Hulu signs up Britcoms

Plebs and Detectorists are being exported to the States, thanks to a new deal with on-demand service Hulu.

Series one and two of the Ancient Roman comedy will soon be available for streaming following the contract, brokered by international distributor, DRG.

The move means greater US exposure for stars Tom Rosenthal, Joel Fry and Ryan Sampson, who play three young men desperate to climb the social ladder in Ancient Rome. Plebs was ITV2's highest rating comedy, and a third series is now in production.

Scott Kirkpatrick, in charge of North American sales for DRG, said: 'Hulu is an ideal platform for Plebs; they're a game-changer in terms of understanding where the market is going how smart and engaged audiences discover new programmes.

'I cannot wait to see this brilliant coming-of-age series introduced to a US audience and look forward to seeing more DRG scripted content on the platform in the future.'

The company says that Mackenzie Crook's gentle Bafta-winning BBC Four comedy Detectorists has also been sold to become part of Hulu's extensive catalogue of programming.

ITV comedy The Delivery Man, starring Darren Boyd as a policeman-turned-midwife, is also included in the deal. The sitcom was cancelled by ITV after one series amid disappointing ratings, and was previously available on Netflix. The company had been in talks about making a second series, which would be its first move into UK commissioning.

The series also stars Aisling Bea, Paddy McGuinness, Fay Ripley and Alex Macqueen.

Published: 14 Dec 2015