Prime Video is teasing the new show LOL: LAST ONE LAUGHING IRELAND. LOL is hosted by Graham Norton and features Irish comedians Aisling Bea, Amy Huberman and Catherine Bohart. Premiering Jan 19th, the competition will see the stars try to make each other laugh by using every unpredictable comedic tool in the box…without cracking a smile themselves. The winner will receive €50,000 for their charity of choice.
Ballymena born James Nesbitt plays one of two Santa characters alongside HARRY POTTER actor Timothy Spall in the upcoming Sky festive flick, THE HEIST BEFORE CHRISTMAS. The film is set in Northern Ireland and features Nesbitt and Spall playing two Santa Clauses with different agendas and will air on Sky Max in December.
Channel 4’s international smash-hit comedy show DERRY GIRLS, has won the best International Emmy for Best Comedy. The hit comedy show was written and created by Derry woman Lisa McGee and starred Saoirse-Monica Jackson, Nicola Coughlan, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, Louisa Harland and Dylan Llewellyn. It was awarded the honour alongside Indian comedian Vir Das’ fourth stand-up special for Netflix, VIR DAS: LANDING.
Irish actress Aisling Bea has joined the cast of comedian Romesh Ranganathan’s BBC One comedy AVOIDANCE, as filming starts on the second series. The comedian is one of several familiar comedy names joining the sitcom, also including Colin Hoult, Michael Spicer, Louise Ford (who plays Kate in THE WINDSORS) and Brona C Titley from Stephen Merchant’s THE OUTLAWS. No broadcast date has yet been announced for the six new half-hour episodes.
APOCALYPSE CLOWN is now available to watch on Netflix in Ireland and the UK. As premises for movies go, the film has a unique one: “When a mysterious technological blackout plunges Ireland into anarchy and chaos, a group of failed washed up clowns are forced to traverse the country for one last shot at their dreams” and boasts a great cast including including David Earl (AFTER LIFE), Tara Flynn (DATING AMBER) and Erin McGathy (COMMUNITY).
DERRY GIRLS actress Louisa Harland is set to star in Northern Irish playwright David Ireland’s production of ULSTER AMERICAN on the London stage. The satirical dark comedy will see Dublin-born performer Harland play Northern Irish playwright Ruth Davenport, opposite THE LORD OF THE RINGS actor Andy Serkis as English director Leigh Carver, and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI star Woody Harrelson playing Oscar-winning actor Jay Conway.
BRIDESMAIDS star Chris O’Dowd has written SMALL TOWN, BIG STORY a six part comedy drama about a village in Ireland hosting the filming of a Hollywood movie. Christina Hendricks (MAD MEN) and Paddy Considine (THE WORLD’S END) will star in the series, which is described by commissioning network Sky as “a witty, very dramatic comedy”. MOONE BOY creator and THE IT CROWD star Chris O’Dowd is also working as a director on the series, with filming now underway in Ireland.
Irish actress Niamh Algar is set to star in darkly funny crime series CULPRITS. Niamh, from Mullingar, Co Westmeath, plays Psycho in the Disney+ series. The eight-part show will premiere on Disney+ this autumn. CULPRITS kicks off where most crime stories end – after a high-stakes heist. The crew of elite criminals have gone their separate ways and have tried to leave their old lives behind but their past and present collide when a ruthless assassin starts targeting them one by one.