Nick Frost cast in new Sky Atlantic comedy by Curb Your Enthusiasm director

Mr Sloane, a "bittersweet romantic comedy" written and directed by Weide that will air on Sky Atlantic next year, features Frost as Jeremy Sloane - a depressed, divorced man living in Watford in 1969. With a chance meeting in a local hardware shop promising romance, and a new job potentially replacing his previous, failed career, Sloane's luck could be about to change.

Frost, who is best-known for collaborating with Simon Pegg on TV sitcom Spaced and the films Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Paul, said: "I loved Bob's idea and fell in love with this character straight away, so I'm chuffed to be a part of the project and can't wait to start filming."

Weide, who directed most of the first five seasons of Larry David's comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm and has also helmed acclaimed documentaries about Woody Allen and Lenny Bruce, said: "Nick is not only a very funny guy, but a very talented actor. I had no specific agenda to create a show for him, but out of the blue an idea came to me that was entirely character-driven, and I immediately saw Nick as that character. I pitched it to him, and he said, 'Let’s do it.'"

Production on six episodes of Mr Sloane begins next month, for broadcast as part of Sky Atlantic's Comedy Mondays strand in 2014.