BBC3 Unveils Comedy Commissions
Russell Kane will host a new 8x30 minute series on BBC3 called Live At The Electric.
Commissioned by BBC3 controller Zai Bennett and executive producer Sean Hancock, Live At The Electric is a comedy/entertainment show that will mix stand-up, sketch comedy and musical comedy on the brink of breaking through. Talent involved in the pilot included: Joe Wilkinson (Him And Her), Nick Helm (2011 Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee), all-female sketch group Lady Garden, Roisin Conaty (2010 Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Best Newcomer Award winner) and Jigsaw (a sketch group featuring Dan Antopolski, Tom Craine, Nat Luurtsema).
According to Bennett: "Our ambition for Live At The Electric is to give emerging comedy talent a home where they can experiment with characters and comedy. We hope that this show will not only be an incubator for the stars of the future, but also a brilliantly funny watch.
The show will be made by indie Avalon TV. Richard Allen-Turner, Joint MD of Avalon, said: “Our ambition is to create an environment on screen that reflects the often unseen variety & depth of the UK comedy scene”.
In a separate announcement, BBC3 has commissioned a six-part comedy series called Pramface. The show is about two teenagers trying, and often failing, to come to terms with impending parenthood. Pramface was written by Chris Reddy, and is a BBC/Little Comet production for BBC3. It was commissioned by Zai Bennett and BBC Controller of Comedy Commissioning Cheryl Taylor. Exec producers are Mark Freeland and Simon Wilson and the series producer for Little Comet is Lucy Robinson.
