Sky orders specials from Stewart Lee, John Kearns, Tom Davis and more
- John Kearns, Tom Davis and Lucy Beaumont have recorded their debut stand-up specials for Sky, while Stewart Lee shot his Basic Lee show for the broadcaster last night
- Sky has also ordered a Chris Ramsey special, based on a show he originally finished touring in 2022, and a trilogy from David Baddiel
- Travel series Joe Lycett's United States Of Birmingham has also been confirmed and Rob And Romesh Vs and A League Of Their Own have been recommissioned
Sky will air John Kearns, Tom Davis and Lucy Beaumont's debut specials later this year, as well as the current stand-up show from Stewart Lee, recorded in full last night.
The broadcaster has also picked up a special from Chris Ramsey, and, as previously reported by British Comedy Guide, a stand-up trilogy from David Baddiel.
The specials feature as part of Sky's newly announced comedy slate, along with the Sky Max travelogue Joe Lycett's United States Of Birmingham, exclusively revealed by BCG yesterday, A League Of Their Own mini-series in which the teams hurtle across Europe, competing in the "ALOTO Rally", and the return of Rob And Romesh Vs for its seventh run.
Praised as a "chortlingly bold smush of sarcasm, satire, self-commentary" by The Times and "a chance to see this most meticulous of stand-ups let it all hang out" by The Guardian, Lee's two-hour Basic Lee show was filmed at The Lowry theatre in Salford yesterday evening. Produced by Drum Studios (Painting Birds With Jim And Nancy Moir) in association with Awkward Films (Stewart Lee: Snowflake, Stewart Lee: Tornado), the executive producers are Danny Carvalho and Andy Holland.
A 75-minute cut of Kearns' critically revered, award-winning show The Varnishing Days is one of six specials produced by Avalon (Taskmaster, Starstruck) and recorded as part of the comedy management company's nine day takeover of London's Royal Court Theatre last month.
The others include Beaumont's straightforwardly named hour, Live From The Royal Court Theatre, based on her current Trouble And Strife tour, which has acquired added resonance following her divorce from fellow comic Jon Richardson which was announced last week; Ramsey's Live From London, an hour based on his 20/20 show, which was initially delayed from 2020 by Covid but eventually ran till 2022; and the 90-minute recordings of Baddiel's last three stand-up shows, Fame, Not The Musical, My Family, Not The Sitcom and Trolls, Not The Dolls.
Tom Davis: Underdog is a 75-minute version of the King Gary and Wonka star's first stand-up tour, a co-production between the screen arm of his management, Off The Kerb Productions (Josh Widdicombe: Bit Much..., Dara O Briain: Voice Of Reason), and the debut order for Mighty Pebble Pictures, the production outfit he established with long-term collaborator James De Frond last year.
The commissions cement Sky's reputation as a UK stand-up platform, as it belatedly competes with the BBC, Channel 4, Netflix and Amazon Prime, having acquired specials from James Acaster, Katherine Ryan, Alan Carr, Rob Beckett, Nish Kumar and Leo Reich in recent years.
In the four, hour-long episodes of Rob And Romesh Vs, broadcasting later this year, Beckett and Romesh Ranganathan return to Las Vegas to enter the world of mixed martial arts; embrace heavy metal at Download Festival; test out their photography skills as part of the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition and become unsung heroes of moviemaking as they try Hollywood stunts. A fifth episode, in which they head to Alexandra Palace to play darts, comes out in 2025.
A League Of Their Own is returning with The Rally, three hour-long episodes in which Maisie Adam and former footballers Jill Scott, Micah Richards and Jamie Redknapp race from London to Turin.
Paired into teams across six rally stages, employing planes, trains and automobiles, the quartet must complete a series of perilous and sometimes ridiculous off-road challenges as they career around Paris, Lake Geneva, the Alps and finally, Turin, backdrop to The Italian Job, battling to hoist the ALOTO Rally Cup.
Rob And Romesh Vs and A League Of Their Own: The Rally are executive produced for CPL Productions (Avoidance, Hold The Front Page) by Murray Boland and Danielle Lux, plus David Taylor and Bill Righton for Rob And Romesh Vs, and David Taylor and Mus Mustafa for ALOTO. Barbara Lee is the commissioning editor for Sky.
"We're proud to bring you the laughs on Sky Max with a Who's Who of brilliant British comedy talent" said Phil Edgar-Jones, director of arts and entertainment for Sky. "We have firm audience favourites, Rob And Romesh Vs, A League Of Their Own, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, as well as recent additions like The Overlap and Hold The Front Page, and we're introducing the wonderful Joe Lycett to our joyful line up. In a stressful world, we need all the laughter we can get."
Unscripted entertainment programmes are commissioned by Edgar-Jones for Zai Bennett, managing director of content for Sky UK and Ireland. The commissioning editors for entertainment at Sky are Barbara Lee, Shirley Jones and Dwayne Eaton.