BBC Three orders comic showcase hosted by Russell Kane
BBC Three has announced today that it has ordered an eight-part comedy showcase series called Live At The Electric.
The series, which will be hosted by 2010 Foster's Edinburgh Comedy Award winning stand-up comedian Russell Kane, aims to showcase up-and-coming comic talent.
The shows, recorded in front of a live audience, will provide viewers with a mix of stand-up, sketch and musical comedy and aims to "assemble the hottest acts on the brink of breaking through to the public consciousness".
A pilot episode was recorded on the 12th December, with acts including Roisin Conaty, Nick Helm, Carl Donnelly, Joe Wilkinson, Hari Kondabolu, Joel Dommett, We Are Klang star Marek Larwood, double acts Kristen Schaal & Kurt Braunohler and Peacock & Gamble, plus sketch troupes Lady Garden, and Jigsaw (comprised of Dan Antopolski, Tom Craine and Nat Luurtsema).
BBC Three boss Zai Bennett says: "Our ambition for Live At The Electric is to give emerging comedy talent a new home where they can really experiment with characters and comedy. We hope that this show will not only be an incubator for the stars of the future, but also a brilliantly funny watch in its own right - no pressure Russell..."
Executive Producer Sean Hancock adds: "We're all really excited about Live At The Electric as it will provide a platform for some of the best up-and-coming comedy talent out there, people who'll grow on BBC Three and hopefully one day go on to have their own shows."
The show will be produced by Avalon Television, the production company behind Frank Skinner's Opinionated, Harry Hill's TV Burp, Lee Nelson's Well Good Show, Not Going Out, That Sunday Night Show and Russell Howard's Good News. Avalon also produced the Radio 2 stand-up series Out To Lunch and Russell Kane's Whistle Stop Tour, both of which were hosted by Kane.
Richard Allen-Turner, the joint Managing Director of Avalon, says of the show: "Our ambition is to create an environment on screen that accurately reflects the often unseen variety and depth of the UK comedy scene. I'm really delighted that we'll be offering a range of exciting new artists who are experimenting comedically with film, music and sketch a new home where these ideas can be nurtured and developed for the first time on TV."
The series will be filmed by Paul Wheeler, the experienced stand-up director who also works on shows such as Live At The Apollo, and Craig Young, who has directed episodes of Russell Howard's Good News. The producers on the show are Robyn O'Brien, Beth Garrod and comedian and writer Dan Atkinson, all of whom have also worked on Russell Howard's Good News.