Gemma Arterton as Barbara Parker/Sophie Straw in Funny Woman Season 1 Sky Max/PBS

Adding to its long-standing practice of providing stellar drama choices on Sunday nights, PBS has added Funny Woman to line-up beginning January 7 at 10pET/9pCT following the return of new series of All Creatures Great and Small and Miss Scarlet and The Duke earlier that evening.

Funny Woman follows Barbara Parker (Gemma Arterton), a small-town (Blackpool) beauty queen who decides to swap her pageant life for comedy television in 1960s London. After landing a TV show audition, Barbara finds that being a woman in a largely male environment has its own challenges. As she ‘finds her funny’ voice, Barbara re-defines the prevailing attitude toward funny women and reinvents herself.

Based on the Nick Hornby (Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, About a Boy) novel Funny Girl, Funny Woman tells the story of a would-be female comedian, Barbara Parker, who decides that it’s not enough just to be Miss Blackpool; she wants to star in comedy television. The 60s-set drama sheds a harsh but real light on the male-dominated world of television comedy.

Armed with her secret weapon of an uncompromising northern wit, Parker adopts the stage name of Sophie Straw upon her arrival in London where she ultimately lands a role in a TV sitcom. Unfortunately, her fight has only begun.

Arsher Ali (Everyone Else Burns), Tom Bateman (Beecham House), Matthew Beard (Vienna Blood), Leo Bill (Becoming Elizabeth), Alexa Davies (COBRA), Clare-Hope Ashitey (Doctor Foster), Rosie Cavaliero (Gentleman Jack), Alistair Petrie (Sex Education), Morwenna Banks (The Thick of It), David Threlfall (Ripper Street), and Rupert Everett (The Serpent Queen) will join Arterton for the first series of Funny Woman which has already been renewed for a second series.

The 6-part Funny Woman premieres Sunday, January 7, 2024 at 10pET/9pCT on PBS and will run through February 11. All six episodes will premiere on PBS Passport for members of your local PBS station on January 7.