Coming to Sky Arts in 2013

18/05/12: Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe will appear in an extraordinary new series for Sky Arts, based on the memoirs of a Russian doctor working during the Russian Revolution, as part of the brand new series of Playhouse Presents...

A Young Doctor’s Notebook, which will broadcast on Sky Arts in 2013,is a unique four-part comedy drama based on a collection of short stories by the celebrated Russian writer and playwright Mikhail Bulgakov.

Jon Hamm will take on the role of the older doctor, who has a series of bleakly comic exchanges with his younger self, played by Daniel Radcliffe.

Jon Hamm said: “I am thrilled to get the opportunity to work on such rich source material with such fantastically talented people whose work I greatly respect, and to continue the relationship with Sky who have taken such good care of Mad Men since acquiring it. Clelia Mountford and Big Talk have been championing this project unabashedly and I share their great enthusiasm for bringing something original, dark, funny and moving to light. Also, I have been watching "Bridget Jones's Diary" on infinite loop, and I think I've finally got this accent thing sorted...”

Daniel Radcliffe added: "I have been an obsessive Bulgakov reader for a couple of years now so when the opportunity to become involved in this project came up, I could barely contain my excitement. The book is funny, grotesque and heartfelt in equal measure and I look forward to working with a great group of people to help bring it to life".

Produced by multi award-wining Big Talk Productions in association with Jon Hamm and Jennifer Westfeldt’s Point West Pictures, the drama recounts Bulgakov’s semi-autobiographical experiences as a young doctor working in the small village of Muryovo at the dawn of the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Recounting from his notebooks, the Doctor considers his life and career as he tries to treat the patients of a village that is struggling to enter the modern age. Dealing not only with the superstitious and poorly educated patients but with his own inner demons, the doctor reveals doubts about his own competence and struggles with the immense burden of medical responsibility.

Mikhail Bulgalov is widely considered to be one of the finest Russian writers of all time. His allegorical and most famous novel The Master and Margarita has been called one of the masterpieces of the 20^th century.

This is not the first time Sky Arts has tackled unusual Russian comedy. 2010 saw the channel receive plaudits for their series of Chekhov Comedy Shorts which starred an array of world-class comedians performing the playwright’s lesser known comedies. The cast included Steve Coogan, Johnny Vegas, Julia Davis, Sheridan Smith and Mackenzie Crook.

Sky Arts Playhouse Presents…strand received widespread critical acclaim, and was Sky Arts’ most successful series ever, attracting world-renowned talent to the channel including Emma Thompson, Alison Steadman, David Tennant and Sir Tom Jones, in his first acting role.

“Having two of the world’s most popular actors, whose iconic roles are seared on to the world’s collective consciousness, is an enormous accomplishment for Sky Arts. It continues a tradition we have established of attracting the most recognised faces in the world to Sky,” comments James Hunt, Channel Director, Sky Arts. “Bulgakov’s work is fascinating, dark and original and with talent like this, will surprise and entertain our viewers in a wholly unique way. It is brilliantly observed piece, which promises to be true historical magic and completely unlike anything else on television.”

“Here's a world class line up to take your breath away,” comments Lucy Lumsden, Head of Comedy for Sky. “Jon Hamm and Daniel Radcliffe on Sky Arts reflect just how significant the channel has become in driving creativity and delivering exceptional names to Sky Customers."

Big Talk Chief Executive Kenton Allen said: 'Clelia Mountford bought the project to me with a twinkle in her eye and that twinkle has rapidly developed into a rather extraordinary project that promises to be unmissable TV.I really hope we can find and entertain a whole new audience with the brilliance of Bulgakov and the pinch-yourself dream team combination of Jon and Daniel.”

Following the addition of Sky Arts to Sky Go, customers will also be able to watch A Young Doctors Notebook on the move on iPad, selected smartphones and laptops at no extra cost.

The series will be distributed internationally by BBC Worldwide.

A Young Doctor’s Notebook marks a further development of the Playhouse Presents strand which champions innovative productions and original writing, and which underlines Sky’s promise to  deliver high-quality, exclusive content to customers, supported by a commitment to increase investment in home-grown programming to £600 million by 2014, an increase of more than 50% over three years.

Creative Team

Writers: Mark Chappell, Shaun Pye, Alan Connor

Director: Alex Hardcastle

Producer: Clelia Mountford

Executive Producers: Kenton Allen (Big Talk Productions) and Jon Hamm (Point West Pictures)

Executive Producer for Sky: Saskia Schuster

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

Katherine Solomon PR Manager, Sky Press Office

T: 0207 032 0599

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NOTES TO EDITOR

A Young Doctors Notebook - 

(4x 30mins) Based on the semi-autobiographical book by Mikhail Bulgakov, adapted by Shaun Pye, Mark Chappell and Alan Connor

About the writers

Shaun Pye has written extensively for programmes including Never Mind the Buzzcocks, They Think It's All Over, Armstrong and Miller, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Would I Lie To You? and 8 Out Of 10 Cats. He is also an actor, starring in Extras as Ricky Gervais’ nemesis. Shaun was co-creator of the critically acclaimed Monkey Dust, and recently co-created The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret along with comedian David Cross for C4.

Mark Chappell’s credits include Hustle, Tony Blair Rock Star, My Life In Film, Beaver Falls, The Millennium and The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. He is the creator of projects currently in development with the BBC and ITV.

Alan Connor's writing credits include 10 O'Clock Live, The Jonathan Ross Show, Charlie Brooker's 2011 Wipe, 8 out of 10 Cats, You Have Been Watching, Respectable and The Pooters (TV), Sue Perkins' Dilemma (radio) and The RehEARsal: A One-Act Play in Three Acts (theatre). He has presented on programmes including The Word and The Daily Politics and is a contributor to the Guardian, the BBC News website and National Public Radio.

Big Talk Productions

Big Talk Productions is one of the UK's leading film and television production companies with an impeccable track record in developing talent such as Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright whose cult television series Spaced paved the way for Big Talk's hit films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Paul.

In recent years Big Talk has gone from strength to strength with a string of award-winning TV and Film productions. In 2010 two new six-part comedies were broadcast to record audiences and critical acclaim. The BAFTA-winning Rev. (BBC Two) was described as "an unmitigated joy" by The Times, "remarkable" by The Telegraph and "comic genius" by The Guardian. The 38th Broadcasting Press Guild Awards saw Rev. scoop four titles; Best Comedy Best Writer (Tom Hollander and James Wood) and for Olivia Colman's role in the show, Best Actress and Breakthrough Award. Him & Her (BBC Three) starring Russell Tovey, was BBC3's most successful sitcom launch ever and The Royal Television Society Awards (2012) awarded the Him & Her stars Russell and Sarah Solemani Best Comedy Performance.

In 2011 both Rev. and Him & Her were recommissioned which led to highly acclaimed second series and multiple awards. It was a year that also saw Channel 4 broadcast Big Talk's first co-production with Popper Pictures, Friday Night Dinner, starring Tamsin Greig, Paul Ritter, Simon Bird & Tom Rosenthal. The Guardian called Friday Night Dinner "superb", the Daily Mirror called it "delightfully daft" and Radio Times wrote "there'd better be a second series". And there will be, filming has just wrapped and the show has just received 2 BAFTA nominations and won the Rose D'Or for Best Sitcom.

Also broadcast in 2011 was Chickens written by and starring Simon Bird, Joe Thomas and Jonny Sweet and Threesome (Comedy Central) - a sitcom by Tom MacRae, starring Amy Huberman, Emun Elliot and Stephen Wight. Chickens has since been picked up for a full six-part series by Sky1 HD, and will be shot later this year, while Threesome will soon be returning for a second series on Comedy Central. Big Talk has made a flying start to 2012. The Job Lot - a sitcom pilot shot in February starring Russell Tovey and Sarah Hadland - has been commissioned to series with ITV.

www.bigtalkproductions.com

Editors Notes

Sky Arts

Sky is the only broadcaster in the UK and Ireland with channels dedicated solely to the arts, with 48 hours of the best arts content from around the world across Sky Arts 1 and Sky Arts 2 daily. Recent highlights include the latest season of the Met Opera, Playhouse Presents, a season of brand new plays starring the cream of British talent and The South Bank Sky Arts Awards.

Sky Arts also seeks to connect with culture on the ground; creating and collaborating with the best of the arts in the UK and Ireland to bring new experiences to life. The flagship show, The Book Show, now goes to four literary festivals including Hay and Cheltenham. Sky Arts Creative Wish is part of Sky Arts Ignition Series which launched in in 2011 to invest in the arts landscape of the UK. The Series will seek to collaborate with six arts organisations over the next three years in the creation of brand new works; Sky Arts Ignition Series: Futures Fund will support five young artists with a bursary of £30,000 each, enabling Sky Arts to back the creation of new works of art as well as nurture emerging talent. Sky Arts also encourages new formats and methods for accessing opera; beaming the world’s first live opera in 3D to cinemas across the UK and Ireland from ENO.

Upcoming highlights including Michael Parkinson Masterclasses and a new series of The South Bank Show reflects Sky’s promise to deliver high-quality, exclusive content to customers, supported by a commitment to increase investment in home-grown programming to £600 million by 2014, an increase of more than 50% over three years.