BBC - Commissioning Briefs - Comedy on BBC One

What We Want

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Comedy on BBC One

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Controller: Cheryl Taylor

Overview

The BBC One audience expects and deserves gold-standard talent, top-drawer writing, and the highest production values, and we’re always looking for the right ideas and the right people on and off screen to deliver on these expectations.

We continue to make the development of new scripted Comedy for BBC One a high priority. We want to create a mix of pre- and post-watershed commissions that will appeal to a broad audience, which are also ambitious, distinctive and fresh.

The Audience

BBC One shows need to appeal to a mainstream audience. Accessible ideas that promote both the unity and diversity of that audience are always welcome. Our viewers want to see their own experiences reflected and celebrated in our comedy mix, and we need to offer more pieces that bring a comic perspective on all aspects of British life to our viewers from all corners of the nation.

What's been working well gallery

Mrs Brown’s Boys – Brendan O’Carroll’s engaging comic creation is a bold departure for comedy on BBC One. Cheeky and irreverent, it offers a risque sensibility to the audience while retaining the traditional values of a warm family studio comedy. Launching in the10.35 pm slot with 2.6m (16.4% share) growing to an average of 2.9m (19.9%) in the first series Mrs Brown's Boys quickly became a ratings winner opening its second outing with a Christmas special at 6.6m (28.2%) and averaging 5.4m (21.7%) across the series. Mrs Brown's Boys will be returning to your screens in 2012.

Not Going Out – Created by and starring the loveable Lee Mack, Not Going Out has continued to grow with each series. Now in its fifth run it regularly draws in over four million viewers (17.3% share) in a post-watershed slot and represents a smart contemporary take on a classic flat share scenario.

Not Going Out

Outnumbered – Originally created as a 20 minute taster tape in 2006, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin’s series has gone from strength to strength. Launching in 2007 with 2.6m (19.4% share) average, Outnumbered grew across all four series building to 5.1m (21.2%) with 7.1m people (28.1%) tuning in for the Christmas special. Outnumbered will be returning soon.

Lapland - Commissioned as a festive treat over the Christmas period, Lapland drew in 5.3m viewers (28.5% share) and has been commissioned as a series of 6x30 which will deliver later this year. Like Mrs Brown and Outnumbered it follows the trials and tribulations of a close knit family.

Lapland

Commissioning slots

Comedy - BBC One Pre 7 Post Watershed Scripted Comedy - 6 x 30'

Tariff range: Comedy Two up to Comedy Three with more opportunities available with a lower price tag. For more information on Tariffs please take a look at the Tariffs page.

We want pre- and post-watershed ideas which are brimming with confidence, quality and originality, and which are underpinned with a real understanding of the whole of the BBC One audience.

Personality-led projects are always welcome – they can make an instant connection with an audience. Miranda, transferring to BBC One for its next series, is a great example as is Brendan O'Carroll as Agnes Brown. We’d also like to see warm, distinctive, real-world ideas which will need to be funny and fresh, as well as scoring highly against these challenging benchmarks:

Can the BBC One audience fall in love with the characters and the world?
Does the project stretch boundaries and/or modernise mainstream comedy? Is it the right idea for now?
Could this show appear on any other channel? Why is it right for BBC One?
Will the project attract the biggest names or showcase key talent? Our audience want to see the best.
Is it ambitious/big enough to build a marketing campaign around it?
Will it bring in a new audience whilst satisfying core viewers? It needs to be broad.
Can a series deliver at the price we want to pay? Can we maintain quality even at lower tariffs?

Comedy - BBC One Sketch Shows / Scripted Entertainment

Tariff range: Comedy Two and Three. For more information on Tariffs please take a look at the Tariffs page.

BBC One has a great tradition of anointing and crowning Britain’s comedy royalty - the channel has elevated talent such as Lucas and Walliams, Catherine Tate, and most recently Brendan O'Carroll as Mrs Brown to the status of national comedy touchstones. We want this heritage to continue. So we are asking:

Who are the new, strong, voices in sketch comedy/stand-up? Where is the talent that can bring a distinctive identity to the screen, and what can they do at the top table of British comedy?
Who is the next performer/stand-up with the stature to break through?
Who will get the BBC One audience talking/engaging/laughing?
We aren't just talking about sketch comedy. We're keen to consider any projects that are driven by the connection between comedy talent and audience, and which can be imaginatively and successfully produced. That includes ideas that straddle the boundary between Comedy and Entertainment. However, pure stand-up ideas should be pitched via the Entertainment genre.

Where are the opportunities available?

There are a range of opportunities for series and some specials in the In-house Guarantee, Independent and WoCC in 12/13 and 13/14. We are always looking to build on the production activity in the Nations

How should I submit my ideas and who should I pitch to?

All proposals should be submitted via the e-commissioning system to the relevant genre controller or commissioner. Take a look at the Who's Who for the latest comedy commissioning team contacts.

Want to know more about the broader BBC One service strategy?

If you would like to know more about Danny Cohen's BBC One channel strategy, please visit the BBC One page

BBC - Commissioning - Comedy on BBC One