Jon Petrie, the head of BBC Comedy has called on the television industry to produce more sitcoms and wants to focus on protecting homegrown storytelling.
He was speaking at the BBC Comedy Festival in Glasgow as he also announced the return of family series, Outnumbered, which will get a Christmas special.
“We’re delighted to be in Glasgow, a city with proper comedy heritage and legendary humour, for our third annual BBC Comedy Festival,” said Petrie.
“The BBC has always been the place for homegrown comedy hits that people want to come back to again and again – from Gavin and Stacey to Only Fools, to This Country and Ghosts. This is what we want to protect and invest in. It’s the very best storytelling from across the UK and it’s what our new commitments in development are all about.
“Mainstream comedy is what viewers love best. It’s written right through our comedy heritage and is so close to our hearts. It can tell our stories and bring us together like nothing else. That’s why audiences and critics feel so passionately about it and have such a strong sense of ownership.
“We want producers to take risks and create the next generation of classic sitcoms and immortal characters that audiences will keep returning to for decades to come.”
As well as Outnumbered, the BBC has ordered second outings of The Power of Parker and Mammoth. Lee Mack’s Not Going Out, the longest running British sitcom on air, is back and there’ll be brand new series, Smoggie Queens and Funboys.
“At our first comedy festival in Newcastle two years ago, I said sitcoms were what we wanted to see more of. I said it again last year, in Cardiff,” continued Petrie.
“But the truth is we’re still not getting pitched enough of the comedy we need to keep people happy… If our comedy eco-system is shrinking, then it’s on all us to fight for the right of UK mainstream comedy to exist.
“The sitcom isn’t dead but it needs a couple of Berocca. And a black americano with two sugars. We’re asking you to do something really ambitious and help save our sitcom. It’s what audiences want to see.”
He also said they would be funding 6 writers’ rooms with show ideas originated and led by an experienced showrunner and backed by teams of established and new writing talent to create the next big UK sitcom. He cited shows such as Ghosts, Two Doors Down, Motherland and Here We Go, as examples.
“We know that making a laugh out loud series is much easier said than done. So, in order to supercharge development in that area we are announcing a brand-new initiative for UK producers. We are committing to funding writers’ rooms with show ideas originated and led by an experienced showrunner to create the next big UK sitcom with broad appeal,” he continued.
Last year saw 400 million hours watched of comedy on the BBC overall, and 700 million requests on iPlayer.
He concluded:
“We are still the biggest investor in comedy in the UK. And contrary to some reports, we’re not cutting back. In the last year alone, we’ve released 9 new shows and 14 recommissions and we want to continue to commit to at least 20 new and returning comedies on the BBC each year.”
