OK, so in and amongst our foolish vagaries there’s a little semi-excitement in the news that Rich Fulcher has been commissioned to lead the way on a Channel 4 pilot for a new comedy show called That’s Rich set in a little porno shop in London. Our blank eyed confusion relates to the fact that Channel 4 has marked the pilot as non-TX, which we’re pretty sure means non-transmission, so we’re not 100% on whether it’ll be aired at all so we’re just going to have to keep our fingers crossed.
For anyone that doesn’t know who Rich Fulcher is and can’t be bothered to search the name online, he was Bob Fossil from The Mighty Boosh, which inspired anyone wearing a shirt with buttons bulging over their expanding gut to be referred to as Bob Fossiling. He also played one of the cucumbers of cool in Noel Fielding’s Luxury Comedy Series 2, as well as being one half of the madness that made up Snuff Box, along with Matt Berry, so there’s a lot of comedy might behind That’s Rich even if is yet to be confirmed for transmission.
The show sees Rich at the helm of a failing, family-run sex shop on a relatively nondescript and peaceful high street as he struggles to rekindle the little shop’s successes in the wake of the internet age. With customers few and far between, and the weight off the generational legacy of the shop on his shoulders, he’s convinced that the internet is just a fad that’ll soon blow over.
However, his son, Alistair, who has grown up in the .com boom, is convinced that the shop needs to modernise to survive and sets out to prove his dad wrong thanks to the merits of his new-found commercial awareness, delivered largely through his BTEC diploma in business studies and fueled by his love of The Apprentice. Added to Alistair’s meddling is the presence of a local police community support officer called Margaret, who has taken it upon herself with self appointed power and zeal to keep the high street from losing its relative decency, making Rich’s life even more difficult in the process.
With an uber cool hair salon and art gallery next door, the shop doesn’t exactly fit in well with the local passing trade. Luckily, the other side is a bit more down to earth with a jacket potato shop owned by Rich’s best friend Dalton, so maybe there’s a glimmer of hope for the failing business.
Filming for That’s Rich will begin in spring 2015 and if the production ends up being as funny as it sounds then it might not be too long before Channel 4 air the pilot and have a little think about picking up the entire show. It’s being produced by King Bert Studios, making it Channel 4’s first comedy commission from the production company set up by Miranda Hart, David Walliams and Jo Sargent, with the latter taken on the job of executive producer.
