'Am I Being Unreasonable?' recommissioned for Series 3
- Daisy May Cooper has revealed that a third series of Am I Being Unreasonable? has been ordered, before the second has even aired
- She has also said that she and co-creator Selin Hizli hadn't anticipated writing more than the initial six episodes but that the financial incentive to carry on was too appealing
- Cooper, who stars as Nic in the BBC One comedy-thriller, has shared the pair's struggle to top the twists and turns of the acclaimed first series, saying that the upcoming second run is "surprising but in a way that you've not seen"
Am I Being Unreasonable? has been recommissioned for a third series, before the second has even aired, co-creator and star Daisy May Cooper has revealed.
She has also said that she never envisaged the acclaimed BBC One comedy-thriller - which she co-created, writes and stars in with Selin Hizli - returning beyond its initial six episode run in 2022 but that the financial incentive to carry on was too great.
Speaking on Firecrotch & Normcore: They Like To Watch, the television podcast hosted by comedian Sara Barron and her husband, radio presenter Geoff Lloyd, Cooper admitted that she hadn't anticipated writing more. "But then they said, 'look, here's some money'.
"And I said 'no, absolutely, I'll just worry about the second series at the time'. Which is the worst. They've even commissioned a third series."
Cooper admitted that writing the densely plotted show, produced by Lookout Point and Boffola Pictures, remains a struggle. She and Hizli, a friend since drama school, "sit down and we'll say we've got to get this done.
"And then she'll say: 'Do you want to watch the next episode of Married At First Sight UK?' And then we'll be six episodes in. And our producer will be on the phone saying 'where's the work?' and we say 'oh, we'll send it, it's just a bit of a dodgy internet connection'. She's just as lazy as I am, which is terrible for getting stuff done.
"And we got some money in advance, which is the worst thing that you can do. I spent that money fucking ages ago, I don't want to do any fucking work for that now.
"So it has been like pulling teeth. But I tell you it's been really difficult this series because I think there were so many twists and turns in the first one, people will be expecting that in the second one. So it's like, what do we do different? And that took us a while, we literally went through every avenue there possibly could be. But I think we've found the way now to go forward. And I think that it will be surprising but in a way that you've not seen."
Cooper plays Nic in Unreasonable?, a mother stuck in a depressing marriage and grieving a loss she can't share with anyone. Hizli is Jen, who arrives in Nic's life as a kindred spirit and school mum, but also concealing something.
Co-starring Lenny Rush, Jessica Hynes, Dustin Demri-Burns, Amanda Wilkin, David Fynn and Juliet Cowan, the first series was directed by Jonny Campbell (Eric & Ernie) and produced by Pippa Brown (The Other One), with Cooper, Hizli, veteran drama writer and playwright Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials) and former BBC head of comedy Shane Allen among the executive producers.
Nominated for four Bafta Awards, with Rush winning best male performance in a comedy programme for his portrayal of Nic's son Ollie, the show also scooped three Royal Television Society Programme Awards for Rush and Cooper, and has generally been lavished with praise by critics.
The Independent raved that the script was "intricately structured" and that the acting was "flawless", calling it "moreish viewing". The Telegraph was similarly impressed, declaring it "full of twists, turns and tonal gear-changes" and "perhaps the most idiosyncratic home-grown series you'll see all year".
The Guardian was more measured but still championed Cooper, saying that she "remains an absurdly brilliant comic performer who is capable of heartbreaking moments of vulnerability", while describing Hizli as "equally fine". The series also airs on the Hulu channel in the US.
Elsewhere in the interview with Barron and Lloyd, Cooper reflected upon her mother keeping her dead pets in the freezer, including a parrot, cockatoo and three budgerigars.
"I think that's all that's in there at the minute. I'm not sure if the dog is, seriously.
"She just thought, 'oh, I don't know where I want to bury them yet'. And it's like no, you just don't want to get rid of them. And she thinks I need bloody therapy."
Describing Sizli as her "soulmate", Cooper expressed regret at not featuring her friend in her hit, breakout comedy This Country, which she co-wrote and starred in on BBC Three between 2017 and 2020 with her brother Charlie.
"You know what? We didn't talk for fucking ages" she said. "I wanted to cast her in This Country as this bully girl called Tracy Chambers. And it just so happened, that part was cut. And I was so awful and pathetic. I just didn't have the heart to tell her, I just couldn't phone her and tell her. The more she chased me trying to find out what was going on, the more I ghosted her and it was like one of the fucking worst things that ever happened to us."
Suggesting that she would handle the situation better today, she explained that: "I had no self-esteem back then ... Charlie and I were fucked over by so many kinds of production companies and sort of crappy agents and stuff like that. And it's so much easier now."
The BBC declined to comment on Am I Being Unreasonable?'s third series.