Steve Coogan, Sarah Solemani working on Chivalry 2 but Channel 4 pass
- Sarah Solemani has revealed that she and Steve Coogan are developing a second series of their acclaimed #MeToo comedy drama Chivalry
- However, British Comedy Guide understands that Channel 4 will not be ordering the second series, meaning the comedy will have to find a new home to air in the UK
- Solemani has called Chivalry a tough sell to commissioners, describing it as "the show that Hollywood doesn't want you to see"
Steve Coogan and Sarah Solemani are developing a second series of their Hollywood-set #MeToo comedy drama Chivalry but it will not return to Channel 4, British Comedy Guide can exclusively reveal.
Speaking to the Cinema Daily US website, Solemani remarked of the 2022 comedy, which she co-wrote and starred in with Coogan, that "we have a second season in mind if anyone will be brave enough to let us do it".
The original, acclaimed six episode run, in which Solemani played a critically venerated director brought in to detoxify a production run by Coogan's veteran male producer, featured a supporting cast of Lolly Adefope, Aisling Bea, Dreaming Whilst Black's Adjani Salmon, legendary US comic Wanda Sykes and Sienna Miller, and has just begun airing on new US streaming platform The Network.
However, BCG understands that Channel 4 will not be airing the second series if it goes into production.
Nominated for a Rose d'Or Award, Chivalry attracted a clutch of four star reviews in the national press, with the Guardian calling it "a quality, precision-engineered piece of work by a duo with extraordinary chemistry, both on and off-screen", while The Times praised "some great lines" and Solemani's "rich, subtle performance".
But the Him & Her star ,who previously appeared alongside Coogan in Michael Winterbottom films such as 2019's Greed, told Cinema US Daily that Chivalry has proved a tough sell, "the show that Hollywood doesn't want you to see".
Produced by Coogan's Baby Cow Productions (This Time With Alan Partridge, Pls Like) and Jax Media (Everyone Else Burns, Wedding Season), their original pitches in the US received "no interest". Nor did they have much luck even after it was commissioned by Channel 4, encountering "a lot of fear and caution" Stateside.
"So I was thrilled when I got the call from The Network saying not only did they like it but they were brave enough to actually stand by it" Solemani said. "I was really impressed and grateful."
Chivalry's US debut is certainly timely. The #MeToo movement was rocked last month when disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction was overturned in New York, on the basis that he had not received a fair trial. However, a fresh trial has been ordered for the autumn and the 72-year-old remains in prison after being separately convicted of rape in Los Angeles.
Elsewhere in the interview with Cinema Daily US, Solemani revealed that she is set to make her real-life feature directing debut next year with Mango, starring Andrea Riseborough and Melanie Lynskey, although she did not share plot details.