‘Big Mood’: Channel 4 Orders New Comedy Starring Nicola Coughlan & Lydia West
Channel 4 has given a series order to ‘Big Mood‘ (working title), a new comedy starring Lydia West (‘It’s A Sin’) and Nicola Coughlan (‘Bridgerton’, ‘Derry Girls’), from Fremantle’s Dancing Ledge Productions (‘The Responder’, ‘Wedding Season’).
Written and created by Camilla Whitehill, ‘Big Mood’ is a vivacious and rebellious portrayal of female friendship when infiltrated by the complexities of a serious mental illness. The six-part series will explore the messy pitfalls and idiosyncrasies of navigating adulthood through wicked humour, daft anecdotes, and unsettling truths.
Best friends Maggie and Eddie, played by Coughlan and West, have lived in each other’s pockets for ten years, through thick, thin, and multiple challenging eyebrow trends. But with the rest of their lives looming, careers hanging in the balance, and Maggie’s bipolar disorder making an unwelcome return to form, Eddie begins to question whether this 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? With their twenties behind them, Maggie and Eddie’s relationship faces the future – can it survive?
“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,” said Coughlan. “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.”
Nicola Coughlan is best known for her role as Clare Devlin in the Channel 4 sitcom ‘Derry Girls’, and for playing Penelope Featherington in Netflix’s smash-hit period drama ‘Bridgerton’.
“I’m so happy to be working with Camilla and Nicola on this project,” adds West. “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.”
Lydia West was catapulted onto our screens by Russell T Davies in ‘Years and Years’ in 2019 on the BBC, before working with him again in the astonishing ‘It’s A Sin’ for Channel 4. She also appeared in the BBC/Netflix drama ‘Inside Man’ by Steven Moffat, and the BBC adaptation of ‘Dracula’ by Moffat and Mark Gatiss.
“Getting my own Channel 4 comedy still feels like some kind of long-form prank, Punk’d style,” said creator Camilla Whitehill. “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.”
Whitehill’s previous work includes writing on the tv comedy series ‘Porters’ for Dave, and numerous plays including Where Do Little Birds Go?, Mr Incredible, and Daddy. She was previously selected for the Channel 4 screenwriters scheme, and as one of the Bush Theatre’s emerging writers.
“Big Mood is an authentic portrayal of the passionate, reckless, and surreal tales of close friendship threatened by an all-consuming mental illness,” adds Laura Riseam, Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor. “It’s outrageously daring, painfully funny and unreservedly poignant – the type of comedy that firmly belongs on Channel 4. We are delighted to welcome Camilla and Dancing Ledge into the fold.”
‘Big Mood’ is written by Camilla Whitehill and produced by Fremantle-backed Dancing Ledge Productions. It will be directed by Rebecca Asher (‘Dead to Me’, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’), executive produced by Lotte Beasley Mestriner (‘The Young Offenders’) and produced by Georgie Fallon (‘The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies’). Laurence Bowen (‘The Salisbury Poisonings’, ‘The Responder’) and Chris Carey (‘Crossfire’, ‘Wedding Season’) will executive produce for Dancing Ledge Productions. Fremantle will handle global distribution for the series.
‘Big Mood‘ Season 1 does not yet have a premiere date but will air on Channel 4. If you want to keep track of this or any other show, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date.
