In the BBC comedy pipeline – Me & Mrs. Jones
There are but a few times you can point to in your telly watching career where you see a perfect storm on the comedy horizon. That said, unfortunately, the last time I can remember this happening was mid-1993. This is when I first heard of the most recent brainchild from the great Richard Curtis starring the likes of Dawn French and a brilliant supporting cast including Roger Lloyd Pack, James Fleet, Emma Chambers, Trevor Peacock, Gary Waldhorn and John Bluthal. That perfect storm was The Vicar of Dibley.
Sadly, you have to fast forward almost 20 years before there seems to be another perfect storm possibility with the commissioning of Me & Mrs. Jones by BBC One. The series has a stellar cast headed by Sarah Alexander (Coupling, Green Wing, People Like Us) and including Neil Morrissey (Men Behaving Badly), Nathaniel Parker (Merlin) and Robert Sheehan (Misfits).
According to BBC One, Me & Mrs. Jones will follow a single mother (Mrs. Jones), played by Sarah Alexander, as she juggles the demands of her ex-husband, the prospect of love at the school gates with a single father, and the advances of her teenage son’s lustful friend.
Just as exciting from my end will be the talents of those associated with the series that are behind the camera. Aside from the fact it comes from Hartswood Films, Me & Mrs Jones was created and written by Green Wing writers Oriane Messina and Fay Rusling. While Hartswood is known most recently for the genius of Sherlock, they do have quite a comedy past that includes both Coupling, Men Behaving Badly and the underrated, SuperNova in their comedy portfolio.
Cheryl Taylor, Controller BBC Comedy Commissioning, is very high on the series as you can imagine. “If there has been any anxiety recently about the number of funny women working in comedy here we have the perfect antidote with the wonderful Sarah Alexander starring in a highly entertaining series written by Fay and Oriane and produced by Beryl Vertue and Serena Cullen.”
Set to begin production in May, this is definitely one to keep an eye on in the months to come.
