This is a list of new comedy pilots that have been announced by production companies (or well-known comedy writers). These projects are listed here because we either don't yet know whether the project will make it to the broadcast stage (most pilots are never seen), or because we don't yet have enough details to create a full guide to the show. Pilots that are definitely going to be broadcast can be found on our new comedy list.
Swots
Swots is a comedy quiz pilot for BBC Radio Scotland that puts the contestants back into the schoolroom circa 1965. Presenter Miles Jupp presides over the class of unruly celebrity pupils with the aid of classroom assistant, the inimitable stand up Susan Morrison.
Jo Caulfield sitcom
Currently un-titled sitcom pilot written by Jo Caulfield based on her previous Edinburgh Shows, Jo Caulfield - Two-Faced Bitch & Jo Caulfield Goes To Hell. It's best described as "a sitcom about a woman of a certain age with a sort of marriage and a kind of family and a bunch of friends, just trying to get through the day with going bonkers or opening that second bottle".... Full Details
What a Carve Up! [TV Version]
Jeremy Dyson (The League of Gentlemen) is adapting Jonathan Coe's satirical novel What a Carve Up! for Channel 4. Published in 1994, the novel is an attack on the Thatcher era, based around a writer who is commissioned to produce a biography about a right-wing upper class British family obsessed with making money, often in dubious ways. In 2005, the story was adapted for Radio 4 by... Full Details
Beth Becomes Her
A television version of Beth Becomes Her, the Fringe show by Bethany Black, the UK's "foremost goth, lesbian, post-op transsexual stand-up". The producer is Paul Schlesinger. Black will star as herself. More info
Count Arthur Strong's Television Show!
A TV version of Count Arthur Strong's Radio Show. Creator Steve Delaney is working with Graham Linehan and Jeremy Dyson to adapt the radio series for Talkback Thames, with hopes it will be screened on BBC4.
Nebulous (TV Version)
Graham Duff is working on a pilot script for a TV version of his sci-fi Radio 4 sitcom Nebulous, which stars Mark Gatiss, Rosie Cavaliero and Paul Putner.
Topical Russell Howard Show
BBC Three has commissioned Avalon Television to make a pilot of a topical comedy show for those aged under 25. It will be hosted by Mock The Week star Russell Howard.
Recorded in the summer of 2009, the pilot (title unknown), was produced by Mark Iddon (Mouth To Mouth), series produced by Robyn O'Brien (Al Murray's Happy Hour) and directed by Peter Orton... Full Details
The Sharp End
Sitcom pilot based around a consumer watchdog radio show starring Alistair McGowan and Michelle Gomez. Written by Ian Stone and Tom Craine. Created by Unique Productions.
Trigger Happy Movie
Dom Joly is working on a movie version of his hit Channel 4 show Trigger Happy TV. He told The Mirror in June 2009: "We have just written a script for a Trigger Happy movie actually, I have just got the first draft - it's weird to write a script because you can't, because it's all kind of made up," he said. "It's really funny, I'm really excited about it. We are gonna have a go at... Full Details
In The Bubble
A pilot panel show from Hat Trick Productions. Three comics are taken away from the world for four days and holed up in a country house with no contact with the outside world. They are then taken to the studio where host David Mitchell presents them with real and imaginary news stories and asks them to spot which is which.
A non-broadcast pilot has already been recorded with Frank... Full Details
I Guess That's Why They Call It the News
Not for broadcast pilot panel show hosted by Fred MacAulay. I Guess That's Why They Call It the News is a brand new topical panel show in which two teams of two play games inspired by the week's headlines - from politics to entertainment. It's a show "that asks the big questions, and the little questions. And provides thoroughly silly answers to both."
Honky Tonk
A one-off 60-minute comedy drama about two young people with Down's syndrome who run away to get married at Gretna Green. Honky Tonk's plot follows Henry and Michelle, two 20-somethings who are in love and spend their days at a centre for disabled adults. Henry is assured while at the centre, but overwhelmed by shyness in other situations and self-conscious about how his voice sounds to... Full Details
Abi Hour
An audience sketch show with Abi Burdess, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Lu Caulfield and Tom Price. A mixture of high concept one-off sketches and returning characters. Abi Burdess has a distinctive, dark but daft voice and an enormously inventive range of sketches developed during several live shows both individually and as Live! at the Mausoleum.
Pete vs Life
Potential pilot for C4's 2009 Comedy Showcase season. A sitcom about a man whose every move is remarked upon by various sports commentators. Rafe Spall to star. Produced by Objective Productions.
Phone Shop
Potential pilot for C4's 2009 Comedy Showcase season. Improvised sitcom set in a phone shop created by Talkback Thames and produced by Phil Bowker (Pulling).
Campus
Potential pilot for C4's 2009 Comedy Showcase season. A university-set comedy produced by Green Wing creator Victoria Pile's independent production company Monicker.
Guantanamo Phil
Potential pilot for C4's 2009 Comedy Showcase season. Guantanamo Phil is about a birdwatcher who returns home to Stoke-on-Trent after a spell in Guantanamo Bay. Written by The Worst Week Of My Life's Mark Bussell and Justin Sbresni. Produced by Busby Productions, in association with Hat Trick Productions.
Four Generations
Pilot sitcom from Matt Lucas based on his experiences growing up as a jew in Stanmore, North London. Lucas has said: "I want to produce a sitcom that will address many of the contemporary issues that affect British Jews such as intermarriage and a decline in observance".
Silver Acres
Pilot sitcom from playwrights Ed Waugh and Trevor Wood. Set in a sleepy County Durham hamlet, the plot revolves around a former trade unionist moving to the sleepy conservative village, much to the dismay of its self-appointed guardians. Other character include a wealthy womaniser, an insane survivalist and a man-child who still lives with his domineering mother.
The Stephen K. Amos Show
Take one consummate stand-up, add a healthy dose of sketches and a pinch of audience participation and the result is the perfect comedy cocktail. Welcome to The Stephen K. Amos Show.
One of the best comedians on the circuit, and star of The Royal Variety Show, Live At The Apollo and the celebration of Prince Charles' 60th birthday, We Are Most Amused,... Full Details
Anna and Katy Salute You
A showcase of characters from Anna Crilly and Katy Wix on the 2nd and 3rd March 2009 at The Drill Hall for a forthcoming TV project. See also: The Anna and Katy Show for Radio 2.
The Lucy Montgomery Show
Lucy Montgomery (Tittybangbang) performs a non-broadcast pilot to try out material for a new sketch show for BBC TV. New characters include Moaner Lisa, the Wild Swimmers and Tim Vincent's Mum. Writers include Graham Linehan, David Quantick, Jonny Sweet, Kevin Eldon, Rhys Thomas and Lucy herself. The script editor is Charlie Higson.
Fonejacker Spin-Off
A new comedy prank show pilot from Fonejacker creator Kayvan Novak. The unnamed 30-minute pilot, being produced by Hat Trick Productions, is potentially being aimed at the C4 Comedy Lab strand, according to Broadcast Magazine. In the show Novak will transform himself using prosthetics and rather than calling victims will prank them face-to-face. Characters are said to include an African... Full Details
Cousins
A comedy drama by Sanjeev Kohli (Fags, Mags And Bags; Still Game) which is described as an 'Asian Cold Feet'. Kohli told The Stage it would be a 'very British comedy that just happens to have Asians in it. They are cousins, five people who have grown up together, and see each other every week - at the temple or for a pub quiz - who happen to be Asian, which gives you all kind... Full Details
Once Upon a Time in Peckham
Potential prequel to Only Fools And Horses, written by John Sullivan. The BBC are said to be looking again at Sullivan's 1997 idea to create a sitcom around the childhood years of Del. It would see Del Boy bunking off school, becoming a mod and flogging dodgy gear to his mates - younger versions of Boycie, Denzil and Trigger.
It should be noted this is still only an idea at... Full Details
Four Lions
A Chris Morris (Brass Eye, The Day Today) film about terrorism. The project has been delayed for a number of years due to funding problems, however it is now being reported that FilmFour have agreed to back the controversial project (More info). Morris describes the film as showing the "Dads Army" side of... Full Details
Above Their Stations
Above Their Stations is a new sitcom written by and starring Rhys Thomas (Star Stories, Fun At The Funeral Parlour, Nathan Barley, The Fast Show). Pounding rural Essex's mean streets, Perry (Thomas) is a maverick. He reckons he's Vange Police's most lethal weapon. But he isn't even a cop. He really, really wants to be, but he isn't - he's a Police Community... Full Details
Working Class
A new sitcom for BBC Scotland about senior citizens written by Donald McLeary from Radio 4's Fags, Mags and Bags. The Stage reports a script for the series, which will be aimed at a pre-watershed family audience, has been commissioned by the BBC but, at the time of writing, no roles have been cast. The pilot will be produced by The Comedy Unit. More details can be found via The Stage's... Full Details
Simon Says
Simon Munnery delivers his low down on life. Using stand-up comedy, music, and top comedy guest, Reginald D Hunter, the programme tackles some of life's big issues.
Playing Shop
A new live audience studio sitcom written by and starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. They play Eric and Jamie, two of the most dynamic, practical and driven men ever to try and run a business out of a garden shed. Convinced that everyone else involved in commerce are idiots, they think that this insight alone will make them millionaires.
To such men, redundancy is just an... Full Details
The Full Montgomery
Lucy Montgomery from Tittybangbang and Down the Line tried out sketches in November at the Hen And Chickens Theatre. The recordings were on Sunday 9, Friday 21 and Thursday 27 November 2008.
The Anna and Katy Show
BBC Radio 2 sketch show pilot starring Anna Crilly (Lead Balloon) and Katy Wix (Not Going Out) based on their 2005 and 2006 Edinburgh shows. The show was recorded on the 11th December 2008 at The Drill Hall. See also: Anna And Katy Salute You for BBC TV.
Life And Other Distractions
New 13-part comedy drama written and produced by Simon Pegg. The show will be a light drama about a family aimed at younger viewers, Pegg told The Guardian. "My involvement will be limited but I want to be a showrunner and have script control. I was interested in that age group, having grown up with shows like Grange Hill, and I wanted to do something outside my comfort zone. It's... Full Details
Jim Jeffries Sitcom
Sitcom starring controversial Australian comedian Jim Jeffries. The half-hour pilot, which is being made for Paramount Comedy, sees Jeffries play a foul-mouthed software millionaire. Broadcast says his character is "searching for meaning in his life, but he only ever ends up having meaningless sex with attractive women and shows little consideration for his friends who still have to earn... Full Details
Armstrong And Miller Sitcom
Sitcom which will star Alexander Armstrong and Ben Miller. The project is described as 'a slacker sitcom about office temps'. It is written by Louis Waymouth and Jamie Lennox who came to notice via their web series The Very Real Adventures of Batman and Robin on ComedyBox.
Miller says the series is about "that period in your life when everything is temporary - you've... Full Details
Cemetery Junction
A new film project written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. The film follows the exploits of two salesmen pals working for insurance giant Prudential in Reading in the 1970s. It is a 'coming-of-age' tale about the two friends growing up in the concrete 'glamour' of Reading. It is being described as Mad Men meets The Office. If all goes to plan, the comedy will be filmed in May... Full Details
Second Life
Second Life (a working title) comes from writing duo Tess Morris and Sophie Hetherington.
The Intern Project
The Intern Project (working title) is a new sitcom project from Suburban Shootout writers Roger Beckett and Gary Martin.
Deadbeats
Deadbeats (a working title) is a new sitcom from writer Paul Rose (Dani's House, Biffovision).
All The Queens Men
All the Queens Men is a new narrative project from Snuffbox writer/perfomers Matt Berry and Rich Fulcher.
CSI Nigeria
CSI Nigeria, a working title, is billed as a 'fish out of water' comedy from writers Andi Osho (Tonightly) and Israel Oyelumade (Video Nation) about a Nigerian police officer on secondment in suburban middle England.
Hash
Hash centres on the inept owner of an exclusive members club. It comes from Neill Southgate (The Friday Night Project), Nick Wealthall (Comedy Lab) and The Dawson Brothers (That Mitchell and Webb Look).
Adam's Family
A pilot episode of a new single-camera comedy commissioned by ITV. Adam's Family is told from the point of view of a video diary kept by a young teenage boy who is coming to terms with his new 'blended family' after one of his parents decides to re-marry.
The comedy was originally planned for the BBC, with the script written by Maya Forbes, Jack Williams and Harry Williams.... Full Details
Little White Lies
Hat Trick Productions is developing a sitcom based on the stage show created and performed at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival by comedian Isabel Fay.
The comedy is based on Fay's successful stage show, Altar Ego, which focuses on a character called Blodwin. She is an employee at an old people's home, who creates a fictional boyfriend to silence the staff who taunt her about her... Full Details
Home
Little Britain star David Walliams has been working with Rob Brydon on this sitcom script. The plan is for Walliams and Brydon to play two constantly bickering brothers who run a care home. Ronnie Corbett will also star as a playboy OAP - the only male resident in the home which is otherwise populated by female pensioners.
This pilot has been on our list for about three... Full Details
Shush
Sitcom pilot described as 'a stupid narrative comedy set in a municipal library'. Originally piloted in 2006, a second pilot was filmed in October 2008.
The comedy is produced by Armando Iannucci and written by Morwenna Banks, Rebecca Front and Father Ted writer Arthur Mathews.
The original un-successful pilot for the show was recorded at BBC TV Centre in... Full Details
Ardal O'Hanlon Sitcom
Comedy series written by Father Ted star Ardal O'Hanlon about a cable TV channel in western Ireland.
Thor Sitcom
A sitcom about the Norse god of thunder written by Stewart Lee. Optioned by an independent production company.
The Brontes
Sitcom about The Bronte Sisters created and produced by Siobhan Rhodes-Johnson for Tiger Aspect. The series is written and performed by Bridget Christie, Colin Hoult, Joanna Neary and Isy Suttie. Stewart Lee is the director and script editor.
Hibbert and Long
Comedy pilot for ITV1 written by Peep Show creators Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong. Billed as a modern take on BBC classic The Liver Birds, the sitcom follows the lives of two flatmates in their late twenties. The pilot of Hibbert and Long starred stand-up comedian Kerry Godliman, Lucy Montgomery (Tittybangbang), Tom Ellis and Simon Day (The Fast Show). Produced by ITV... Full Details
Adam and Eve
A new romantic comedy from Coupling creator Steven Moffat. It tells the story of a boss called Adam and his PA, called Eve. They have known each other all their lives but never got together. The writer is describing the show as being about 'a love story that never happens'. The BBC have shown an interest in the show, which is being produced by Hartswood Films, but have not yet formally... Full Details
Candy Chops
A Curb Your Enthusiasm-style sitcom pilot by Kelly Marcel and actor Tom Hardy which tells the story of aspiring rap artist Ethx. Candy Chops is being made in association with Rob Brydon's new production company Arbie.
Bewitched
A BBC remake of Bewitched, the classic American sitcom which ran for eight series on ABC in the States between 1964 and 1972. The sitcom follows the life and adventures of Samantha, a witch married to a suburban advertising executive.
The original sitcom is being adapted for a modern UK audience by My Hero creator Paul Mendelson. The pilot, filmed in early 2008,... Full Details
Hey Hey We're the Monks
Thirty-one, unemployed and single, Gary Woodcroft (played by James Corden from Gavin and Stacey) has never done a single useful thing in his life. Allowed, through some clerical error, to collect benefits uninterrupted for 18 years, Gary has cost the taxpayer more than the war. But all that is about to change.
There aren't many places so chronically understaffed that they'd... Full Details
Terry Across The Mersey
Terry Across the Mersey is about a chancer who leads a complicated and risky double life. The tag line of the show is: 'Two lives, two wives and too much to lose'. The pilot starred Dean Sullivan (best known for playing Jimmy Corkhill in Brookside) as Terry Valentine and other confirmed cast members include Suzanne Collins, Anne-Marie Davies, Pauline Fleming, Louis Emerick, Stephen... Full Details
Vic and Bob Superhero Sitcom
Vic Reeves has announced that he and comedy partner Bob Mortimer are working on a new sitcom. Reeves told North-East newspaper The Journal: "It's about super heroes who get skills through a telegraph pole that malfunctions and they go around helping people in their local community."
Arcadia
Arcadia is a youthful sitcom pilot "from the makers of The IT Crowd" (we assume this means TalkbackThames). It is set around Clacton's finest computer games shop Games 4 U. The shop is in financial trouble and ever-so-slightly neurotic manager Tony (Nick Mohammed) is doing his best to keep things afloat, ably assisted by Mr Sci-Fi convention himself, Jeremy Stokes (Matt... Full Details
Grandma's House
Sitcom by Never Mind the Buzzcocks' host Simon Amstell, based on his own upbringing in a Jewish family produced by Tiger Aspect.
This sitcom was reportedly filmed in March 2008 in a house in Gants Hill, Ilford. It is believed that the house is near where Amstell's grandparents lived when he was young.
The Friday Night Club
Pilot about a disparate but devoted group of 20-somethings, friends since Uni, who go their own way all week but meet up every Friday evening at the same bar to decide how to spend the evening... or even the weekend. The pilot, which was filmed in March 2008, starred Rosalind Halstead, Nigel Harman (EastEnders), Rhodri Meilir (My Family), Sarah Smart and Sheridan... Full Details
Bob Mortimer Sitcom
Sitcom written by Bob Mortimer. Mackenzie Crook and Iain Lee star as two guys who live together. "Crazy things happen, like Rod Stewart sending an electrified box with 75 quid in it. The guys try to break into it but keep getting shocks."
Zoom
Radio sitcom featuring Mark Evans and fellow Mitchell and Webb writer James Bachman. This is the description: Set in a world just like ours - only sillier and a lot more exciting - Zoom features the adventures of flatmates James and Mark and their ex-Special forces neighbour, Ken. In the pilot episode James and Mark - lifelong friends, lifelong rivals - find their world turned... Full Details