A “magic” new sitcom is coming to Channel 4.
Stepping Up will star Josh Pugh as Josh, an over-enthusiastic stepdad getting to grips with fitting into his new family unit.
A synopsis for the six-part series continues: “Every day behind closed doors in Britain, a stepdad negotiates the tricky paradox of bringing up another man’s kids: locked in several love triangles, the partner and the ex, the kid and the biological Dad, there’s no easy way to play it.
“Josh is desperate to prove his worth as the perfect role model to his stepchildren, the ideal partner to his girlfriend, and as an all-round ‘Good Bloke’.
“Unfortunately for Josh, absolutely everyone in his life is totally fine and would much rather he stop trying so incredibly hard to help and impress them all the time. No one needs him to, but Josh is ‘stepping up’ anyway.”
Channel 4
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Also written by Pugh, a release date and further casting will be announced in due course.
Stepping Up’s commissioning follows its successful release in Channel 4’s Comedy Blaps strand, following in the footsteps of shows such as Stath Lets Flats, We Are Lady Parts, Home, Chewing Gum and Pushers.
Speaking ahead of its release, Pugh said he was “over the moon” to be making a sitcom, something “very few people get to do in their lives.”
“I live and grew up in a small town with step parents on both sides, and I think it’s a huge untapped well of comedy.
Channel 4
“A huge number of people in Britain are navigating the complexities of bringing other people’s kids up, and I want to capture that in a really funny and authentic sitcom that is also hopefully financially lucrative.”
Charlie Perkins, head of comedy at Channel 4, added: “There’s something magic in Josh’s naturalism that I don’t think we’ve seen in a sitcom before – he’s magnetic on screen and his writing under the expert shepherding of Roughcut is the perfect mix of hyper silly and hyper real.
“An exciting, new, natural-born sitcom star in a simple sitcom world. Channel 4 is really proud that Stepping Up continues our work with Josh across the channel.”
Steve Monger, executive producer at Roughcut TV, added: “Josh is a brilliantly talented writer, performer, stand-up, and king of socials skits. In Stepping Up, he’s created a truly original, raucous and refreshing take on the family sitcom; Roughcut is very proud to be bringing this to life with Josh and Channel 4. See you in the Midlands!”
Stepping Up will be released on Channel 4
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Freelance Reporter, Digital Spy
Rebecca is a freelance journalist who specializes in TV and film. After beginning her career as a digital entertainment journalist for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, she embarked on a freelance career in 2021 contributing to the likes of Metro UK, The Sun, WhatCulture, Screen Rant, FilmHounds Magazine and more.
Her particular field of interest is horror cinema and she has written for genre publications such as Ghouls Magazine and Moving Pictures Film Club.
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