Nicola Coughlan to co-star in new Channel 4 sitcom Big Mood

Derry Girls and Bridgerton actor Nicola Coughlan is teaming up with Lydia West to lead new Channel 4 comedy, Big Mood.

The six-part series is written and created by Camilla Whitehill and will depict female friendship in all its "vivacious and rebellious" forms, as it is "infiltrated by the complexities of a serious mental illness".

The series will "explore the messy pitfalls and idiosyncrasies of navigating adulthood through wicked humour, daft anecdotes, and unsettling truths", a blurb reads.

Galway native Nicola Coughlan and Inside Man's West will star as best friends Maggie and Eddie who have lived in each other’s pockets for 10 years, through thick, thin, and multiple challenging eyebrow trends.

But with changing lives, careers hanging in the balance and Maggie's bipolar disorder making an unwelcome return, Eddie begins to wonder whether the friendship is really in their best interests.

"It’s a pivotal point in both their lives, bringing to the surface those all-important questions – could sleeping with your former History teacher be the key to happiness? Is a basement Rat Hotel a functional alternative to pest control? How do you stop your new psychiatrist giving you worry dolls?" a synopsis states.

"With their twenties behind them, Maggie and Eddie’s relationship faces the future – can it survive?"

BIG news… Nicola Coughlan and Lydia West to star in brand new Channel 4 comedy series, Big Mood! (w/t) https://t.co/UrDT5zynKu pic.twitter.com/7b2QeQWJkm

— Channel 4 Press (@C4Press) February 21, 2023

Speaking about the new drama, Nicola Coughlan said: “When I first met Camilla Whitehill long, long ago, during the time of indie sleaze, I quickly realised she was one of the funniest and most talented people I’d ever met.

"It was always our dream for us to work on something together, and now Channel 4 are making that dream come true. I can’t wait to make this show with this amazing group of people.”

Lydia West added of her new role: "I'm so happy to be working with Camilla and Nicola on this project. The writing is genius, and the subject explores the mental health struggles that all of our generation face – coupled with how to navigate complicated, loving and nuanced friendship.

"Channel 4 is the perfect home for this heart-warming, hilarious, savvy comedy and I feel truly honoured to tell this story which touched my heart."

Writer and creator Camilla Whitehill said: "Getting my own Channel 4 comedy still feels like some kind of long-form prank, Punk’d style.

"But on the off chance it isn’t, I am beside myself to be making this show with such an incredible team of people, a cast that I’d be jealous of if it wasn’t my cast, and for a channel that’s produced some of my favourite shows of all time."

Big Mood is set to be one season full of laughs, nostalgia and important friendship-centred storylines. We haven't heard a release date being shared as of yet. Filming reportedly begins in March.

The new comedy comes from Fremantle’s Dancing Ledge Productions, which has also been at the helm of BBC One's The Responder and Disney Plus's Wedding Season.

Revisit Nicola Coughlan's Mad Hatter Q&A interview here.