James R | On 05, May 2015

Red Dwarf will take off for two more seasons with Dave.

The sci-fi sitcom first aired in 1988 on BBC2 and has since built a huge cult following, with more than 8 million viewers tuning into Season 8, 11.5 million DVD and videos selling worldwide and winning both International Emmy and British Comedy awards.

In 2009, the show returned for a one-off special on Dave, Back to Earth. The reunion of the four hapless space explorers was the channel’s first move into scripted comedy commissions and drew 2.6 million viewers. It was followed by a six-part series, Red Dwarf X (pictured above), which topped over 2 million viewers and never dipped below 1.6 million during its broadcast.

Now, Dave has greenlit two more seasons – Red Dwarf XI and Red Dwarf XII – which begin production this autumn before airing on Dave in 2016 and 2017.

Co-Produced by Grant Naylor Productions and Baby Cow Productions, the new episodes will be written and directed by Doug Naylor and will see Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules and Robert Llewellyn reprise their roles as Rimmer, Lister, Cat and Kryten. They were commissioned by Richard Watsham, Director of Commissioning at UKTV.

“Red Dwarf is a really important show for us and I’m delighted that we are bringing more new episodes to our viewers,” said Steve North, General Manager of Dave, who ordered the commission. “We’ve built up a great relationship over the years with Doug and the cast and it’s a privilege to be working with them again.”

“Red Dwarf has superb talent attached; writing, directing and acting plus an expert team who absolutely know what they are doing when it comes to delivering a stand-out piece of television. It has a universal appeal that manages to touch long-standing fans and recruit new ones,” added Simon Lupton, Commissioning Editor, UKTV.

“Steve North and everyone at UKTV have been so supportive of Red Dwarf from the start of their involvement with the show,” commented Dough Naylor. “Steve originally asked for more shows back in 2012 but frustratingly it’s taken until now to get our ducks in a row and all the boys available at the same time. Now they are, we’re all absolutely delighted.”

To celebrate the announcement, UKTV has added a bespoke collection of previous episodes to its on demand service UKTV Play, which is available via the iOS or Android app, Virgin TV, YouView and at uktvplay.co.uk. The complete Red Dwarf X will also be available on UKTV Play, as well as through Sky Go and Sky set top boxes.

Photo: UKTV/Joel Anderson

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