Nothing keeps this man down... third time lucky for Greg Davies

1 October 2015

Channel 4 today announces that the Greg Davies hit sitcom, Man Down, is returning for a third series.

Man Down follows Davies’ Dan, a childish idiot trapped in an adult’s life whose world is consistently staggering towards collapse. The second series, which averaged ratings of 1.5 million, saw Dan come to a conclusion: he must change. Still trapped in a teaching job he despised and rejected by the girl he thought will solve everything, Miss Lipsey (Jeany Spark), he turned his attentions to self-improvement. His friend Jo (Roisin Conaty) threw herself into consecutive doomed projects and remained blissfully happy with near-constant failure, while Brian (Mike Wozniak) was distracted by an unspoken event that was rocking his steady world, meaning Dan had to fend for himself. His always kind mother (Gwyneth Powell) and petrifyingly blunt aunt Nesta (Stephanie Cole) knew he needed help – and his pupils agreed. Did this series see Dan move on, avoid complete humiliation and evolve into a functioning member of society? No... no, it didn’t.

Nerys Evans, Channel 4’s Deputy Head of Comedy said, “We’re delighted to have Greg back with the Man Down team. We are in awe of quite how many utterly humiliating situations he’s willing to put himself through for the love of comedy. But we’re definitely in no mood to ask him to stop!”

Writer and star of Man Down, Greg Davies, added, “I'm so thrilled that Channel 4 want me to spend the next sixth months locked in my home crying over a keyboard in my pants. The characters in Man Down series three are really going to pay for their generosity...”

The critically acclaimed 6 x 30 comedy, which will air in 2016, was ordered by Channel 4’s Deputy Head of Comedy, Nerys Evans. Made by Avalon Television, the Executive Producers are James Taylor, Richard Allen-Turner and Jon Thoday.

 

Notes to Editors:

Some things the press said about the second series

“We’ve waited a while for Greg Davies’s beautifully tasteless sitcom about a middle-aged loser to come back for a second series, but it’s worth the wait. His hero Dan is a brilliant creation, a towering oaf whose self-delusion and gift for setting off minor disasters remind you of the greats – the Fawltys and the Brents”

David Butcher, Radio Times

“Rik Mayall is still much missed, but even without the late, great comedian as a dangerously unpredictable retiree, Greg Davies’ sitcom is as consistently funny and fresh as any recent British TV show”

Mark Wareham, The Mail on Sunday

“If, like me, you’re a man of a certain age (above 23 and can’t code), Man Down is hilarious but deeply uncomfortable viewing…Man Down is very funny – Davies is a brilliant comedian”

Benji Wilson, The Daily Telegraph

“Was the late Rik Mayall, who played the mad dad in the first series, missed? Yes, of course. Without him, is this still one of the best new sitcoms of recent times? Yes, again."

Alex Hardy, The Times

“He may have been sadly unavailable for this second series, but I guarantee Rik Mayall will be smiling up in heaven at the way Greg Davies is keeping his spirit alive”

Ian Hyland, Daily Mirror