Channel 4 has officially announced that Matt Berry is to star in a new sitcom for the channel.
Year of the Rabbit is a six-part series inspired by the unhinged chaos of Victorian-era London. Berry plays Detective Inspector Rabbit (Berry), a hardened booze-hound who’s seen it all, and his new, hapless, by-the-books partner (Freddie Fox – Cucumber, Banana, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword). While they’re investigating a local murder, the lewd but insightful adoptive daughter (Susan Wokoma – Chewing Gum, Crazyhead, Porters) of the chief of police joins them, becoming the country’s first female officer. Together, the trio must fight crime while rubbing shoulders with street gangs, crooked politicians, Bulgarian princes, spiritualists, music hall stars and the Elephant Man.
Year of the Rabbit will be directed by BAFTA-nominated Ben Taylor (Catastrophe) and written by Emmy and WGA Award-winners Andy Riley and Kevin Cecil (Veep), with additional material from Matt Berry.
Matt Berry says: “I’m very much looking forward to working with Channel 4 again, and IFC for the first time, as I'm equally looking forward to stepping back in time to fight crime in the same significant year which bought us Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, The Elephant Man and of course Jack The Ripper.”
Fiona McDermott, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, says: “Imagine The Sweeney in Victorian England and= you’re getting close to the heady misguided machismo that runs rife in this series. It’s an amazing vehicle for Matt’s talents and together with Susan and Freddie and the wealth of talent off-camera, we are thrilled to have it on the channel.”
“Like everyone else in comedy, we have been trying to develop a Victorian era procedural cop show for years so between that and stalking Matt Berry since he was a guest star on Portlandia, we could not be more thrilled to partner with Channel 4 on this brilliantly funny period piece,” said Lubrano, “The concept, the writing and the cast are simply perfect for IFC’s ‘slightly off’ comedy brand.”
Year of the Rabbit is set to begin shooting later this year and is expected to air in 2019.
Berry is best known for Toast of London on the same channel and his role in The IT Crowd. He also appeared in the BBC sitcom House of Fools and played guitarist Steve Jones in the Kevin Eldon Amish spoof of the Sex Pistols' infamous Bill Grundy interview.
