BBC Comedy and BBC Three have commissioned two new Comedy Slices, a brand new Comedy Threesome, and recommissioned Ladhood for a third series.

In the first of two Comedy Slices, Mawaan Rizwan has written and stars in comedy pilot Juice. Mawaan plays Jamma, who desperately wants to be the centre of attention, but his family is constantly stealing his thunder.

A second Comedy Slice, such brave girls, comes from writer-performer Kat Sadler and the producers of This Country. This comedy pilot explores family, life and love in all its ugly chaos.

Peck’Eds is a brand new Comedy Threesome, written by and starring newcomer Soph Galustian. It is a female-led coming of age, out-and-out comedy about the testing moments of growing up as a young, working-class woman in South Manchester.

Finally, Ladhood, Liam Williams’ critically acclaimed comedy, has been commissioned for a third series.

Fiona Campbell, Controller of BBC Three, says: “Backing new talent and giving a platform to new comedy voices has always been key for BBC Three. Mawaan, Kat, Soph and Liam are some of the finest comedy storytellers around and we feel incredibly fortunate that we get to work with them and showcase their creations. From family dilemmas through to adulthood predicaments, each show has a unique voice at the heart, telling relevant stories that we know our audience is going to love.”

BBC Comedy Slices
Juice

Commissioned by BBC Comedy and BBC Three, Juice is a comedy pilot written by and starring Mawaan Rizwan. It also stars Russell Tovey, alongside Mawaan’s brother Nabhaan Rizwan and mother Shahnaz Rizwan. It is produced by Various Artists Limited.

Juice follows Jamma (Mawaan Rizwan), who desperately wants to be the centre of attention, but his family are constantly stealing his thunder. Mum, Farida (Shahnaz Rizwan) always makes everything about her, Dad, Saif (Jeff Mirza), ignores him and brother, Isaac (Nabhaan Rizwan), steals the limelight at work - the one place Jamma feels like he’s doing well. And when he finally does get the validation from boyfriend Guy (Russell Tovey), he can’t handle it. Jamma’s hyperactive imagination goes into overdrive and the world transforms around him.

The pilot features Mawaan’s unique blend of heartfelt, confessional storytelling and his messy yet hilarious relationships with his family.

Mawaan says: “I did a live show at the Edinburgh Fringe about how my mum always steals my thunder. Luckily, I’ve been commissioned to make my own TV pilot. Unluckily, my mum is in it and really steals my thunder.”

Phil Clarke, Various Artists Limited Managing Director and Executive Producer, says: “Working with the hugely talented Mawaan has been a pleasure and a privilege. He has a unique comedy vision of the world, and the result is a show that‘s truly original - heart-warming, life affirming, surreal, surprising and very funny.”

Tanya Qureshi, Head of BBC Comedy, adds: “We’re incredibly excited to bring Mawaan’s creation to the screen. He has such a talent for storytelling and performance, which clearly runs in the genes! With a fantastic cast and creative team behind the scenes - Juice is truly something special.”

It was recently announced by the BBC Comedy Association that Mawaan has been appointed a Young People’s Comedy Laureate to champion comedy as an art form, and to engage and inspire new talent to start writing and performing. Mawaan holds this position for a year and will oversee a number of projects, including shaping and informing the outreach programme in schools, spearheading the under-18 category of the New Comedy Awards, and curating the inaugural BBC Comedy Festival. Mawaan is also the Head Judge for the New Comedy Awards.

Juice will air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer this autumn.

Juice (1x35’) has been commissioned by BBC Comedy and BBC Three. It is produced by Hannah Moulder, directed by Rosco 5 duo Gideon Beresford and Behnam Taheri, and executive produced by Mawaan Rizwan, Phil Clarke for Various Artists Limited and Tanya Qureshi for BBC Comedy.

such brave girls

such brave girls is a new comedy from writer-performer Kat Sadler.

The show explores life and love in all its ugly chaos, following a single mother, Deb, and her two daughters, Josie and Billie, attempting to piece their lives back together after their narcissistic wreckhead father and husband finally f*cked off for good.

It’s about a family navigating life armed with nothing but a warped view of the world, poor judgement skills and self-esteem that’s exclusively tied to men, and women who couldn’t care less whether or not they stop breathing. They’re vain, selfish, heavily in debt, angry, pathologically desperate for affection, minorly (sometimes majorly) criminal and bursting with misplaced, terrifying love.

Josie is played by Sadler and her real-life sister Lizzie Davidson plays her on-screen sister, Billie. Deb is played by Louise Brealey (Sherlock) and it co-stars Paul Bazely as Deb’s prospective new boyfriend Dev, and Amy Trigg as Josie’s workmate, Clare.

Kat says: “Everything we joke about in the show is from a place of lived experience. I wish I could say this is a heartwarming show about overcoming trauma, but that would be a lie. It’s about three toxic, damaged egomaniacs manipulating the world and each other for their own personal gain, vengeance and glory. Yes, just like in Little Women.”

Lizzie Davidson says: “Cheers to BBC for letting two queers with mental health issues have a TV show. Or wherever BBC Three is now, I still don’t quite understand. And if any of this show makes you uncomfortable, at least you didn’t have to live it.”

Producer Simon Mayhew-Archer says: “This is a comedy packed with extremely funny, complicated characters whom you will sometimes want to hug and other times run away from. The cast is amazing, as is the writing - brutally authentic and charmingly funny. I love these people and I’m also quite scared of them.”

Gregor Sharp, BBC Comedy Commissioning Editor adds: “such brave girls is a brilliantly unique and totally unflinching take on the family sitcom and so feels perfectly at home on BBC Three.”

Kat is a writer-performer whose most recent credits include ITV2’s Tell Me Everything and TV shows like Jonathan Ross, Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, Mock The Week and lots more. For BBC Radio 4 she’s written for Sue Perkins’ Nature Table, Joe Lycett’s Obsessions etc. Kat has been nominated twice for the BBC New Comedian of the Year Award, and in 2019 she was awarded the prestigious BBC comedy writing bursary, where she became the in-house comedy writer for BBC Studios.

Kat and Lizzie’s combined credits include: depression, anxiety, IBS, ADHD, and Complex PTSD. Lizzie also most recently won funniest cast member of Shrek’s Adventure - London’s premier tourist attraction for Shrek-related content.

such brave girls (1x22’) is directed by Marco Alessi (Toni with an i), produced by This Country producer Simon Mayhew-Archer, and exec produced by Stephen McCrum for Camden Productions. The commissioning editor for BBC is Gregor Sharp.

It will air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer this autumn.

BBC Threesomes

Abbie (Hannah Donelon), Melissa (Soph Galustian), Naz (Leah Choudhry)
Abbie (Hannah Donelon), Melissa (Soph Galustian), Naz (Leah Choudhry). Image Credit: Chris Clarke

Peck’Eds

Peck’Eds, written by and starring Soph Galustian is directed by Bethan Seller (Flaps) and is produced by Molly Seymour at Jax Media, with Executive Producer’s Brooke Posch and Tony Hernandez, and BBC Comedy’s Emily Allen.

Peck’Eds is a female-led coming of age, out-and-out comedy about the testing moments of growing up as a young, working-class woman in South Manchester. It is also a celebration of what it truly means to grow up in this specific part of the country, based on lived experiences and real surroundings.

We will follow the journey of Melissa (Galustian) and her group of BEST friends - Abbie (Hannah Donelon) and Naz (Leah Choudhry) - to get a taste of true council estate, high-school life. From period troubles, to sexuality discoveries, Peck’Eds will blow the dust off these awkward memories and flood back feelings of nostalgia, womanhood and an extra large portion of cringe.

Soph Galustian, says: “Writing Peck'Eds has been so exciting for me. The thought of creating something based on my own experiences and being able to film it in the exact spots that I grew up in was truly magical. My upbringing will always play a huge part in my work and I hope that it shines a light on working class, northern voices. I am so proud of my background and where I come from. Us council estate lot know how to have a laugh, and that’s what Peck'Eds is all about - learning to make the best of what you’ve got.”

Head of Jax Media UK and Producer Molly Seymour, adds: “Developing and producing Peck’Eds with Soph and the BBC has been a truly fantastic process. Jax focuses on telling stories we haven’t seen before, delivered in the funniest and most unique way. This is what Peck’Eds is and we couldn’t be more excited to be collaborating with Soph and the rest of the team on this original and brilliantly comedic show.”

Peck’Eds is Soph Galustian’s first television commission. Soph is a Mancunian comedy writer-performer of Armenian heritage, who is fast making a huge impact for her self-produced sketches and spoken word social media pieces. Her content has already accrued over 1.5 million views and helped her gain praise from Daisy-May Cooper, The Guilty Feminist, Susan Wokoma and Maxine Peake amongst others. Soph’s content can be found @sophgalustian

Peck’Eds (3x3’) has been commissioned by BBC Comedy and BBC Three, and is produced by Molly Seymour with Executive Producer’s Brooke Posch and Tony Hernandez from Jax Media. Emily Allen is the Commissioning Editor for BBC Comedy.

Peck’Eds will air on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer this autumn.

Recommission

Ladhood (series three)

Made by BBC Studios Comedy Productions, Liam Williams’s critically acclaimed coming-of-age comedy returns for a third series.

Ladhood straddles two timelines, as Liam looks back at his noughties adolescence in search of answers to his modern-day millennial angst.

Picking up where series two left off, we find Young Liam (Oscar Kennedy) approaching the end of sixth form and eyeing up a potential place at a top university. All he has to do is ace the interview, nail his exams, and not get side-tracked by the more exciting adventures on offer with his best mates Ralph (Samuel Bottomley), Addy (Aqib Khan) and Craggy (Shaun Thomas). How hard can that be?

As in previous series, the noughties timeline runs in parallel to scenes of Liam in the present day, reflecting on his teenage years and trying his best not to make the same mistakes again.

Liam Williams says: “I’m absolutely buzzing at the prospect of returning to the mid-2000s again to explore more themes, emotions and half-forgotten sportswear brands.”

Josh Cole, Head of Comedy at BBC Studios, says: “Liam is an extraordinary talent and in Ladhood has created a beautifully realised world we can all (painfully) relate to. He is a joy to work with and we are delighted the BBC has ordered a third series.”

Producer Joe Nunnery adds: “It’s a privilege and a pleasure to make Ladhood with Liam and our exceptionally talented cast and crew. We’re very grateful to BBC Three and thrilled to have the opportunity to return to mid-noughties Garforth.”

Ladhood (6x25’) is BBC Studios Comedy Production produced by Joe Nunnery and Executive Produced by Josh Cole, Gareth Edwards and Liam Williams. Gregor Sharp is the Commissioning Editor for BBC Comedy.

Ladhood series two launched in August 2021 on BBC Three to audience and critical acclaim. What the press said:

The Telegraph - “An almost profound meditation on the agonies of growing up.”

The Sun - “Extremely funny and incredibly relatable.”

The Times - “An adroit comedy that excels in the unsentimental exploration of how teenage exploits may be more ingrained than we thought.”

The Guardian - “‘Full of so many lovely literary flushes you could call it Flealad.’

Vice - “Rare in its wit, poignancy and incision.’