Today (Thursday 22nd August 2013) sees the return of Simon Bird and Joe Thomas, briefcase fiddler and Simon “why won’t you work” from the Inbetweeners, to British TV in the new Sky 1 comedy, Chickens. Written by Simon Bird, the new commission by Sky 1 originally went into production in December 2012 for its release date in 2013.
The sitcom revolves around three unlikely lads, George, Cecil and Bert, in the quiet English countryside setting of Rittle-on-Sea during the First World War. The men have either avoided their call of duty or been left at home and are struggling to find their place in a female-dominated society that is unimpressed by their presence and general lack of bravery. Taking place in 1914, the chaps are benefiting from the pre-conscription lull (1916-1918 for any budding history buffs) before the full storm of the WWI broke throughout the country.
George (Thomas), is the village’s pacifist school teacher who has rebelled against the bravado status quo to stay at home and avoid the fight on moral grounds. Cecil (Bird), on the other hand, would have loved to have served but his flat feet have kept him from fulfilling his battle scared role in the war. The last of the bunch is Bert, played by Johnny Sweet who is a fellow writing partner of Bird and Thomas and won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for best newcomer in 2009, who is Rittle-on-Sea’s local delinquent, who has managed to lie and wheedle his way into staying at home.
The three are thrown together in their mutual societal disdain, and have to put aside their differences to win over the women of the village. Labelled cowards throughout the village, it’s an uphill battle from day one. Even George’s fiancé Winky, played by Sarah Daykin (Dead Boss) and Cecil’s sister Agnes, played by Emerald Fennell (Any Human Heart) are starting to fall on the negative press side of the spectrum.
The show was picked up by Sky 1 following an initial airing of a pilot on Channel 4’s Comedy Showcase in September 2011. It was announced in May 2012, so its been a long wait for the eventual airing in the summer 2013 to see how good the show will be. It looks like it’ll be a random mix of the ‘Inbetweeners and Allo Allo’ and could potentially prove to be comedy gold.
One thing to definitely look forward to is the style of the production with period costumes for the three Chickens themselves, as well as the rest of the Rittle-on-Sea villagers, and a mid-war country life setting. To get a glimpse of the show itself, check out the short intro trailer below:
Chickens, Sky 1 trailer:
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