UKTV orders Big Talk alien comedy We Are Not Alone from Ghosts duo

UKTV has commissioned a two-hour comedy special from ITV Studios-owned Big Talk set six weeks after aliens have invaded and conquered Earth.

Pete Thornton

We Are Not Alone (1×120′) will air on the BBC Studios-owned brodcaster’s channel Dave and explores the culture clash between humankind and its new alien masters, who are trying to make sense of a confusing planet.

The show was written by Ghosts writers and performers Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond and produced by Big Talk (The Outlaws, Back, Friday Night Dinner).

It was commissioned for UKTV by Pete Thornton, head of scripted, and ordered by Cherie Cunningham, Dave’s channel director.

Richard Watsham is director of commissioning for UKTV and Steve North is genre general manager, comedy and entertainment.

Fergal Costello (Brain In Gear) is directing the show and Philip Leach (The Bay) is producing. The executive producers for Big Talk are Kenton Allen, Matthew Justice and Victoria Grew.

We Are Not Alone joins other comedies on Dave including Meet The Richardsons and Red Dwarf.

Richard Watsham

Thornton said: “The premise of this highly original special is as richly comic as it is timely. We’ve seen shows before about alien invasion, but none have grappled with how said aliens might try to govern and live alongside us after their (inevitably pathetically easy) victory.

“By observing the way we live through fresh alien eyes, Larry and Ben’s remarkable script does a brilliant job of reflecting our topsy turvy world and pointing out what a bunch of idiots the human race really are – and that all things considered we might not actually be the best custodians of our increasingly fragile and damaged planet.”

Cunningham added: “This is one of the most ambitious productions Dave has ever undertaken, with a hilarious script full of great characters and vivid worldbuilding.”