4Funnies 2013

22 August 2013

Channel 4’s Head of Comedy Phil Clarke, has announced his 2013 line-up for the comedy pilot show case, 4Funnies.

Rich with authored tales, comic heroes and some mild genital discomfort, this year’s 4Funnies include:

Scrotal Recall (Clerkenwell Films), Roisin Conaty (W/T) (Objective), Raised By Wolves (Big Talk) and The Revengers! (Two Brothers Pictures).

Phil Clarke said: “With exceedingly well crafted scripts and new talent at the heart of this year’s run, 4Funnies is brimming with clever witty laughs. Roisin was originally a Comedy Blap but we green lit straight to a 4Funny; Raised by Wolves is the glorious wordsmith Caitlin Moran retelling tales from her childhood; Scrotal Recall, a memorable title, is a very cleverly constructed script with a big heart, and The Revengers! a moc-doc comedy is  Batman meets The Office. I’m also hoping that I’ll be able to add a couple more pilots to the mix before the year is out.”

Roisin Conaty (Working Title)

It’s Marcella’s birthday and this year she’s determined to turn over a new leaf. But first she has to work out whose bed she’s in and why she’s covered in fried chicken. Then there’s the speech she’s due to give about her life as a successful actress in America. The only problem is she’s never been to America... And, to be honest, she’s never been successful. Written by and starring Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Rosin Conaty; this is the story of Marcella, a hapless 30 year old doing her very best to muddle through life with the help of her mates, a life coach, several shots of vodka and the driving instructor who can’t seem to avoid her.

Written by and starring: Roisin Conaty

Director: Andrew Chaplin

Producer: Charlotte Lewis

Executive Producers: Ben Farrell and Andrew Newman

Production Company: Objective Productions

Commissioning Editor: Rachel Springett

Scrotal Recall

Following the disastrous exploits of twenty-something Dylan Witter, who must contact everyone he’s ever slept with to tell them he has Chlamydia. Dylan’s not proud of the number of women he’s slept with, so he decides to use this quest to make sense of a decade of squandered opportunities, broken promises, and romantic car-crashes.  Love hurts, especially when you urinate.  Dylan seeks out a different girl from his STI contact list, as he remembers a sexual encounter he’d previously tried his hardest to forget. Joining him on this trip down memory lane are best friend Evie, and terrible influence Luke.  Both have been by Dylan’s side for the past decade, mopping up the blood, sweat and tears. The result is a unique comedy brimming with humour, heart, and mild genital discomfort.

Written by: Tom Edge (Midnight Beast, Pramface)

Producer: Charlie Leech (The Wrong Mans)

Executive Producers: Murray Ferguson, Andy Baker and Tom Edge.

Production Company: Clerkenwell Films (Misfits)

Commissioning Editor: Deputy Head of Comedy, Nerys Evans.

The Revengers!

A mockumentary about a group of ordinary people who live in Croydon who come together and decide to try and fight crime… dressed in neon lycra. They wear costumes straight out of the Marvel Universe (via Oxfam), so the local community can recognise them for the heroes that they really are. Except they're not really heroes. Simon (the Fox) is a car insurance salesman who lives with his mum. Ian (RazorBoy) is a janitor with psychotic tendencies. Keith (The Black Shadow) is an estate agent who wishes he had no part in the whole thing, but he has no choice... His wife Claire (White Lightning), a yoga teacher who always wants to try new things, has forced him into the group. These characters are real people, with real aspirations and friendships, who just really, really want to make a difference in this crazy world.

Written & Directed by: Jack and Harry Williams

Starring: Daisy Haggard, Oliver Maltman, Daniel Taylor

Producer: Sarah Hammond

Executive Producers: Harry & Jack Williams 

Production Company: A Two Brothers Pictures Production

Commissioning Editor: Deputy Head of Comed, Nerys Evans.

Raised By Wolves

Caitlin Moran reveals all in her own inimitable style: “Raised by Wolves is written by me, bestselling author and award winning columnist Caitlin Moran, with my sister Caroline Moran. Set on a Wolverhampton council estate, “Raised By Wolves” is a modern day reimagining of us, when we were growing up – loads of kids, no money, home-schooled, and educating ourselves on mankind’s great bounty of books, films, TV and pop music. Germaine, Aretha, Yoko, Mariah, Wyatt and baby Cher live with their mother Della, in a three bedroom council house. Della has a policy of naming all her daughters after strong female role-models, and her sons after characters played by Kevin Costner….. Germaine is a verbally incontinent, extravert optimist with an almost deluded self-belief, and a desperate desire to get laid. Aretha, on the other hand, is an icy, still, angry introvert who just wants to be left in peace to read Orwell and Jung. Meanwhile, Della, is quietly preparing for the break-down of society.  She’s seen the socio-economic writing on the wall, and is preparing, like the Sarah Connor of Wolverhampton, for the Apocalypse whilst running an eBay business of vintage clothing on the side (“These mugs will buy any mental moth-munched rara skirt if you list it as ‘Like Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex & The City.’ These people don’t deserve money.”)

Written by: Caitlin Moran and Caroline Moran

Director: Ian Fitzgibbon (Threesome, Moone Boy). 

Producer: Caroline Norris (Horrible Histories, Armstrong & Miller)

Executive Producers: Kenton Allen, Chief Executive of Big Talk Productions and Caroline Leddy (Inbetweeners, Friday Night Dinner)

Commissioning Editor: Rachel Springett.