The Inbetweeners actor James Buckley is to head-up a new sitcom about an office worker who finds himself transported to a parallel world.
Made by Baby Cow Productions for UKTV’s Dave, Zapped! will also star Paul Kaye, Sharon Rooney, Ken Collard, Louis Emerick and feature a special guest appearance from Steve Coogan.
Buckley will play Brian Weaver, an online data marketing assistant who finds himself abruptly transported to a parallel world. Fortunately, there’s a pub. There he meets the owner, Herman (Emerick) plus a handful of regulars: Barbara (Rooney), Steg (Collard) and Howell (Kaye). Brian is desperate to get home, and his new acquaintances are no help at all.
Instead he finds himself being sucked into a world he doesn’t understand, full of psychopathic Fairies, Shell Men, seductive Demi-Fins, vicious Throcks and the frighteningly unpredictable side-effects of Howell’s magical powers. It’s even worse than being an online data marketing assistant.
Steve Coogan, Baby Cow’s Creative Director and the show’s executive producer, said: “Zapped! is fantasy, heightened reality and lots of escapism, with one foot firmly in the real world.
“It has all the requisite elements to take the audience on a journey to this slightly mad world; from wizards and spells to mermaids, psychopathic fairies, smartphones and then back to the boring office job.
“We have a great cast on board, led by the brilliant James Buckley. We’re excited to be working with UKTV on another original comedy series and we feel this is a great example of Baby Cow at its best.”
“Everyone at UKTV is very excited to be working with Baby Cow on Zapped! the latest addition to our growing scripted comedy slate on Dave,” said the broadcaster’s Simon Lupton.
“It has already been loads of fun collaborating with the writers as they created this fantastical world and array of extraordinary characters.
“We know that the Dave audience loves their comedy to give them big laughs and offer escapism in a bold, joyful and distinctive way – and we really believe Zapped! will do that.
“The scripts have a wonderful blend of great storytelling and humour, combined with an extremely high quality cast and director.”
The series goes into production at Pinewood this month and will be broadcast this autumn, launching off the back of the new series of Red Dwarf.
