With Chris O’Dowd and Rosamund Pike

BBC Two is to air a new series of comedy shorts written by  Nick Hornby and starring Rosamund Pike and  Chris O’Dowd.

In State Of The Union they play Louise and Tom who meet in a pub immediately before their weekly marital therapy session. 

Over ten, ten-minute episodes, viewers piece their lives, from what drew them together to what has started to pull them apart.

Hornby said: ‘I am delighted that State Of The Union will be shown on the BBC - it’s absolutely the right place for it, and it was hard for us to imagine any other home in the UK.’

BBC Two controller Patrick Holland added: ‘I am so delighted to bring this to the BBC Two audience. The writing is so fantastic, the performances from Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd are pitch perfect and the direction is the very best in the world. What a treat.’

The programme was originally made by See-Saw Films for American pay channel SundanceTV, where it is due to air next month. The BBC announced they had acquired the rights today.

State Of The Union has already attracted critical praise, with The Hollywood Reporter's Daniel Fienberg describing it as a clever and beautifully acted piece.

Published: 8 Apr 2019