Sky One Order Brand New British Comedy

Sky 1 HD has announced a full series order of brand new comedy, Chickens.
Produced by Big Talk Productions (Rev., Him&Her, Friday Night Dinner) and written by and starring Simon Bird, Jonny Sweet and Joe Thomas the new comedy will go into production in December for broadcast in Summer 2013.
Chickens was commissioned by Sky’s Head of Comedy, Lucy Lumsden, and will be executive produced by Big Talk CEO Kenton Allen.


Lucy Lumsden said: "We have fallen in love with those naughty Chickens and think our customers will do too. We are delighted to give such a talented bunch at home on Sky 1 HD."
Kenton Allen added: "Winning our first commission for Sky1 HD is a very significant moment for Big Talk. I know that Simon, Jonny and Joe will play a huge role in the future story of British Comedy and it's particularly thrilling that Sky1 HD are helping them make the big leap forward with their own authored series - we are all very excited!"

Bird, Sweet and Thomas have been writing together since meeting at university and taking their show to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007 and 2008.
 

Simon Bird, Jonny Sweet and Joe Thomas said: "We’re delighted to be joining the Sky family to be making a series of our First World War sitcom, Chickens. It was the war to end all wars, and we hope this will be the comedy to end all comedies."
Chickens is a sitcom about three young men in a world of women. As the Great War rages, our nation’s heroes are fighting the good fight on foreign soil. But in one sleepy English village three fellows remain: George (Thomas) is a conscientious objector; Cecil (Bird) is a reject from the army on health grounds; and then there’s Bert (Sweet), an amoral philandering scaredicat.
 
They couldn’t be more different but in the eyes of their neighbours they’re all the same: chickens. So in a world of (quite sexy) women, children and the infirm these twenty-something chaps have only each other for company and nothing else in common.
The women of the village are bound to treat them with contempt – any man worth his salt should be off doing his duty. But with every other man abroad can George, Cecil and Bert claw themselves back into the good books of the ladies on the home front? 
 
The show is also about three young men on the wrong side of history. Every day they live in fear of being labeled as cowards, an argument they’ve already lost in the mere act of still being in England.
 

Sky 1 HD’s Chickens is part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years. By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels. 
 
This commitment follows the success of home-grown content such as entertainment hits Got To Dance, An Idiot Abroad and A League Of Their Own, dramas such as Strike Back and Mad Dogs, comedies such as Trollied and This Is Jinsy, and factual shows such as Ross Kemp Extreme World and the BAFTA-winning documentary Flying Monsters 3D.
Other forthcoming highlights include Spy starring Darren Boyd and Robert Lindsay; Craig Cash’s The Cafe; Ruth Jones’ Stella; Charlie Brooker’s A Touch of Cloth starring Suranne Jones and John Hannah;; and Starlings starring Lesley Sharpe and Brendan Coyle.


Chickens will be filmed in December and will air on Sky 1 HD in Summer 2013.
(LB)