Hoot For 2013

THE ALAN PARTRIDGE MOVIE
The lure of Alan Partridge has proved too irresistible for the character’s principal creators – Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci – and so 2013 will see the Norwich DJ make his big-screen debut. Coogan, Iannucci and their collaborators have kept the quality control levels on all things Partridge remarkably high, and in recent years we have had an excellent autobiography (I, Partridge – We Need To Talk About Alan), online series (Mid-Morning Matters) and two television specials (Welcome To The Places Of My Life and Open Books). The plot for the titular movie apparently finds Alan’s employers, North Norfolk Digital, taken over by a media conglomerate and renamed Shape. The film will be directed by Irishman Declan Lowney (of Father Ted renown) and is due to be released in August.

GIRLS, SERIES 2
Lena Dunham’s Girls was one of the major cultural talking points of last year and 2013 finds her cast of angst-ridden NY twentysomethings returning. Though the characters’ self-absorption and the relentless hipness can grate, Dunham makes some sharp points about dazed and confused urban youth. She has promised that one of the main criticisms of the show – the lack of racial diversity – will be addressed in the second series. The season two trailer indicates Girls will once again feature Chris O’Dowd, who we’re fairly certain is the only cast member to have played football for Roscommon minors.

CHARLIE BROOKER’S WEEKLY WIPE
Charlie Brooker’s Wipe series is due to return soon, moving in the process from BBC Four to BBC 2 (an acknowledgement of the genuine star status he now enjoys). The show will broaden its remit to tackle not just TV and current affairs, but also “adverts, films, video games, books, social media trends and YouTube phenomena”. The show will feature celebrity guests each week with regular contributions from acerbic US comic Doug Stanhope. And, notes Brooker, “If we need to pad the show out, we’ll probably review egg whisks too”.

BAD SUGAR
A parody of ’80s soap operas such as Dallas, Bad Sugar had a promising pilot last year. Its pedigree is certainly second to none; it was dreamed up by it stars Olivia Colman (Peep Show), Julia Davis (Nighty Night/Hunderby) and Irish actress Sharon Horgan (Pulling), and features heavyweight talent such as Peter Serafinowicz (Look Around You) and Reece Shearsmith (The League Of Gentlemen) in supporting roles. And as if that wasn’t enough, Bad Sugar is written by Peep Show creators Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong.

INSIDE NO. 9
They co-created one of the finest ever British comedy shows in The League Of Gentlemen and in recent years delivered another gem in Psychoville. Now Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton are once again set to revisit their signature mix of horror and comedy in Inside No. 9, which will consist of standalone stories of strange goings-on at homes with the same numerical address. Houses on the itinerary will include a primary school teacher’s flat and a grand country manor, where “the ordinary and mundane rub shoulders with the extraordinary and macabre”. Shearsmith and Pemberton say they’re interested in exploring “the sense of claustrophobia and intensity that is brought about by limiting the action to one location in each story”. The supporting cast will include Gemma Arterton, The IT Crowd’s Katherine Parkinson and Tamsin Greig of Black Books and Green Wing.

DEREK
Expect another blizzard of controversy and debate when Ricky Gervais’ new series screens on Channel 4 early in the year. Last year’s pilot attracted criticism from people who felt it mocked those with mental disabilities. Gervais himself insists that the central character in the show – 49-year-old Derek Noakes, who works in an old people’s home – doesn’t actually suffer from an intellectual disability. Gervais didn’t do himself any favours with the lamentable “mong” episode on Twitter. Taken purely on its own terms, Derek did have some strong moments, usually featuring Karl Pilkington. In a busy 2013, Gervais will also be co-writing a one-hour Life’s Too Short finale, to screen later in the year, whilst his writing partner, Stephen Merchant, is working on a series for HBO about an Englishman looking for love in LA.

LOUIE
Just over four years ago, your correspondent went to a comedy festival to see Ardal O’Hanlon and Barry Murphy, and happened to catch a performance by a stand-up on the undercard, Louis CK. It was the best stand-up we’d seen in ages and, in a heartening development, in the time since the one-time writer for Conan O’Brien and David Letterman has seen his stock shoot through the roof. He has performed a number of stand-up specials for HBO and won an Emmy for his sitcom Louie, which he wrote, starred in, directed and – we kid you not – edited. His embittered, misanthropic style of comedy transfers perfectly to the screen. The show is loosely based on his life as a stand-up and has earned considerable critical acclaim over the course of its three series. It debuts here this month on Fox (formerly FX). The show boasts guest appearances from a notable array of stars, including comedy heavyweights Sarah Silverman, Jerry Seinfeld and Ricky Gervais, and – more unexpectedly – cult filmmaker David Lynch.