Sky Atlantic have commissioned seven half-hour episodes of Hunderby, a new comedy from award-winning writer/actress Julia Davis (Nighty Night, Human Remains) about a shipwreck survivor in the 1800s who's washed ashore near an English village and found by a smitten pastor called Edmund.
From Sky's press release:
"Davis's inimitable style of black comedy has set her apart from her contemporaries as one of the most unique talents around. Now, she turns her attention to the 1800s in Hunderby, which features Helene, a shipwreck survivor washed ashore near a small English village. There, she is swept off her feet by widowed pastor Edmund and the two soon marry, the puritanical Edmund believing his bride to be untouched by another man. But she has a history, a dark past that she cannot escape.Julia Davis, writer/star:
As Helene moves into Edmund's home, she falls under the watchful eye of housekeeper Dorothy (Davis) who is more than a little involved in her master's life, and quite obsessed with his dead first wife, Arabelle - to whom Helene simply does not compare. While Helene battles to keep her past a secret, she must navigate Dorothy’s devious scheming, her husband's harsh critique and a potential new love interest.
In a gothic setting populated by the requisite cast of fiends, physicians, hunchbacks, wastrels, maids, crones, and an adorable puppy called Wilfred, Hunderby oozes with the dark and absurd humour that has become Julia Davis's trademark."
"I'm so excited to be making a series for Sky Atlantic HD, a channel that has so many of my favourite shows from around the world. It's great to be working with [Sky Controller] Stuart Murphy and [Sky's Head of Comedy] Lucy Lumsden again."Hunderby is produced by Baby Cow Productions and scheduled to air this summer. As a fan of Davis' relentlessly dark and twisted humour, this has more appeal than Sky Atlantic's other homegrown comedy This Is Jinsy. It's just a shame the more interesting Sky comedies are on their premium channel, while Sky1 viewers have to make do with the mainstream stuff like Trollied, Mount Pleasant and Stella.
