“What’s the point of it all?” is a question humans have been asking themselves since the dawn of time. But as we cling to our dying planet, working round the clock while we’re slowly being replaced by machines, now more than ever, people are desperately looking to make sense of their lives – before someone invents a computer that makes sense of it for them.

This 75-minute special will see Philomena tackle some of the most complex concepts to have ever been discovered, including Quantum Physics, Existentialism, Nihilism, Hedonism – and at least four other isms – as well as exploring subjects from the big bang to biology, morals to meditation and art to artificial intelligence.

In her search for answers, she’ll also examine some of history’s foremost thinkers and ground-breaking creatives, from Dostoyevsky to Van Gogh, from Nietzsche to whoever came up with those signs in kitchens that say, ‘Live Laugh Love’.

Along the way, she’ll meet leading experts and academics and not let them leave until she’s got to the bottom of such questions as: what is life, why are we bothering to find out and when’s lunch.

Cunk on Life is a Broke and Bones production for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer. Created and written by Charlie Brooker, written with Diane Morgan, Ben Caudell, Erika Ehler, Charlie George, Eli Goldstone, Jason Hazeley, Lucia Keskin, Joel Morris, Michael Odewale. The series was ordered for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer by Jon Petrie, BBC Director of Comedy. The director is Al Campbell, the series producer is Susie Hall, the line producer is Lizzie Search, and the executive producers are Charlie Brooker, Annabel Jones, Ali Marlow and Ben Cavey. The commissioning editor for the BBC is Tanya Qureshi.

Transmission date is some time in the future.

Picture: BBC/Broke & Bones