Sky renews comedian's topical show

Sky has ordered two more series of The Russell Howard Hour.

The news comes as series four of the topical programme comes to an end with a Christmas special tonight.

Series five will launch next year and comprise 14 hour-long episodes, the broadcaster has announced.

Howard said: ‘Can’t wait to do the show again next year. Hopefully the news will be a bit more upbeat.’

The series has been a success for Sky One, especially on catch-up. For example, although only a relatively modest 53,000 watched the December 3 episode live, another 336,000 watched it time-shifted or digitally recorded at some point over the following seven days, making it the channel’s third most-watched show of the week.

Producers Avalon also point to the show’s social media syccess, citing 400 million cumulative views in the three years since the show has been on air. Every episode is also available to watch worldwide on Howard’s YouTube channel, which has more than a million subscribers, and on catch-up via Now TV.

The show is also broadcast on Foxtel in Australia close to UK transmission.

Philip Edgar-Jones, director of entertainment at Sky, said: ‘Russell Howard is the sharpest comic on TV and we are thrilled that he’ll be restlessly and hilariously nailing our messed-up world for at least another two seasons on Sky One.’

Two more compilation episodes from Series 4 will run over Christmas.

Yesterday it was announced that Howard would become the first Northern hemisphere comedian to play New Zealand since lockdown, with three tour dates next month

Made by: Avalon
Commissioning editor: Shirley Jones
Executive producers: Richard Allen-Turner, James Taylor and Jon Thoday
Directed by: Peter Orton
Series producer: Robyn O’Brien.

Published: 17 Dec 2020