusively on ITVX and will use the latest AI technology to make the UK's best new impressionists become the world's most famous celebrities. And they're all arguing.
Loved up Nicki Minaj and Tom Holland vs Mark Zuckerberg, Billie Eilish and Taekwondo teacher Beyoncé, Mark Wahlberg and wannabe strongman Chris Rock. Just some of the celebrities, but all embroiled in petty, silly neighbourly disputes.
Significant Other
Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour are the leads of Significant Other, a brand new comedic-drama from Nicola Shindler's Quay Street Productions (part of ITV Studios).
Written by Dana Fainaru and Hamish Wright, the series starts filming in September and will air on ITVX in 2023.
Adapted from yes Studios' award-winning Israeli series of the same name, the six-part series follows two lonely neighbours who embark on a hesitant, obstacle-filled relationship after drastic life events bring them together. As this strange love story unfolds with wryly observed wit and warmth, could these deeply flawed individuals - both at a time in their lives when change is difficult and rarely expected - influence each other for the better?
Significant Other is produced in association with, and distributed internationally by, ITV Studios.
Count Abdulla
Count Abdulla follows Abdulla Khan (Arian Nik) - a mid-twenties British-Pakistani Muslim doctor stuck in an identity crisis, caught between his religious mother and his secular, hedonistic friends. But when Abdulla is bitten by a vampire (Jaime Winstone) he suddenly becomes the outsider's outsider.
Comprising of six episodes, this new comedy series is written by Kaamil Shah and directed by Asim Abbasi. Count Abdulla is a Fudge Park production, produced by Hussain Casey Ahmed, with executive producer Phil Gilbert.
It is set to air in 2023 on ITVX.
The Family Pile
The Family Pile is a brand new six-episode comedy from Hat Trick Productions that will air on ITV in 2023.
The series is a comedic exploration of one of life's big milestones, via four sisters who have lost their parents and are packing up the family home to sell. But even in grief their messy lives go on.
Amanda Abbington, Clare Calbraith, Claire Keelan, and Alexandra Mardell star as the sisters. Kieran O'Brien, Richard Pepple and James Nelson-Joyce will co-star.
Filmed entirely in the Liverpool City Region with the support of Liverpool Film Office's Production Fund, it will be distributed by Hat Trick International.
Written by Brian Dooley, with Phil Warburton-Leach as producer, Fergal Costello as director and Jimmy Mulville and Angela Sinden as executive producers.
Ruby Speaking
Ruby Speaking is a new scripted comedy from Yellow Door Productions co-created by and starring the award-winning actress and comedian Jayde Adams and written by Abigail Wilson.
The Bristol-based series follows Ruby's misadventures and is inspired by the years Jayde spent working in a call centre. Ruby is a popular addition to the workforce but puts other people's problems above her own and definitely above making a sale.
Fellow Bristolian Rosie Gaunt-Mathieson will direct and Jon MacQueen will produce.
The six programmes will premiere on ITVX in 2023 and Yellow Door founder Lucy Lumsden is the executive producer.