UKTV unveils Dave comedy originals

Meet the Richardsons has been given a third season

Multichannel operator UKTV has unveiled a slate of new original comedy entertainment shows for general entertainment channel Dave, including a comedy quiz programme fronted by Richard Ayoade.

In Question Team, Ayoade (The IT Crowd, Gadget Man) will invite three comedians to each write and host their own round of questions for the others to play. The 8×60’ series will be produced by Interstellar, the rebranded non-scripted arm of London-based Keshet Productions.

Elsewhere, The Island, hosted by British comedian Tom Allen with Kemah Bob and Jason Forbes, will feature four comics playing god across the entire series as they each conceive their dream island nation to rule over. Produced by Super Best Quality Video Productions, the 8×60’ show has been devised by comedians James Acaster, Ed Gamble, Lloyd Langford and John Robins, who exec produce.

Produced by STV, British as Folk (6×60’) follows comedians Fern Brady, Darren Harriot and Ivo Graham as they travel across the nation discovering and interrogating the stereotypes and traditions that make up British life today, in the process creating their own “brutally honest” guide to Britain.

Outsiders (6×60’), produced by Renegade Pictures and fronted by actor and comedian David Mitchell (Peep Show), challenges a returning cast of three pairs of comedians, including Gamble, Jamali Maddix and Jessica Knappett, to prove they’ve got the skills to thrive in the great outdoors.

Finally, Second Act-produced Meet the Richardsons (10×40’), which offers a fictional window into the funny and frustrated marriage of comedians Jon Richardson and Lucy Beaumont, has been greenlit for a third series.

Richard Watsham, UKTV director of commissioning, said: “We’ve been using the last 12 months to develop the next wave of unique and innovative comedy formats. We’re certainly not content to dine out on last year’s Bafta success in this category. Instead, we want to make sure we have a number of strong shows coming through, to keep pushing the boundaries in this space and to join Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, which launched successfully earlier in the year.”