Channel 4 has officially commissioned ‘Break Clause’, a six-part comedy series written and created by Jess Bray (The Outlaws, We Might Regret This), directed by Alice Snedden (Starstruck) and produced by BBC Studios Comedy (Black Ops, Trying). The series follows its successful debut as part of Channel 4’s Comedy Blaps strand, which has previously launched hits such as We Are Lady Parts, Stath Lets Flats, Home, Chewing Gum, and most recently, Pushers (formerly Disability Benefits).
‘Break Clause’ stars Samuel Bottomley (Am I Being Unreasonable?, Somewhere Boy, How to Have Sex) as Ben and Lara Ricote (Mitchell And Webb Are Not Helping, Live at the Apollo, Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer 2022) as Lil. Their relationship is over, but their tenancy agreement is not, leaving them stuck sharing the same flat while trying to move on. Moving out is hard. Moving on from your first love is harder.
The show will be a co-production with German broadcaster ZDFneo, with BBC Studios handling global sales.
Speaking about the commission, writer and creator Jess Bray said:
“As a hopeless romantic who’s been daydreaming about this show for years, I’m so thrilled and grateful Channel 4 and ZDFneo are trusting me to tell more of Ben and Lil’s story. We’ve somehow assembled The Avengers of a creative team (never seen it) so here’s hoping we can make something lovely and have a nice time doing it!”
Charlie Perkins, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, added:
“There was a real alchemy to the creative components of this Comedy Blap, with huge rising stars both on and off screen. Nothing works better than a rom com in the era of people inhaling a series on streaming and this show sits brilliantly distinctively on our Channel 4 Comedy slate. We’re thrilled.”
Jasmin Maeda, SVP International Fiction ZDF, commented:
“We are very happy to be a partner on this charming and hilarious show and believe Break Clause really speaks to our audience – it has a unique voice and memorable characters while at the same time talking about very relatable issues.”
Josh Cole, Head of Comedy at BBC Studios Comedy, said:
“It’s a real dream to be working with Channel 4 and the fantastically talented Jess Bray on her first TV series. She has a unique comic voice and we can’t wait to bring her superb scripts to life.”
‘Break Clause’ was commissioned for Channel 4 by Charlie Perkins and Laura Riseam, with executive producers Jess Bray, Mark Freeland, Molly Seymour, and Josh Cole for BBC Studios Comedy, and Laura Mae Harding for ZDFneo. Olly Cambridge serves as producer.
‘Break Clause’ does not yet have a premiere date but will air on Channel 4 in the UK. If you want to keep track of this or any other shows, you can add them via our Never Miss system, and you’ll be notified when it gets a UK premiere date. Visit Never Miss.
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