Craig Cash’s indie Jellylegs has been commissioned by Sky 1 to produce a new sitcom centred on a small Northern town.
The 6 x 30 min series, After Hours, will star Father Ted’s Ardal O’Hanlon and The Fast Show’s John Thompson and is currently filming in Manchester and Cheshire.
Craig Cash
It’s scheduled to air in 2015 and is written by newcomers Molly Naylor and John Osborne and directed by Cash, the co-creator with Caroline Aherne of The Royle Family.
Sky’s head of comedy Lucy Lumsden, who commissioned the sitcom, will also act as an executive producer alongside Cash and Lucy Ansbro.
“After Hours is a beautifully written series about growing up in a small Northern town which will capture the hearts of our Sky 1 customers,” Lumsden said.
After Hours casts Jamie Winstone as Lauren, the manager of an internet radio station that makes its programmes on a houseboat and becomes a refuge for the main character, 18-year-old Willow Hannigan, played by James Tarpey (The World’s End), who has had his heart broken for the first time.
O’Hanlon plays Willow’s father, Peter, while Thompson plays Peter’s best friend.
Cash added: “John and Molly have created a world which is not only very funny but has genuine warmth at its heart. It’s a pleasure to be working with such talented new writers and a cast of great comic actors.”
Jellylegs previously made The Café for Sky 1, starring another Royle Family star Ralf Little.
