British Disney+ Original “Extraordinary” Wins Best Comedy Programme At Broadcast Digital Awards
This week, the Broadcast Digital Awards took place at the Brewery in London, England and the British Original series, “Extraordinary” picked up the award for “Best Comedy Programme”.
This category rewarded the best comedy one-off special or series of whatever duration that is deemed to be the outstanding original production in the genre. This category covers a wide range of comedies, including sitcoms, stand-up, comedy dramas and sketch shows. The awards are judged by a panel of more than 60 industry experts, handpicked by the Broadcast team. The judges are split into groups, and each allocated a category. Each judging panel is chaired by a member of the Broadcast editorial team and after debating the merits of each contender, a secret ballot takes place to determine the winner.
“Extraordinary” is set in a world where everyone develops a power on their 18th birthday… everyone, that is, except for Jen. She’s turning 25 and is still waiting to get hers. She’s not even fussy about what that could be: super speed? Laser eyes? The ability to plug in a USB the right way every single time? She’ll take it. Like a caterpillar surrounded by butterflies, Jen feels unable to move forward, stuck in a dead-end job in a party shop and occasionally hooking up with Luke, a flaky young man with the irritatingly cool ability to fly. Luckily, Jen has Carrie to stop her from wallowing in her own self-pity. Inseparable since school, their relationship cycles between sister, parent, and wingman.
Together they share an East London flat with Carrie’s long-term boyfriend, Kash. Carrie has the power to channel the dead but feels she’s been overshadowed by her own party trick: doesn’t anyone care about what she has to say? Kash takes his power – the ability to turn back time – very seriously, but he’s not above using it to undo minor embarrassments, or moments when he says exactly the wrong thing to long-suffering Carrie. The fourth member of the flat is a stray cat, named Jizzlord by the gang, who’s harbouring a surprising secret: turns out even cats have more power than Jen.
Adrift in a big, confusing world and armed with nothing but a bit of hope and a lot of desperation, Jen begins her journey to find her maybe-superpower. But in doing so, she might discover the joy of being just kind of ok.
“Extraordinary” is led by a cast of rising UK and Irish talent, including Máiréad Tyers (Jen), Sofia Oxenham (Carrie), Bilal Hasna (Kash), and Luke Rollason (Jizzlord). Additional cast members include Siobhan McSweeney (Jen’s mum, Mary), Robbie Gee (Jen’s stepdad, Ian), Safia Oakley-Green (Jen’s half-sister, Andy), and Ned Porteous (Luke).
Written by series creator Emma Moran, and directed by Toby McDonald (“Ragdoll”), Jennifer Sheridan (“Rules of the Game”), and Nadira Amrani (“On the Edge”).
“Extraordinary” is executive produced by Sally Woodward Gentle, Lee Morris and Charles Dawson for Sid Gentle Films, the BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Peabody Award-winning production company behind “Killing Eve”. The series is produced by Charlie Palmer and executive produced by Johanna Devereaux, Vice President, Scripted Content, for Disney+.
Other winners at the event included “I Hate Suzie Too” as Best Drama Programme, “Don’t Hate The Playaz” won the award for Best Entertainment Programme and “Prehistoric Planet” won the award for Best Special Factual Programme.
Filming on the second season of “Extraordinary” began earlier this year and you can watch the entire first season now on Disney+ around the world. The show is also available on Star+ in Latin America and on Hulu in the United States.
Have you checked out “Extraordinary”? Let us know what you think of the show on social media!
Roger Palmer
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