Channel 4 is to film a satirical news show in Manchester, hosted by Lancashire comedian Tez Ilyas.
The Tez O’Clock Show is described as “TRULY anti-establishment – it’s hosted by a northern working-class British-Asian-Muslim.
“Tez Ilyas is an extremely smart, wonderfully playful satirical comic and we should all be hugely grateful C4 have given him a series. Had they not he might have returned to his old job at the Home Office where – given the strength of his jokes – he’d have done untold damage,” said Ben Wicks, Creative Director, Comedy and Entertainment at Expectation, which is making the show alongside Ilyas’ own company, Pious Productions.
“He is flanked by the ludicrously talented Guz Khan, Sindhu Vee, Sophie Willan and Adam Rowe. They are collectively wrestling satire from rich white people in a show that oscillates from sharp to silly in a fast-paced comedic blitz.”
The show will mix sketches, parodies, provocative monologues, celebrity interviews and news bulletins from the “Pakistani Broadcasting Corporation” (PBC), starring Man Like Mobeen’s Guz Khan and Sindhu Vee.
The 3 x 60 minutes shows will be filmed at MediaCityUK in front of a live studio audience.
“Tez Ilyas is an incredibly exciting talent, and we are thrilled to have him on Channel 4. With all the political shenanigans going on in the UK and the world in general, it feels particularly timely to be launching a brand new satire show, hosted by such a smart and fresh new voice,” added Karen Murdoch, Commissioning Editor, Entertainment, Channel 4.
The series will air on Channel 4 every Thursday for three weeks from 25th July this year.