Toast of London Star Matt Berry returns in police drama spoof Year of the Rabbit
Freddie Fox and Susan Wokoma co-star in a six-part Channel 4 period comedy featuring "street gangs, crooked politicians, Bulgarian princes, spiritualists, music hall stars and the Elephant Man"
Toast of London star Matt Berry is returning to Channel 4 with Year of the Rabbit – a spoof comedy cop show set in Victorian London.
The broadcaster has confirmed that it has formally commissioned the show, details of which were first revealed by RadioTimes.com last year, and revealed further details including the title.
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Berry will play Detective Inspector Rabbit, described as “a hardened booze-hound who’s seen it all”. Freddie Fox takes on the part of his hapless, by-the-books partner. Susan Wokoma (Chewing Gum, Crazyhead, Porters) plays lewd but insightful adoptive daughter of the chief of police who becomes the country’s first female officer.
“Together, the trio must fight crime while rubbing shoulders with street gangs, crooked politicians, Bulgarian princes, spiritualists, music hall stars and the Elephant Man,” says the broadcaster.
Year of the Rabbit has been written by Veep and Black Books writers Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley with additional material from Matt Berry.
Berry said, “I’m very much looking forward to working with Channel 4 again...as I'm equally looking forward to stepping back in time to fight crime in the same significant year which bought us Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, The Elephant Man and of course Jack The Ripper.”
Year of the Rabbit is set to begin shooting later this year and is expected to air in 2019.
The commission was unveiled at a Channel 4 comedy showcase on Thursday night. At the event, the broadcaster also revealed that it is making Home, a new comedy written by and starring Rufus Jones (W1A, Inside No. 9, Camping, Hunderby).
In the comedy new couple Peter (Rufus Jones, pictured below), Katy (a role which has not yet been cast) and Katy’s son John go on their first family holiday to France, only to accidentally bring back Sami, a Syrian refugee who enters Britain illegally to claim asylum.
“Living in with Peter, Katy and John, Sami and his adoptive family discover and come to terms with what a home really means,” said a Channel 4 statement.
The broadcaster also announced that it is making a second series of Roisin Conaty’s self-penned sitcom GameFace (below) in which she will reprise the role of the colourful heroine, Marcella, a 30-something aspiring actress with a chaotic life and big ambitions.
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