Monday, 22 August 2022

TBI Vision: UK’s ITVX streamer reveals Quay Street, Tiger Aspect shows among comedy slate

Story from TBI Vision:

Soon-to-launch UK streamer ITVX has unveiled details of its upcoming comedy slate, including a remake of the Israeli show Significant Other from Nicola Shindler’s Quay Street Productions.

The UK version, which will also be known as Significant Other, will star Katherine Parkinson and Youssef Kerkour, with the show exploring the unromantic-romance of two people whose drastic, but fateful, first meeting turns their lives around. ITV Studios-backed Quay Street will start filming on the show in Manchester next month, with the series to become available on ITVX in 2023.

The 6 x 30-minute series is adapted from Yes Studios’ series of the same name, which was created by Dana Modan, Assi Cohen and Ram Nehari. The Israeli show was produced by July August Productions, with the format sold by Yes Studios.

Elsewhere, ITV comedy Plebs will end its five-season run with a feature-length 85-minute special titled Plebs: Soldiers Of Rome, while Deep Fake Neighbour Wars will use the latest AI technology to make the UK’s best new impressionists become the world’s most famous celebrities.

The 6 x 30-minute series will be produced by Banijay’s Tiger Aspect Productions and is joined by Count Abdulla,which follows a mid-twenties British-Pakistani Muslim doctor stuck in an identity crisis, caught between his religious mother and his secular, hedonistic friends. Fudge Park produces, with Hussain Casey Ahmed (Afterlife) and Phil Gilbert attached.

Other shows on the slate include Ruby Speaking from Lucy Lumsden’s Yellow Door Productions, which has been co-created by and stars Jayde Adams. The Bristol-based series follows Ruby’s misadventures and is inspired by the years Jayde spent working in a call centre.

Finally, The Family Pile is from Hat Trick Productions and is described as a “comedic exploration of one of life’s big milestones, via four sisters who have lost their parents and are packing up the family home to sell.”

Nana Hughes, ITV’s head of comedy, said: “The arrival of ITVX gives us more opportunities to commission a broad range of comedies and a dedicated place for the genre to call home. We want a huge cross section of contemporary, diverse and inclusive comedy.

“We want to take risks but most importantly we want our audiences to find shows that reflect them and make them laugh.”

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