Channel 4 acquires debut stand-up special from comedian Jordan Gray

Channel 4 (C4) in the UK has acquired the debut stand-up comedy special from comedian Jordan Gray, produced by Soho Studios in association with Bill & Ben Productions.

Jordan Gray

Is It a Bird? was acquired by Dan Borgonon, acquisitions manager at C4, and is a filmed version of Gray’s hit Edinburgh Fringe 2023 show.The show received five-star reviews from papers including The Sunday Times, The Telegraph and The Guardian in Britain.

Gray, who became the first trans woman to stage her own show at the London Palladium in 2022, first performed part of Is It a Bird? on C4 as part of its revival of entertainment format Friday Night Live.

1,538 people complained to Ofcom about the live broadcast, which saw her stripping completely nude. The complaints were later dismissed by the UK media regulator.

The comedy special will be executive produced by Gray, Soho Studios’ Ian Lamarra and Laura Hill for Independent Talent Group. Bill Jones, Ben Timlett and Steve Jones from Bill & Ben Productions will produce and direct.

Soho Studios received investment from Asylum Entertainment, part of the Endeavor group in the US, earlier this year.

Founder Lamarra has created several series for Channel 4 such as Very British Problems, In The Footsteps of Killers with Emilia Fox and the forthcoming Travels with Agatha with Sir David Suchet.

Bill & Ben received two primetime Emmy nominations for its Netflix series Monty Python: Almost The Truth and produced and directed ITVX’s recently released Before We Was We – Madness by Madness.

Lamarra said: “Channel 4 feels like the perfect home for this special in UK and we are looking forward to taking it out to the international market.”

Timlett added: “Jordan Gray is simply sensational and we are truly honoured to work with her and Soho Studios to bring the stunning Is It A Bird? show to TV audiences in the UK and worldwide. We also look forward to re-upsetting those 1,500 Ofcom complainers and really getting to know the C4 legal team.”