Philomena Cunk Returns to Netflix with 'Cunk On Cinema'
Infamous documentarian Philomena Cunk is back again with a brand-new mocku-series.
On the heels of Ian Fletcher once again failing upward, we now have news of another infamous British figure doing the same. Well, perhaps not so much failing up as listing a little to the left and then floating up sideways diagonally. Infamous documentarian Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) is back again with a brand-new mocku-series, after previous failed attempts to understand such weighty topics as Life, Britain, Shakespeare, and Christmas.
Originally introduced to the U.K. as one-half of the duo “Cunk & Shitpeas” on Charlie Brooker’s Weekly Wipe, she proved so popular that Brooker began collaborating with her on a series of mockumentary specials for BBC Two. Brooker is best known in the States for his hit series Black Mirror, so it wasn’t much of a surprise when Netflix started importing his Cunk-led projects, starting with Cunk on Earth in 2022, followed by Cunk on Life in 2024. Now the streaming service is confirmed to be on board for her next series, Cunk on Cinema.
“Cinema has given the world some of the most profound, memorable and moving visual moments in its unswerving depiction of the human condition: the shower scene in Psycho, Death playing chess in that Swedish thing, and Tom Selleck’s glistening moustache in Three Men & A Little Lady, to name but all three of the only examples I can think of at the moment,” Philomena Cunk said in the press release. “There will, unfortunately, be some bits in black and white, but we’ll keep that to the barest minimum.”
Here’s the new series synopsis:
Philomena Cunk's latest landmark mockumentary series sees the long-awaited return of the pioneering documentary-maker on her most glamorous series to date. Along the way, Philomena will be asking experts all of the hard-hitting questions about the history of cinema, from the invention of the camera to the New Wave filmmakers of the 60s, right up to the entrance of CGI and what the future of AI holds. Cunk will attempt to demystify it all while sitting in lumpy seats with stale popcorn, asking herself where did cinema come from? And why? What does it want? And why can’t it tell us?
Brooker claimed to be very excited to be working with Cunk on this one-inch deep dive into the glories of moving pictures. “Now that Sora has killed off Hollywood and itself (presumably as part of a murder-suicide pact),” he said in a statement, “it’s the perfect time to look back at two hundred centuries of cinema, in the company of an idiot we’re apparently cursed to employ: Philomena Cunk.”
Diane Morgan returns as Cunk with a bevy of guest stars (most of whom are) in on the joke. Brooker returns as lead writer, with Cunk on Life director Al Campbell returning to helm the newest venture. Brooker, Morgan, and Sam Ward are executive producers, alongside Jessica Rhoades & Mark Kinsella for Pacesetter Productions.
Cunk On Cinema is currently filming in the U.K. It is expected out before the end of 2026, debuting on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two in the U.K. and Ireland, and on Netflix everywhere else.
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