ITV commits to comedy
Commissioners told to find new hits
ITV is to beef up its comedy slate under new director of television Peter Fincham.The former BBC One controller has briefed his commissioning team, trade magazine Broadcast reports, with an emphasis on the genre which made his reputation.
Late Friday nights on ITV1 have been specifically earmarked to bring new comedy and entertainment to the flagship channel, away from the spotlight of Saturday night. Paul Merton's improvised show Thank God You're Here, ran into troubles in that high-profile slot, and ITV has now confirmed that it will not return.
Meanwhile, comedy commissioner Michaela Hennessy-Vass is looking for new broad-appeal sitcoms such as Benidorm or Mumbai Calling.
ITV2 is to continue its brief to develop new comedy talent between 10pm and11pm, but it also expanding into more celebrity-led programming earlier in the evening with the hope off attracting mainstream press attention.
Fincham is a former comedy producer with credits including Alan Patridge, Ali G ad Green Wing, whose BBC commissions included Armstrong & Miller and Omid Djalili, before he quit over the Queengate furore.
Published: 24 Jul 2008
