BBC2 comedy
- Published: 17 October 2007 14:31
- Author: Lucy Rouse
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 19 October 2007 11:12
As iconic comedy migrates to BBC1, a gap has opened for a hit BBC2 show that tickles the nation’s funny bone.
BBC2 needs noisy, colourful sitcoms such as Absolutely Fabulous and Gimme Gimme Gimme, according to BBC controller of comedy commissioning Lucy Lumsden. “We have a harder job with comedy on BBC2 than on BBC1 but when we get it right we can create comedy icons,” she says.
Jennifer Saunders’ Eddy in Ab Fab and James Dreyfus’ Tom from Gimme Gimme Gimme are obviously cases in point and Saunders is clearly trying to do something similar with Vivienne Vyle, her latest creation based on a daytime TV talk show host.
Vivienne Vyle got a mixed critical reaction, with the Independent giving it few marks for originality, the Guardian describing it as “a bit of a mess”, The Times saying the likes of real talk show host Jeremy Kyle don’t need satirising but the Daily Telegraph suggesting there were “enough well-drawn characters to ensure at least a measure of success”.
Lumsden says BBC2 is “over-subscribed” with smaller, single camera comedies but with Extras and The Catherine Tate Show having moved to BBC1, a gap has opened up once again for a landmark BBC2 comedy.
BBC2 controller Roly Keating along with commissioners Lumsden and Simon Wilson are staking out Thursday evenings as the channel’s latest comedy zone. Over the summer, Mock the Week and Baby Cow’s Saxondale aired on Thursday evenings, getting a share of roughly 9% and 5% respectively.
Since 4 October, BBC2’s Thursday nights have featured Vyle and The Peter Serafinowicz Show, a 6 x 30-minute series which started life as an eight-minute spoof news reel on YouTube. Ratings are reasonable, although Vyle in-house BBC comedy producer Jo Sargent admits that she would have liked higher figures. “It’s fantastic that BBC2 has got faith in Vivienne Vyle to try and break Thursdays as a new comedy zone. Maybe it will take a bit of time for audiences to come,” she says.
But Sargent is hopeful a second series will be commissioned and says Saunders has plenty of material planned.
The Peter Serafinowicz Show, produced by Peter’s brother James and made by Objective Productions which made Peep Show for Channel 4, is Objective’s first comedy production for the BBC. “We had chats with C4 as well about Peter Serafinowicz but BBC2 is a better home for him in the long run,” says Objective’s head of comedy Phil Clarke. “It’s a more mainstream show on BBC2 than a show airing at 10.30pm on C4.”
There’s also the possibility that a hit from BBC2 can move to BBC1 in time.
BBC2 comedy doesn’t have to be as safe or mainstream as the comedy that debuts on BBC1. “BBC2 needs to have more vibrant pieces,” says Lumsden. To that end, it has benefited from inheriting comedy from its digital siblings. Little Miss Jocelyn and Gavin and Stacey transferred from BBC3 while The Thick of It and Lead Balloon came from BBC4.
Lumsden says she’s “very proud” when shows do graduate from BBC3 and 4, but must ensure there are other, new programmes coming up on the digital channels to keep the flow going. A sketch show from BBC Vision Studio’s Jack Cheshire for next year and Coming of Age, a sitcom for 17 to 20 year-olds from the team behind Grown Ups, will being trying out on BBC3 soon.
Gary Reich, managing director of Brown Eyed Boy which makes Little Miss Jocelyn, says the show was always made with a mainstream audience in mind, attempting to be both edgy and broad.
“When we got the commission for BBC3, Little Britain had just migrated to BBC1 and we were told our show needed to potentially play on BBC1,” he says. The second run has now been signed up for BBC2 but if it is a success it could well move
on to BBC1.
Schedule Slots
The brief
Competition for comedy commissions from BBC2 is fierce and the BBC’s commissioning website says successful ideas “really do need to offer the audience something original and distinctive. A refreshing mix of styles and ideas on BBC2 is key to the appeal of comedy on the channel.”
Target audience
Comedy on BBC2 should target younger audiences, typically viewers in their 20s and 30s - although the youth target isn’t as slavish as on BBC3. But unlike BBC1 and in common with BBC3, Wilson says BBC2 comedy aims to be “fresh and irreverent” with “real laugh-out-loud moments”.
Thursday nights
This is the new BBC2 comedy zone, which goes under the banner “Thursdays are funny”. It currently features The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle at 9pm and sketch show The Peter Serafinowicz Show at 9.30pm.
Format
The channel is actively avoiding ideas for comedies set in the media or behind-the-scenes in TV.
10pm Monday and Friday
BBC has used these slots for its panel shows. Have I Got News for You and QI have all aired at this time.
Wednesday 10pm
Comedy import Kath and Kim now airs here.
Coming Soon
Brown Eyed Boy’s Little Miss Jocelyn, which first aired on BBC3 but which has been specifically commissioned by BBC2 for a second series, and sitcom Lab Rats from Armando Iannucci, which is filmed in front of a studio audience and stars The Thick of It’s Chris Addison.
People to know
Lucy Lumsden controller of comedy commissioning
Cheryl Taylor executive editor, comedy (nations and regions)
Simon Wilson executive editor, comedy
Jan Rolph executive editor, comedy
BBC2 comedy facts
Budget: £10,000 to £20,000 for taster tapes and £150,000 to £300,000 per half hour.
Top five new BBC2 comedy shows this year
Programme TX Audience (m) Share (%)
1 Dead Ringers 22/02/07 2.1 9.4
2 Sensitive Skin 26/06/07 2.0 9.9
2 Fear, Stress and Anger 22/02/07 2.0 8.6
4 Still Game 12/07/07 1.9 9.6
5 The Life and Times of 4/10/07 1.8 8.6
Vivienne Vyle
Source Barb
What they say:
Phil Clarke, head of comedy at Objective Productions (The Peter Serafinowicz Show): “BBC2 is a great place for comedy. You can reach a larger audience than the 1.5 million that is becoming the standard audience for comedy on other channels.”
Jo Sargent, in-house BBC comedy producer (Jam and Jerusalem, The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle): “We started developing Vivienne Vyle for BBC1 but Peter Fincham felt it was a bit too edgy and we would have more freedom on BBC2. BBC2 viewers expect something less mainstream, even experimental.”
A production insider: “Shows that go via BBC3/BBC4 to BBC2 should always get the higher terrestrial budget from the outset.”
