Funny Firsts - BBC Scotland showcases a multi-platform collection of new comedy on TV, radio and iPlayer

The Comedy Underground, Breaking The News, The State of It, Whiplashed, The Farm, Don’t Ask Fern, The Social presents…Comedy and Short Stuff are the comedy titles which aim to get Scotland sniggering and laughing out loud.

Launching four weeks of Friday night TV comedy, The Comedy Underground debuts on BBC Two Scotland on 23 November at 10pm. Presented by rising star Ashley Storrie, The Comedy Underground is a stand-up show, bringing together the best, brightest and most exciting comedians gigging in Scotland right now including Susan Riddell, Stuart McPherson, Christopher KC, Donald Alexander and Ray Bradshaw. Later that night, on BBC Radio Scotland, there’s a chance to hear some more stand-up shenanigans along with some backstage chat with the comedians as they stepped off stage.

This is followed by popular topical satire show Breaking The News which makes its TV debut on St Andrew’s Night (Friday 30 November). The popular topical panel show fronted by Des Clarke premieres earlier that day on BBC Radio Scotland as it takes a satirical view of the week’s news headlines.

Next up, on Friday 7 December, brand new late night comedy The State Of It sees host Robert Florence take a look at the state of Scotland and the world at large. Featuring explosive sketches, satirical animation and topical contributions from a range of new Scottish comic talent, The State of It is produced and directed by the team behind the Bafta Scotland award-winning Scot Squad.

And last, but not least, on-the-road- panel-show Whiplashed debuts on Friday 14 December. Host Larry Dean puts team captains - and fellow comedians - Christopher Macarthur-Boyd and Fern Brady through their paces as they take to the road. Joined by TV personality Aggie MacKenzie and Still Game’s Scott Reid, their road trip takes a series of unexpected and anarchic turns, all engineered by Larry, intent on leaving them feeling Whiplashed.

Exclusive to BBC iPlayer, four original comedies - Don’t Ask Fern, The Farm, The Social presents… Comedy and Short Stuff - offer more laughs online which debut from Friday 23 November at 10.30pm.

Comedian Fern Brady becomes an anti-agony Aunt in Don’t Ask Fern giving all-too-honest advice to the masses; Perthshire farmer Jim Smith offers a unique insight on life in mini-mockumentary The Farm which also stars Ann Louise Ross and Chris Forbes; BBC Scotland’s experimental emerging talent strand The Social presents… Comedy showcases its funniest new comedy faces with presenter Marjolein Robertson guiding audiences through the sketches; while there’s a compilation of comedy treats in the second instalment of Short Stuff.

Gavin Smith, BBC Scotland’s Commissioning Executive, Comedy, Drama & Entertainment, says: “Our Funny Firsts is a chance for audiences to try an array of our comedy in new and exciting ways. Whether that’s the first Scottish satire show to be broadcast on radio and TV on the same day, or the first chance for the audience to see the best emerging stand-up comedians, or the release of BBC Scotland’s first digital shorts sitcom on iPlayer - there’s lots of new ideas, new faces and laughs across all our platforms for all audiences.”

These new multiplatform productions highlight BBC Scotland’s commitment to produce distinctive and reflective Scottish output complimenting established comedy brands including Still Game, Scot Squad and Burnistoun. These comedies come ahead of the forthcoming launch of BBC Scotland’s new TV channel in early 2019 - the largest single investment by the BBC in content in Scotland in a generation.

The Comedy Underground, The Social presents… Comedy and Breaking The News are BBC Scotland in-house productions; The State of It is a Comedy Unit production; Whiplashed is made by Hungry Bear Media; The Farm and Short Stuff are BBC Studios, Scotland productions and Don’t Ask Fern is made by Hopscotch Films. The commissioners are Gavin Smith (TV), Gareth Hydes (radio) and Louise Thornton (digital) for BBC Scotland.

JW4