BBC Two Acquires Nick Hornby’s Short-form Comedy ‘State Of The Union’ Starring Rosamund Pike & Chris O’Dowd
BBC Two has picked up the rights to a new short-form comedy series ‘State Of The Union‘ starring Rosamund Pike & Chris O’Dowd. The 10×10’ minute episodes come from Academy Award-nominated and Bafta-winning writer Nick Hornby and are directed by Academy Award-nominated, Bafta and Emmy-winner Stephen Frears.
‘State Of The Union’ follows Louise and Tom (Pike and O’Dowd) who meet in a pub immediately before their weekly marital therapy session. With each successive episode we piece together how their lives were, what drew them together and what has started to pull them apart. Hornby explores the complexities of marriage with his inimitable honesty and humour.
“I am delighted that State Of The Union will be shown on the BBC,” commented Hornby “It’s absolutely the right place for it, and it was hard for us to imagine any other home in the UK.”
Nick Hornby is the author of books such as Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, and About a Boy, all of which have been adapted into movies and tv series. He has also written a number of screenplays, including adapting Fever Pitch himself, along with tv shows and films such as ‘Love, Nina’, ‘Brooklyn’, and ‘An Education’, which won him 2 Baftas and an Oscar nomination.
‘State Of The Union’ sees Hornby teamed with Stephen Frears, who previously directed the brilliant film adaptation of ‘High Fidelity’ starring John Cusack and Jack Black. The acclaimed director’s other work includes films such as ‘The Deal’, ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’, ‘Philomena’, ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’, ‘The Grifters’ and ‘The Queen’.
“I am so delighted to bring this to the BBC Two audience,” adds Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two. “The writing is so fantastic, the performances from Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd are pitch perfect and the direction is the very best in the world. What a treat.”
‘State Of The Union’ is a See-Saw Films production for SundanceTV. The producer for See-Saw Films is Amy Jackson. The Executive Producers are Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Nick Hornby and Stephen Frears.
No news yet on exactly when ‘State Of The Union‘ will air on BBC Two, but we will let you know when we have more.
