New Comedy From ‘Fleabag’ Producers Sets Cast, Starts Production (EXCLUSIVE)

“Back to Life,” a new comedy from the producers of “Fleabag,” has set its cast and entered production. Daisy Haggard (“Episodes,” “Black Mirror”) co-wrote the series and plays the lead character, Miri Mattheson, an ex-con returning to her seaside hometown after 18 years in prison. Geraldine James (“Sherlock Holmes”) and Richard Durden (“Harlots”) will play Miri’s parents as she readjusts to life on the outside.

They appear alongside a roster of British talent in the series for online network BBC Three, including Adeel Akhtar (“Murdered by My Father”), who plays Miri’s neighbor, and Jamie Michie (“Game of Thrones”), who plays her first love.

All3Media-baked Two Brothers Pictures, the hot British shingle behind shows including “Fleabag” and “Rellik,” is on production duty. Liam Williams (“Pls Like”), Souad Faress (“Bridget Jones’s Baby”), Jo Martin (“Been So Long”), Christine Bottomley (“The End of the F***ing World”) and Frank Feys (“A Perfect Day”) will also appear in the six-part comedy. It has just entered production.

Haggard is also set to appear in upcoming FX comedy “Breeders” with Martin Freeman. She wrote “Back to Life” with Perrier Comedy Award Winner Laura Solon. It is billed as a comedy drama with a mystery at its heart – Miri did something very bad that led to an 18-year prison sentence.

“The nimble storytelling dazzles and hooks you in right from scene one,” said BBC comedy chief Shane Allen who commissioned the series. “Miri is a terrific creation as the viewer’s empathy ebbs and flows depending on our perception of what she might have done. It’s a distinctive world of intriguing characters and laced through with offbeat humor.

“This series cements BBC Three’s reputation as the vital place to try out ambitious new forms and tones of narrative.”

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