Written by and starring Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan, Catastrophe has received universal critical acclaim and a raft of awards since launching in 2015. All three series have a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (representing the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or TV show) while series three launched on Channel 4 in 2017 to its biggest audience to date.
In series four we re-join the couple after Rob’s (Rob Delaney) secret relapse to alcoholism ended in a dramatic car crash and forced confession to Sharon (Sharon Horgan), while Chris (Mark Bonnar) displayed an unexpected softer side towards Rob and an altogether less soft side to Fran’s (Ashely Jensen) obnoxious new boyfriend. Now, as Rob tries to head on the straight and narrow and Sharon does her best to support, “it’s like he’s on a crusade, but to somewhere boring and we all have to come”, will the couple navigate the relentless tsunami of life’s challenges, or see their relationship finally submerged by it all? With Rob potentially not the only one on the wrong side of the law, health issues, new religious dalliances, a “briefcase of vegetables” and ever-infuriating family members to contend with, what could possibly go wrong?
After premiering on Channel 4 the show is broadcast in the USA as an Amazon Prime Original and broadcasts in another 132 countries around the world.
Catastrophe has won a BAFTA TV Award (Writer: Comedy), two Royal Television Society Awards (Scripted Comedy and Writer: Comedy) two Broadcasting Press Guild Awards (Best Comedy and Best Writer), a Rose D’Or Award (Best Sitcom), a Golden Nymph Award (Best Actress in Comedy); a South Bank Sky Arts Award (Comedy); a Televisual Bulldog Award (Best Comedy), a Broadcast Award (Best Comedy), a Women in Film and TV Awards (Writing), and has been Emmy-nominated twice (Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Best Guest Actress: Carrie Fisher).
An Avalon Television production, with co-producers Birdbath Productions and Merman, the commissioning editors are Jack Bayles and Fiona McDermott for Channel 4. The series is directed by Jim O’Hanlon (Marcella,Inside No. 9) and produced by Toby Welch (Skins, Man Down), and the Executive Producers are Richard Allen-Turner, Kara Baker, Rob Delaney, Sharon Horgan and Jon Thoday.
Catastrophe returns to C4 in January, 2019.
