Sketch comedy is BACK!
David Mitchell and Robert Webb are returning to Channel 4 with a brand-new sketch show, which sees them combine forces with a host of exciting and innovative future stars, marking a bold return to British sketch comedy with an innovative merging of comedy minds across generations.
Mitchell & Webb will be supported by an ensemble cast of next generation writer/performers including Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Lara Ricote, Stevie Martin and Krystal Evans as well as a dynamic team of established and upcoming comic writers.
Mitchell and Webb are best known on Channel 4 for their cultural hit phenomenon, Peep Show, which after running for nine series is Channel 4’s longest running sitcom and to this day, remains one of the best performing comedy shows on streaming.
With Peep Show cementing their comedy partnership, Mitchell and Webb went on to success with That Mitchell & Webb franchise of radio and television sketches and became two of the UK’s most exportable television talents.
Speaking about their new show, David Mitchell and Robert Webb said "When Channel 4 asked us to do another sketch show we were startled, bemused and available. It’s a perilous time for the industry and so it’s our hope that relaunching the trickiest genre of comedy is a brilliant piece of counterintuitive commissioning. And we’re confident that unlike Roger Moore with his shoe on the bonnet of a car teetering on the edge of a cliff in For Your Eyes Only [REPLACE WITH 21ST CENTURY REFERENCE?] we’re not about to give British TV comedy a final lethal nudge into the abyss."
"We’re looking forward to working with our brilliant new cast despite their youth and talent and would like to encourage viewers to watch the advert break carefully and do their best to buy something. It doesn’t have to be a car but, you know, a box of chocolates or an app or something."
On joining the project, Kiell Smith-Bynoe said "Getting to join this project with comedy legends Mitchell & Webb feels like getting to sit on the grown-ups table that you've been trying to get on for years, then you realise the grown-ups are just as funny, silly and they'll let you have a sip of Advocaat. I'm really excited to be a part of this long-awaited return of comedy royalty."
To which Lara Ricote added "I am overjoyed to be making this with the best there is. It’s such a silly, good and sweet group and the sketches are just very funny. I am feeling very lucky to be part of this. The writers’ rooms were SO fun and now we get to act in it? It’s a dream!"
Meanwhile, Stevie Martin said "I started doing online sketches because I never thought I’d get to do sketch comedy on actual TV - but now I’m doing it on actual TV with the two people who made me want to be a sketch comedian in the first place?! It’s absolutely wild. Also they’ve both been so fun and generous to work with - plus David was very nice when I said I enjoyed his show ‘Luther’."
To which Krystal Evans added "Working with these guys and this incredibly talented cast is an actual dream come true and also they give us free biscuits and if we're really good, pizza."
The six-part series will be produced by That Mitchell & Webb Company in association with Big Talk Studios, helmed by the duo’s long-standing Producer Gareth Edwards and executive produced by Kenton Allen, David Mitchell, and Robert Webb.
Talking about Mitchell & Webb's new sketch show, Channel 4's Head of Comedy, Charlie Perkins, said "Sketch is back baby. We’re so honoured to be working with David, Robert and their contemporaries, alongside an exceptional collective of newer voices both on and off screen. Sketch shows have historically been the bedrock of generations of comedy writers and performers- giving so many household names their first credits and platforms and Channel 4 has always been at the heart of this. It’s been such a sparky and joyous journey making this show so far and we can’t wait for audiences to see it."
To which Kenton Allen, Chief Executive at Big Talk Studios, added "Sketch comedy is an incredibly valuable part of the Comedy eco-system so we're thrilled that clever Channel 4 are doing what they are best at by supporting high risk creative endeavours in an innovative format that can reap enormous rewards for viewers across multiple platforms."
"David Mitchell and Robert Webb returning to their BAFTA winning sketch show roots feels like I'm witnessing a rare comedy conservation success story. Who better to lead this comedic rescue mission than two masters of the craft. Like proud zookeepers, we can't wait to show off these magnificent specimens and their brilliant talented offspring let loose in their natural habitat."
The new sketch show will air on Channel 4
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