13 BBC Comedies That Need to Cross the Pond

In the past few years, there’s been a running claim in the U.K. that the classic British sitcom is an endangered species. There are lots of factors that have given rise to this impression, starting with the reality that many comedians – especially white men – have struggled to adjust to the new social mores of the 2020s. However, the British comedy also has the added problem of the BBC’s long-running, austerity-driven funding issues. The British Broadcaster spent the last decade mitigating the problem by partnering with deep-pocketed American streaming services seeking exclusive, high-end programming. Those rarely included homegrown BBC comedies and sitcoms.

There have been a few that still are in the co-commissioned business. Before it became a Disney+ subsidiary, Hulu partnered with BBC Three on hits like Normal People and Extraordinary, a relationship that more recently brought us Such Brave Girls and The Stolen Girl. Paramount+ has also partnered on comedies via CBS and the Ghosts remake, and via Showtime, which has landed truly stellar stuff like Dreaming Whilst Black. However, that’s only two mainstream outlets out of the dozen or so majors floating around that invest in dramas like Adolescence and Industry.

But the lack of American money and attention does not mean the British Comedy is about to go the way of the Dodo. In fact, when listing BBC dramas and comedies in need of American distribution, we were pleased to find they existed in equal numbers.

Here’s a full rundown of everything comedy-focused currently in the works that we hope to see cross the pond sooner rather than later.

Ann Droid

Diane Morgan is best known in the U.S. for her faux-historian character Philomena Cunk, on Netflix, which was recently renewed. However, her newest project, commissioned in the spring of 2025, is Ann Droid, a six-part series in which she plays the titular Ann, a social humanoid robot designed to keep elderly people company and monitor their health.

Here’s the series’ synopsis:

It’s 2029. Sue’s husband, David, passed away 18 months ago, and her only son, Michael, is moving out – again - to try and fix his marriage - again. But the good news is he’s got Sue a surprise to help her live independently, a care provider with a difference. The latest D500 social humanoid eldercare robot. Created to keep the ageing population company and monitor their health, taking the pressure off the ever-stretched NHS. It’s Sue’s worst nightmare: an overly attentive, socially inept pain in the arse. But she soon works out she can use the droid to her benefit in settling scores and doing the things her son never gets round to. What develops is a buddy comedy between an older woman and her robot, who isn’t quite as advanced socially as she is technically.

The series co-stars Sue Johnston (TrueLove) as Sue and Paul Ready (Motherland) as her son Michael. Morgan co-wrote the series with Sarah Kendall (The Other One), with director Joe Roberts (Power of Parker) helming all three installments. The series is expected to debut on the BBC before the end of 2026, and given Morgan’s established relationship with Netflix, I wouldn’t be surprised if it lands there.

Funboys Seasons 1+2

Funboys was initially commissioned as a short film in 2023; it became a hit, leading to a full Season 1 in February 2025. Set in Northern Ireland, it’s part of a roster of series under the BBC’s new mandate to film shows across the U.K., featuring local writers and actors. Now renewed for Season 2, the series is adding some high-profile cast to help it gain recognition on this side of the pond.

Here’s the Season 2 synopsis:

The soft-bellied boys of Ballymacnoose are back. After last year, tackling the weight of grief, suppository drugs, and being a bastard, the gang has come out the other side all grown up. Callum’s trying out a lovely perm, Gemma and Lorcan are smooching seven times a day, and it’s been four months since Jordan’s last full-throated screaming strop with his Daddies. Things are bright in Ballymacnoose. But dark clouds loom! The gang belatedly gets involved in Irish history, and it’s all downhill from there. Bigotry, balding, and competitive robot combat, if they aren’t careful, the funboys are about to become the doneboys. Aghh!

The main cast features no-longer-newcomers Ryan Dylan as Callum, Rian Lennon as Jordan, Lee R. James as Lorcan, and Ele McKenzie as Gemma. The series ensemble also includes Paul Bazely (Such Brave Girls), Brian Devlin (Kneecap), Richard Croxford (Mrs. Wilson), and Owen Colgan (The Spin). Season 2 adds Steve Coogan (Legends), Nicky Harley (Blue Lights), Saorlaoith Brady (Hope Street), Lalor Roddy (Obituary), Donal O’Hanlon (How to Get to Heaven from Belfast), and Amanda Doherty (The Puzzle Lady). Funboys Season 2 is expected to premiere on the BBC before the end of 2026; hopefully, it will be the catalyst for it crossing the pond.

Hopley Hall

In more recent commissions, Hopley Hall was included in the announcements at the 2026 Liverpool Comedy Festival. The sitcom, which will also be set and filmed in Northern Ireland, was written for Derry Girls star Jamie-Lee O’Donnell by Daniel Peak, who most Americans will know as a member of the writing team for Horrible Histories.

Here’s the tentative synopsis:

Hopley Hall follows the ensemble of staff and volunteers who keep the house running: a motley group of enthusiasts, innocents, idiots, and sociopaths. Forgenerations, the home of the Hopley family, its current sole resident is the ancient, bewildered, and very English Lady Hopley, and the estate’s survival depends on tourism. Not quite as popular as the castle down the road (where they filmed some of the House of the Dragon series, the jammy beggars). Hopley Hall still has plenty to offer, or so they think.

Hopley Hall is currently a working title and is not expected to be the series’ final moniker. Peak penned the series with Northern Ireland writers Oisin Kearney, Michael McCullagh, Shannon Welby, Susannah McKenna-Strathern, Eileen Tracey, Caitlin Magnall-Kearns, and the late Michael Patrick. Tom Marshall (Ted Lasso) is expected to direct all episodes. The series probably won’t debut until at least 2027.

Small Prophets Season 1+2

Small Prophets was originally commissioned in May 2025; we noted at the time that it would be a hard sell in the American market. Written by comedian Mackenzie Crook (Game of Thrones), the series’ cast is solid, including Pearce Quigley (The Gentlemen), Michael Palin (Monty Python), and Sophie Willan (Time). However, there’s a twist: it’s partly animated.

Here’s the synopsis:

Small Prophets is a brand-new comic tale following Michael Sleep, a man set adrift since the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend Clea seven years ago. When his father, Brian, recalls an ancient alchemical recipe, Michael decides to take a chance to uncover the truth by creating Homunculi – magical, prophetic spirits that can predict the future. With help from his friend, Kacey, he grows the creatures in his shed, hoping that they’ll answer his burning question: will he ever see Clea again? But as the Homunculi come to life, they trigger a strange series of events.

The series sounds interesting, but outside of a very specific type of comedy, animation doesn’t attract mainstream American attention, and this was too esoteric for most. We’d given it up as a lost cause until it debuted in February 2026, to absolutely stark, raving reviews, and became the BBC's surprise hit of the year. The series has just one more season planned, and the hope is that either BritBox or Hulu scoops up Season 1 just before the second and final one premieres and drops it as an artsy oddity.

Wild Cherry

It took a long minute for Nicôle Lecky’s follow-up to 2022’s Mood to arrive. Called Wild Cherry, the drama was originally teased in mid-2023, with the first images released in February 2025. Though Mood drowned on BBC America and AMC+, it was a big enough hit in the U.K. that we still hold hope for Wild Cherry to cross the pond at some point, even if it debuted in November of 2025, and no one’s mentioned it since. Maybe Hulu will if a second season gets commissioned.

Here’s the series’ synopsis.

Meet Lorna, a self-made, successful, mixed black businesswoman from North West London who has worked hard to be where she is – and best friend Juliet, a woman born into the privileged gated community they both call home. Daughters Grace and Allegra are BFFs and live a life that other teenagers can only dream of. A safe haven for the superrich and their little darlings, Richford Lake is a place where bad things never happen…Until, that is, Grace and Allegra are implicated in a shocking scandal at their exclusive private school, and Juliet and Lorna are forced to take sides, pushing their friendship to breaking point. As toxic secrets and lies ripple through the idyllic town, the facade starts to fracture, threatening to reveal the deep-seated elitism and ugliness lurking beneath.

The series high-profile cast includes Eve Best (MaryLand) and Carmen Ejogo (Fantastic Beasts) in the lead roles, with a supporting cast that includes Sophie Winkleman (Sanditon), Daniel Lapaine (The Marlow Murder Club), Isabelle Allen (Les Miserables), James Murray (Geek Girl), Jason York (Dreaming Whilst Black), Nathaniel Martello-White (The Winter King), Sonita Henry (The Chelsea Detective), Will Bagnall (A Thousand Blows), and Hugh Quarshie (The Return).

Daddy Issues Seasons 1+2

In the wake of Aimee Lou Wood’s breakout role in The White Lotus, we here thought her forthcoming BBC series Film Club was ripe to be picked up in the U.S. Unfortunately, the reviews and ratings were poor, and Season 2 was recently nixed. However, her other series, Daddy Issues, was not only a hit but is already prepping the second season’s debut, making it a much stronger candidate to reach our shores.

Here’s the Season 1 synopsis:

When hedonistic 24-year-old Gemma discovers she’s pregnant after a random hook-up, she has no choice but to turn to her hapless father Malcolm for support. Recently divorced from Gemma’s mother (who made off with their joint savings to Eat-Pray-Love her way around the world), Malcolm is unable to load a washing machine, boil an egg, or microwave rice without it exploding. Up until now, he’s been living in squalor with fellow divorcee Derek, but when Gemma’s own flatmate decides to move out, the combination of financial desperation and a desire not to be totally alone makes her resort to the unthinkable: she asks her dad to move in with her. Because what’s the worst that could happen…?

Wood stars as Gemma with David Morrissey (Sherwood) as her father, Malcolm. Season 1 also featured Susan Lynch (Unforgotten), Sharon Rooney (Barbie), Sarah Hadland (The Man Who Fell To Earth), Taj Atwal (Riot Women), Arian Nik (Starstruck), and David Fynn (Belgravia), all of whom are expected to return for the new season. Season 2 is expected to debut before the end of 2026, and hopefully, BritBox or Hulu will scoop it up before then.

Push

We all love Call the Midwife, but not every show about having babies needs to be a weekly weepy. That’s why the BBC commissioned Push in October 2025, a brand new modern comedy about the midwives who work in a small rural hospital in West Yorkshire. The series hails from comedian Jessica Knappett (Wuthering Heights), whose script was the first commission from the new BBC Comedy Sitcom Project.

Push is a workplace ensemble comedy about an eccentric but dedicated team of midwives, desperately trying to keep their act together while things around them are quite literally falling apart. The ward may be scruffy and perpetually underfunded, but this lot are (mostly) grafters and fiercely protective of the place they call home. For them, delivering babies is the best job in the world – made all the better by the company they keep. They might be the angelic heroes of the NHS, but they’re also glorious oddballs and lovable misfits, partial to an outrageous flirt in the corridor, a scandalous gossip in the staff room, or a disco nap in the sluice room. Push is a laugh-out-loud celebration of the chaotic, high-stakes reality of pulling off a miracle several times a day. It’s blood, sweat, and (third degree) tears.

Filming for the series has not yet gotten off the ground, so there’s not even a cast announced yet. With Call the Midwife out here giving birth to prequels, movies, and heading into Season 16, it seems very likely Push will find a way across the pond. Depending on the humor, it might even wind up on PBS in some form of second run. However, the series probably should not be expected until at least mid-2027.

Amandaland Season 1-3

Considering Sharon Horgan’s series Motherland is already available in the U.S. on BritBox, we thought for sure the spinoff, Amandaland, would also find a home here, especially since it added British icon Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous) to the roster. But even though Horgan’s Bad Sisters is a hit on Apple TV, it seems to have stalled. Season 3 was greenlit only days after the 2026 premiere of Season 2, and yet it shows zero signs of crossing the pond anytime soon.

Here’s the show’s synopsis:

Post her divorce, Amanda has had to downsize and upsticks to South Harlesden, or, as the Estate Agent calls it, SoHa (definitely not the area around Wormwood Scrubs prison). With both Manus and Georgie now at secondary school, Amanda has to try and get her head around raising teenagers and dealing with modern motherhood horrors like teenage drinking, fake Instagram accounts, and eco-anxiety. Not even a woman as sure of her parenting as Amanda can deal with these nightmares alone. Amanda’s mother, Felicity, is constantly around and completely in denial that she is, in fact, lonely. Theirs is a slightly unhealthy co-dependent relationship based on backhanded compliments and veiled snipes about her new home. After a brief spell of freedom, Anne is sucked back into being Amanda’s minion to help her navigate the social scene with the other parents at the children’s new school. Thank God for Anne.

Lumley joins Motherland cast members Lucy Punch and Phillipa Dunne, along with a new ensemble that includes Samuel Anderson (Doctor Who) as Mal, Siobhan McSweeney (Derry Girls) as Della, Rochenda Sandall (Hijack) as Fi, Ekow Quartey (Trying) as JJ, and Peter Serafinowicz (The Gentlemen) as Johannes. Eventually, BritBox will pick this up; I don’t know why it hasn’t yet.

Bill’s Included

Commissioned in May 2025, Bill’s Included is a very cute sitcom premise that has worked for generations: the “odd roommates as found family” trope. In this case, the odd roommate is the owner of the house, Bill Beam, played by Rob Brydon from Gavin & Stacey. When a divorce leaves him struggling financially, he starts letting the rooms in his house to local university students. The only problem is that the “Bills Included” part of the ad doesn’t just mean electricity and water. All Bills come with the house, including the one his wife left behind.

Here’s the synopsis:

Middle-aged divorcee Bill Beam staves off financial ruin by renting his spare rooms to students. Warm-hearted and eager but neurotic and slightly overbearing, Bill is thrilled by the youthful energy his lodgers bring – but baffled by their indifference to his laminated house rules and color-coded cutlery. He’s torn between wanting to be part of the gang - sharing banter, keeping up with trends - and clinging to his role as responsible adult. The students, meanwhile, aren’t exactly living the dream: a 90-minute commute to campus, a strict bin rota, and a man in his 50s who insists on a group vote before ordering a takeaway. Still, the rent’s insanely cheap (please don’t tell Bill), and somehow, through all the awkwardness, this chaotic household starts to gel. As Bill and his mismatched lodgers navigate heartbreak, reinvention, and emotional upheaval, surprising parallels emerge between university life and midlife crisis.

Brydon is joined by adult cast Samantha Spiro (Sex Education), Nigel Lindsay (The Capture), and Kevin Eldon (Trigger Point) as co-stars, with Dylan Brady (Mary & George), Harry Baxendale (The Radleys), Yasmin Al-Khudhairi (A Good Girls Guide to Murder), and Ada Player (The Power of Parker) as his student roommates Christian, Hettie, James, and Zahra. Filming is currently underway; the series will probably arrive on the BBC in 2027.

Things You Should Have Done Season 1-3

The BBC first announced it was commissioning an untitled sitcom from Lucia Keskin in mid-2023, inspired by the recent passing of her grandfather, which eventually evolved into the 2024 hit Things You Should Have Done. Keskin wrote and stars in the series as Lucia “Chi” Morelli, a “stay at home daughter,” suddenly left to fend for herself when her parents are killed in a tragic accident. Season 2 was quickly commissioned and premiered in January 2026. A Season 3 renewal has now been ordered, making this a series ripe for pickup.

Here’s the series synopsis:

The series follows self-confessed stay-at-home daughter Chi, as she navigates her way through a list of “Things You Should Have Done” left by her late parents. Chi is forced to fend for herself and learn to juggle the demands of modern life whilst preparing for the arrival of her highly strung Auntie Karen’s baby. Dave and Lucas will also return as loveable father and son caught up in the chaos.

Keskin co-stars with Dan Fearne (Slow Horses) and Jamie Bisping (Rivals) as her step-uncle and cousin, Dave and Lucas. Season 1 featured Selin Hizli (Am I Being Unreasonable) as Aunt Karen; Season 2 added Bridget Christie (Ghosts) as grief therapist Ruth. Season 3 is expected to be filmed in the latter half of 2026 and to arrive in late 2027; hopefully, by then, someone will have scooped it up.

The Reluctant Vampire

I refuse to believe this series won’t find its way to Hulu. Based on the books by British comedy legend Eric Morecambe, The Reluctant Vampire stars Lenny Rush (Doctor Who) and is directed by Emily McDonald (Am I Being Unreasonable). The oddball nature of this show makes it a good fit alongside shows like Extraordinary and Obituary.

Here’s the synopsis:

Val, the reluctant vampire himself, is trying to live up to his father Victor’s high expectations and hiding a secret as big as his cape: he is not part of the great undead, he is, in fact, very much alive. The series will see Val explore his newly discovered human side, whilst dealing with a casket-load of expectations from his tradition-obsessed vampire dad, constant attempts to foil him from his suspicious brother, Vernon, and not always helpful advice from doting mum Valeeta, who is the only one in the family who knows his true identity.

Rush stars as Val with Tom Davis (A Thousand Blows), Sian Clifford (Fleabag), Asim Chaudhry (The Sandman), Joe Wilkinson (AfterLife), Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts), Esther Smith (Trying), Ellie May Sheridan (Dodger), Gabriel Nagy (Extra Geography), and Charlie Cooper (This Country). The series was adapted from the novels by Rob and Neil Gibbons (Alan Partridge). It is expected to debut on the BBC before the end of 2026.

Smoggie Queens Seasons 1+2

I had been hoping to see Smoggie Queens come to Hulu when it was first announced in late 2023, but by the time it premiered at the end of November 2024, the world had changed drastically. Being a hit on BBC Three and renewed for a second season, which premiered in May 2026, hasn’t made a difference yet, but the need for more positive LGBTQ+ programming in general keeps me hopeful that one day soon, that will be corrected.

Here’s the synopsis:

Smoggie Queens is an out-and-out comedy centered around a gang of friends who are fiercely proud of their North Eastern town of Middlesbrough and their small pocket of the LGBTQ+ community. It tells the story of volatile Dickiealong with drag queen Mam, self-styled hun Lucinda, awkward Sal, and newcomer Stewart as they navigate love, life, and their pride for a town that feels neglected in its own little corner of the UK. It’s an underdog story on two fronts, so expect a few passionate scraps that may send your wig flying!

Written by Middlesbrough native Phil Dunning (Boat Story), who stars as Dickie, the series features Mark Benton (Patience) as Mam, Alexandra Mardell (Daddy Issues) as Lucinda, Patsy Lowe (Vera) as Sal, and no-longer-a-newcomer Elijah Young as Stewart. Season 1 featured Charlotte Riley (King Charles III); Season 2 adds Monica Dolan (Sherwood).

Opening Up

Last but very certainly not least, the BBC has just commissioned a brand-new series, Opening Up, created and written by Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Amy Gledhill and Nic Sampson. It’s another in a long line of series from the Edinburgh festival, which produced Fleabag and Starstruck, among others.

Set and filmed in and around Manchester, Opening Up is a warm relationship comedy about Penny and Rhys, a long-term couple who try to fix their faltering sex life by sleeping with other people. They soon learn that entering an open relationship without a clue how they work is not a recipe for success...

Gledhill will star as Penny and co-write the series with Sampson; the rest of the cast is expected to be announced in due course. Perhaps it’ll even have an American distributor by then.

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