David Farnor | On 06, Oct 2019

Following an episode broadcast earlier this year as part of BBC Two’s New on Two comedy pilots, the channel has ordered a full series of Lee Mack comedy Semi-Detached.
 
Made by Happy Tramp North and written by David Crow and Oliver Maltman, each episode of the six-part series plays out in real time and is exactly like 24, except instead of following a government agent as he saves the planet, the series follows a perennial loser called Stuart (Mack) as his life goes down the pan in a suburban cul-de-sac. Each episode of Semi-Detached will give viewers an incredibly fast moving, half-hour window into Stuart’s world.
 
All Stuart wants is a quiet life as a wedding DJ but his family seems to have other ideas. On top of barely coping with a (much younger) partner, April (Ellie White – Stath Lets Flats, The Other One), and a baby, Stuart also has to look out for his jailbird brother Charlie (Neil Fitzmaurice – Peep Show, Mount Pleasant) and his promiscuous, drug-taking dad, Willie (Clive Russell – Happiness, Game of Thrones). Then there’s ex-wife Kate (Samantha Spiro – Sex Education, Grandma’s House), who lives across the cul-de-sac with their teenage daughter, Madonna (Sarah Hoare – Chewing Gum, Black Mirror), and Kate’s husband, Ted (Patrick Baladi – The Office, Stella), who thinks he’s better than Stuart because he sells fish to sushi restaurants.
 
Neil Webster, Executive Producer Happy Tramp North says: “David Crow and Oliver Maltman have not only written the funniest scripts I have ever read, they’ve also effortlessly managed to make the whole series play out in real time. And with an incredibly funny cast headed up by Lee Mack, we’re confident that Semi-Detached is going to be a genuinely laugh out loud series. Or your money back.”
 
Gregor Sharp, Commissioning Editor for the BBC says: “Semi-Detached stands out from the crowd with its combination of intricate plotting and sustained comic action and we’re knocked out by the amazing cast that have come on board to bring David and Oliver’s sparkling scripts to life.”
 
Semi-Detached is a Happy Tramp North Production for BBC Two, commissioned by Shane Allen, Controller Comedy Commissioning BBC and Patrick Holland, Controller BBC Two. The Director is Ben Palmer and the Executive Producer for Happy Tramp North is Neil Webster. The Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Gregor Sharp.
 

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