Ardal O’Hanlon, John Thomson and Jaime Winstone to star in after hours on Sky 1 HD
A new 6x30 comedy series from Jellylegs productions
London Monday 23rd June 2014: Sky 1 HD today announces that Ardal O’Hanlon (Father Ted, My Hero), John Thomson (Cold Feet, The Fast Show) and Jaime Winstone (Mad Dogs, Made In Dagenham) are to star in AFTER HOURS, a brand new six-part comedy drama written by Molly Naylor and John Osborne. Lucy Lumsden, Head of Comedy, Sky has commissioned the series from Jellylegs Productions, which will be directed by Craig Cash (Early Doors, The Café). Filming has commenced with the series set to launch on Sky 1 next year. International distribution for the series will be handled by Sky Vision.
AFTER HOURS follows the journey of Willow Hannigan (James Tarpey, The World’s End), an 18 year old music lover who’s just had his heart broken for the first time. There are no jobs, his beautiful ex-girlfriend Jasmine (Georgina Campbell, Ice Cream Girls) has moved on to someone new and most of his mates have gone away to university whilst he’s been left behind, living with his parents. The only thing that keeps him sane, other than his best friend Chris (Fergus Van Gelder) is listening to After Hours. Broadcast from a canal boat, After Hours is a local internet radio show run by Lauren (Jaime Winstone) and Ollie (Rob Kendrick, Sugartown), two friends in their late 20s who have somehow, ended up living in Shankly. Ardal O’Hanlon stars as Willow’s dad, Peter Hannigan, an ex-milkman who found himself jobless when the big supermarket opened, he's married to Anna (Susan Cookson, Early Doors, Mount Pleasant) who would secretly love a job at the new supermarket and Thomson plays Geoff, Peter’s best friend who finds sanctuary on the Hannigan's sofa.
Lucy Lumsden, Head of Comedy, Sky said “After Hours is a beautifully written series about growing up in a small Northern town which will capture the hearts of our Sky 1 customers. We’re delighted to be working with Craig Cash again."
Craig Cash, Executive Producer and Director said “John and Molly have created a world which is not only very funny but has genuine warmth at its heart. It's a pleasure to be working with such talented new writers and a cast of great comic actors".
Ardal O’Hanlon added “I'm delighted to be a part of After Hours. It's warm, funny and moving and the soundtrack is amazing.”
John Thomson commented 'It's great to be working with Jellylegs and my old friend Craig Cash. It's a joy to be working in my hometown with a great cast, strong script and a lovely crew.'
Jaime Winstone said "I'm really excited to be working with Craig Cash and the lovely crew. I loved the script and it’s great to be back in Manchester."
AFTER HOURS will be produced by Jellylegs Productions Ltd, the executive producers are Craig Cash and Lucy Ansbro for Jellylegs Productions and Lucy Lumsden for Sky.
AFTER HOURS joins a host of home-grown comedies on Sky 1 which, this year sees the return of Moone Boy series three, Stella and Trollied series four. By the end of 2014 Sky will have invested £600 million a year in original British content and production across its portfolio of channels. This commitment includes entertainment shows GOT TO DANCE and A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN; dramas such as STRIKE BACK and PENNY DREADFUL; comedies including STELLA, DOLL & EM and MOONE BOY and factual shows as diverse as 50 WAYS TO KILL YOUR MAMMY, THE SOUTH BANK SHOW and ROSS KEMP EXTREME WORLD.
ENDS
Notes to editor
For more information please contact:
Nicola Vincent
Publicist, Sky 1 HD
Nicola.Vincent@bskyb.com
020 7032 3078
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