A new sitcom pilot starring Tom Davis has been commissioned as part of BBC One’s Comedy Playhouse series from Shiny Button Productions, part of Endemol Shine Group.

‘king Gary is a larger than life working-class sitcom with a big heart for BBC One, from the creative team behind the Bafta award-winning Murder in Successville. The series is written by Tom Davis and James De Frond, and will star Davis as the lead and be directed by De Frond. Joining the cast is Simon Day (The Fast Show), Camille Coduri (Him & Her), Laura Checkley (Bridget Jones’s Baby) and Romesh Ranganathan (The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan).

The story follows childhood sweethearts Gary and Terri King, a husband and wife comedy double act, and their aspirations to achieve social acceptance and moderate material success in competitive suburbia. This, accompanied by drama queen Gary’s constant need to impress his prehistoric old school Dad, Big Gary, and attempt to fill his big boots, equals a massive ‘try hard’ douchebag.

‘king Gary is a study of how the small things in life can be blown up to absurd proportions as the pressures of the modern world, and how we think we must exist within it, spiral out of control. A big comedy about life’s small and often petty dramas.

‘king Gary is a Shiny Button Productions show for BBC One, written by Tom Davis and James De Frond, and produced by Rupert Majendie. Executive producers are Andy Brereton, Tom Davis and James De Frond. ‘king Gary is commissioned by Shane Allen, Controller Comedy, BBC.