Objective in Sky 1 comedy first

Parents is a 6 x 30-minute series, “with the potential to run and run”, written by 2011 Broadcast Hotshots Lloyd Woolf and Joe Tucker.

The series, which starts filming on 30 January ahead of a March launch, follows the tribulations of a middle-aged couple, played by Sally Phillips (Miranda) and Darren Strange (The Armando Iannucci Show), who lose their jobs and have to sell their home and take their teenage children to live with their parents.

Objective Productions’ Ben Farrell, who is exec producing along with Phil Clarke, said that, despite the backdrop, Parents was a feel-good show rather than having a darker tone.

“It’s about a mother moving back in with her mother and reverting to her teenage years and being constrained by her parents,” said Farrell. “Our mission statement was to make a sitcom that makes you feel better.”

He added that Sky’s move into comedy alongside terrestrial broadcasters BBC and Channel 4 was invaluable for indies hunting for further outlets.

Sky head of comedy Lucy Lumsden, who ordered and will exec produce the series, added: “We’ve been on the hunt for comedies about family life for Sky 1 and feel we have found it with Parents.