2025: THE YEAR AHEAD IN COMEDY, NEW AND RETURNING TITLES

A look ahead to some of the new and returning comedy series expected to air in 2025.

BBC

Dawn French and Mark Heap star in new sitcom. Dawn plays widow Debbie Fenton - granny, lawn bowler, tinpot dictator - who will stop at nothing to make sure her family’s protected. Unfortunately, most of the time the person they really need protecting from is her. When her hermit-like husband William (Mark Heap) unexpectedly dies, she makes an outlandish decision that will put the family under more pressure than ever before.

BBC

Thrown together by the murder of John’s neighbour, John and Janie are an odd, yet hilarious duo with opposing instincts. Every week, they get to the bottom of gripping murders, with various stunning Welsh locations providing a backdrop to their investigations.

BBC

RTS and BAFTA-winning Am I Being Unreasonable? is set to return for a second series on BBC One and iPlayer with a stellar line-up of guest stars including American stand-up and actor Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Tom Davis (Wonka, King Gary), Denise Black (Queer as Folk), Jamali Maddix (Never Mind the Buzzcocks), British rapper and poet Kojey Radical and last but by no means least, Charlie Cooper, in the first onscreen reunion with Daisy May Cooper since their BAFTA-winning This Country.

BBC

Every Thursday. 9pm. Tom and Evie watch a film together in her garage. Evie lovingly decorates the space to match the film of the week - from a yellow brick road for The Wizard of Oz to a space craft for Alien. It's magical. They’re there for the love of the movies. Or at least, that’s what they tell themselves. In reality, Tom is madly in love with Evie. What he doesn’t know is that Evie is in love with him too.

BBC

Following a hit first outing, the BBC has commissioned two more six-part series of critically acclaimed comedy We Might Regret This. Created by Lee Getty and Kyla Harris, who also stars, the series is produced by Roughcut TV (Big Boys, People Just Do Nothing, Stath Lets Flats) in association with Village Roadshow Television for BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

BBC

The third series will continue to follow the chaotic Jessops’ family as they navigate new jobs, love, loss and family gatherings. Mum Rachel (Katherine Parkinson) is starting her new life as a therapist. Paul (Jim Howick), now a police constable, continues his quest to gain the respect of his peers - and his kids. Uncle Robin (Tom Basden) and wife Cherry (Tori Allen-Martin) are busy with a new arrival, baby Atlas, while Amy (Freya Parks) is still figuring out life as a 20-something.

BBC

It’s 1992, the Queen is in the midst of her annus horribilis, John Major is the new PM, and Whitney’s I Will Always Love You is stuck at number one. Up in Stockport, Kath (Sian Gibson), Martin (Conleth Hill) and Diane (Rosie Cavaliero) are just trying their best to get along.

BBC

Series one of Dinosaur followed Nina (Ashley Storrie), an autistic woman in her 30s who adored her life living with her sister and best friend Evie. However, when Evie rushed into an engagement after only six weeks and made Nina her maid of honour, Nina was floored.

BBC

Set in Stockport the first series saw Gemma (Aimee Lou Wood) discover she’s pregnant after a random hook-up. With her sister Catherine (Sharon Rooney) in prison and her mum Davina (Susan Lynch) travelling around the world to find herself, Gemma had no choice but to turn to her hapless father Malcolm (David Morrissey) for support.

ITV

Since the series 1 launch, Alan Carr’s semi autobiographical comedy has been streamed over 13 million times on ITVX and been nominated for various awards throughout 2024. The new 6 x 30 third and fourth series (12 episodes in total) will again be made by multi award winning Baby Cow Productions.

ITV

The government’s stated policy of recruiting 20,000 new police officers in double quick time has not come at the cost of lowering standards. Or has it?  Set in a fictional police training college, “Piglets” is about a newly recruited group of six very different would-be cops and the handful of key staff whose thankless task it is to knock them into some kind of shape.  

ITV

Jordan Gray stars as Liv, a transgender egomaniac, causing havoc in the strange world of the supermarket nightshift. Having been hired to work there by Pellocks boss Simon (Frost) after he inadvertently offended the LGBTQ+ community with an ill-conceived marketing campaign, Liv soon realises she’s unsackable and sets about turning the store into her own personal playground, unleashing chaos on everyone and everything around her.

CHANNEL 4

Big Boys is a funny and heart-breaking comedy-drama created, written and narrated by Jack Rooke centring on an unlikely friendship between sweet, shy, newly-out Jack played Dylan Llewellyn and boisterous, laddish and ever-so-slightly mature student Danny played by Jon Pointing.

CHANNEL 4

At the start of series two, Linda (Bridget Christie) has got some explaining to do. Faced with the repercussions of the lies she’s told the forest community, along with losing the Mother Tree, and the arrival of husband Steve who has come to bring her home, Linda's future in the forest looks uncertain.

More details on all the titles will be revealed in due course.