Funboys coming to BBC Three
- Funboys, a sitcom about three emotionally-unassembled young men in Northern Ireland, has been commissioned by BBC Three
- The comedy by Rian Lennon and Ryan Dylan was piloted via the BBC Comedy Short Films strand in 2023
- "It promises to be weird, wonderful, charming, and always funny"
Funboys, one of the 2023 BBC Comedy Short Films, has now been commissioned as a four part series.
The comedy focuses on "three emotionally-unassembled young men in small-town Northern Ireland".
Producers say: "Funboys sees friends Callum (Ryan Dylan), Jordan (Rian Lennon) and Lorcan (Lee Dobbin) as they attempt to navigate through the hardships of life. Life is never easy for this trio of sad worms: from first girlfriends to dead pet pigs, the lads are put through the psychological ringer. But will their shared love of innocent fun and wholesome mucking about land them in hot water?"
The comedy "takes a fly-on-the-wall approach, prioritising authentic, naturalistic comedy whilst exploring modern themes of male vulnerability, religious dogma and handjobs".
Writers and stars of the series, Rian Lennon and Ryan Dylan, say: "We are so happy to be making a series about the important things in our lives: innocent wholesome fun, growing up, dying, screaming mental health issues, videogames and the ultimate power of friendship."
Executive producer and story writer Simon Mayhew-Archer of Mayhay Studios comments: "I have high hopes that this show will be really good. There's a decent amount of live pig action if you like that sort of thing (we do)."
Jon Petrie, BBC Director of Comedy Commissioning, comments: "It's heartening to see one of our debut BBC Comedy Short Films make the step up to series. We're excited to dive back into the chaotic world of Funboys with the team at Mayhay Studios. It promises to be weird, wonderful, charming, and always funny."
Transmission details for Funboys will be announced in due course. The comedy short is still available to watch on BBC iPlayer
This news was announced at the BBC Comedy Festival in Glasgow. The BBC also confirmed Outnumbered is to return for a new festival special, Series 14 of Not Going Out will be broadcast in 2025, The Power Of Parker Series 2, Series 2 of Mammoth and LGBTQ+ chosen family sitcom Smoggie Queens.
In a speech to producers, Jon Petrie called for the TV industry to "save our sitcoms" with a focus on "protecting homegrown storytelling and creating the next generation of classics". He added: "Mainstream comedy is what viewers love best. It's written right through our comedy heritage and is so close to our hearts. It can tell our stories and bring us together like nothing else. That's why audiences and critics feel so passionately about it and have such a strong sense of ownership. We want producers to take risks and create the next generation of classic sitcoms and immortal characters that audiences will keep returning to for decades to come."