BBC wants Funboys

Northern Irish comedy short to be made into a full series

Funboys, a Northern Irish comedy about a group of childish young men who from a club to engage in ‘wholesome mucking about’ has landed a series at the BBC.

Four half-hour episodes have been commissioned for BBC Three off the back of a 15-minute short released last year.

It revolves aroun friends and ‘sad worms’ Callum (Ryan Dylan), Jordan (Rian Lennon) and Lorcan (Lee Dobbin) who find life is never easy, and are put through the psychological ringer on everything from first girlfriends to dead pet pigs.

Lennon and Dylan also wrote the series and in a statement said: ‘We are so happy to be making a series about the important things in our lives: innocent wholesome fun, growing up, dying, screaming mental health issues, video games and the ultimate power of friendship.’

The BBC says the series ‘takes a fly-on-the-wall approach, prioritising authentic, naturalistic comedy whilst exploring modern themes of male vulnerability, religious dogma and handjobs’.

Executive producer and story writer Simon Mayhew-Archer, of programme-makers Mayhay Studios, said: ‘I have high hopes that this show will be really good. There's a decent amount of live pig action if you like that sort of thing (we do).’

Jon Petrie, BBC director of comedy commissioning, announced the commission at the Corporation’s Comedy Festival in Glasgow today.

He said: 'It’s heartening to see one of our debut BBC Comedy Short Films make the step up to series. We’re excited to dive back into the chaotic world of Funboys with the team at Mayhay Studios. It promises to be weird, wonderful, charming, and always funny.’

The series was a joint commission with BBC Northern Ireland and made with support from Northern Ireland Screen. The director is Rian Lennon and the producer is Leah Draws

Eddie Doyle, head of commissioning for BBC Northern Ireland, said: ‘Rian, Ryan and Lee are uniquely brilliant in their comedy and Funboys is quite unlike anything else out there. It’s great to see Northern Ireland comedy talent being given such a great platform that will be enjoyed by audiences across the UK."

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Published: 23 May 2024