{"id":727947,"date":"2026-06-10T18:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/727947\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T18:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:36:13","slug":"bbcs-desperately-bingeable-returning-sitcom-reveals-first-look-at-steve-coogan-in-new-guest-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/727947\/","title":{"rendered":"BBC’s “desperately bingeable” returning sitcom reveals first look at Steve Coogan in new guest role"},"content":{"rendered":"

A “desperately bingeable” sitcom set in Northern Ireland is set to welcome Steve Coogan on its second season. Airing on BBC Three and BBC Northern Ireland, Funboys follows three emotionally stunted young men living in Ballymacnoose and navigating life.<\/p>\n

Created by Rian Lennon and Ryan Dylan, who also star Jordan and Callum on the show, the series also features Lee R James as Lorcan. The trio’s dynamic is thrown into chaos when newcomer Gemma (Ele McKenzie) becomes the object of affection of both Callum and Lorcan.<\/p>\n

Now, series 2 is set to premiere next week and the synopsis teases more trouble ahead for the three pals.<\/p>\n

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BBC<\/p>\n

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BBC<\/p>\n

Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 \u2013 including Disney Plus, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV<\/a><\/p>\n

“The soft bellied boys of Ballymacnoose are back. After last year, tackling the weight of grief and suppository drugs, the gang have come out the other side all grown up. Callum’s trying out a lovely perm, Gemma and Lorcan are smooching seven times a day, and it’s been four months since Jordan’s last full throated screaming strop with his Daddies. Things are bright in Ballymacnoose,” the synopsis reads.<\/p>\n

“But dark clouds loom! The gang belatedly get involved in The Great Irish Potato Famine and it’s all down-hill from there. Bigotry, balding and competitive robot combat, if they aren\u2019t careful the funboys are about to become the doneboys. Aghh! <\/p>\n

“Will the soft kindness of their Teletubby hearts overcome the colonial scars of the past? Is Jordan losing his hair or is it, as he insists, just a double crown? Are the close-minded people of Ballymacnoose ready for Lorcan to explore previously uncharted territory in the love department? Is Lorcan even ready? Who’s exploring Lorcan’s departments? Aghh!”<\/p>\n

Funboys series 2 sees Dylan, Lennon, James and McKenzie reprise their roles, alongside other returning cast members, including Brian Devlin, Owen Colgan, Paul Bazely and Richard Croxford. Coogan joins the new series together with season 2 newcomers Nicky Harley, Saorlaoith Brady, Lalor Roddy, Donal O\u2019Hanlon and Amanda Doherty. <\/p>\n

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BBC<\/p>\n

\"rian<\/p>\n

BBC<\/p>\n

“I loved working with them,” said the Alan Partridge star. “They are an original voice in comedy and they have bright futures ahead of them. Properly funny fellas. Rian’s direction was clear and confident, always on the money. Sorry this reads like a reference. The point is they know what they’re doing.”<\/p>\n

Speaking about Coogan guest starring on the series, executive producer Simon Mayhew-Archer of Mayhay Studios said in a statement: “I love making this show with the gang and am extremely grateful to the BBC for continuing to back new comic talent. My favourite sitcom of all time is I’m Alan Partridge so to get to work with Steve Coogan was the second best day of my life (first was when I went to Silverstone and shook Jackie Stewart’s hand. Superb).”<\/p>\n

Following its 2025 release, Funboys has earned positive reviews, with The Evening Standard<\/a> branding it “beautifully bizarre, quirky and desperately bingeable”, praising the central trio as “fully [committed] to the bit”. <\/p>\n

The Guardian<\/a> agreed, noting: “Like so many great comedies, Funboys is an idiosyncratic, gently nurtured, quietly horrific thing.”<\/p>\n

Funboys series 2 airs on BBC Northern Ireland and iPlayer on June 15. It will then air on BBC Three on June 19 and BBC One on June 20. Season 1 is available on iPlayer now.<\/p>\n

Visit our Streaming Guide<\/a> now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.<\/p>\n

The new edition of Living Legends, a collector’s edition exploring the royal family, is here! Buy The Royals in newsagents or online<\/a>.
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\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Reporter, Digital Spy<\/p>\n

Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times<\/a> and Digital Spy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A “desperately bingeable” sitcom set in Northern Ireland is set to welcome Steve Coogan on its second season.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":727948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[64,63,229445,428,352563,430,134,308081,429,352562,427],"class_list":["post-727947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-collection-latest-news","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-e8a86482-50af-45e2-8f42-1fdf1112e2b8","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-bbc-sitcom-reveals-first-look-at-steve-coogan-in-guest-role","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=727947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/727948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=727947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=727947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=727947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}