Yahoo News Who's in the cast of new BBC Two sitcom The First Team?
BBC is set to debut The First Team, a new sitcom from the minds behind The Inbetweeners, Iain Morris and Damon Beesley.
Following Julian Fellowes’ Netflix series The English Game, The First Team is set to tackle the beloved sport in an entirely different genre.
What’s The First Team about?
The new comedy series, starring Arrested Development’s Will Arnett, follows a team of young English football players and the eccentric characters surrounding the team.
Following Mattie, Jack and Benji, The First Team follows the trials and tribulations they experience both on and off the field.
They also have to contend with their eccentric owner, Mark Crane, and their Italian manager Cesare.
Creators Morris and Beesley told BBC that the show explores toxic masculinity, a pertinent issue in modern-day sport.
“I think the show is about something that is relatively rare these days, thankfully, which is an almost all-male working environment,” he said.
“From our research it does seem that the newer generation of footballers are more aware of the fact that in the age of social media one mistake or misconstrued joke could ruin their career, and therefore their life.
“At the same time, you are talking about young men who, if they were students, would be up to all sorts of raucous behaviour.”
Beesley added: “The spotlight has never been as intense with social media and a planet full of budding iPhone paparazzi desperate to retweet your every misstep.
"And like any workplace setting, the dressing room spans generations, making it an intimidating place for a 17-year-old fresh from the academy having to rub shoulders with seasoned pros.”
He continued: “Older, alpha males, facing the prospect of their careers ending, who see the younger generations as a visual countdown on their own dwindling relevance. I guess we’ve always enjoyed exploring these fault lines, where masculinity and insecurity collide.”
The series also touches on the intensity of football fandom, which has only increased in the social media age.
“The level of public scrutiny that these guys face is insane,” said Beesley. “After every performance they run the risk of being eviscerated on social media.
"They are expected to be role models, ambassadors, social warriors, philanthropists and yet for many of them, all they’ve really cared about or experienced is playing football with their mates. Frankly it’s terrifying.”
Who’s in the cast of the BBC Two sitcom?
Will Arnett, of Arrested Development fame, plays the team’s owner, Mark Crane.
The main trio of footballers are played by US actor Jake Short (Dexter) and Brits Jack McMullen (The Souvenir) and Shaquille Ali-Yebuah (The Feed).
Chris Geere (You’re the Worst) plays their coach Chris Booth, while Tamla Kari (The Inbetweeners) plays Olivia, head of press for the team.
Other stars in various roles include Phil Wang, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Marek Litchenberg and Grace Hogg-Robinson.
The First Team premieres on BBC Two at 9:30pm, Thursday Mar 28. All episodes will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
