London, Thursday 12 January 2012: Sky today announced the commission of PARENTS (6 X 30”) from Objective Productions for broadcast on Sky 1 HD in Summer 2012. Commissioned by Sky’s Head of Comedy, Lucy Lumsden, PARENTS is written by newcomers Lloyd Woolf and Joe Tucker, and will be executive produced by Ben Farrell at Objective Productions.

PARENTS is a sharp, quick-witted family sitcom. The series will star Sally Phillips (Green Wing, Smack The Pony, Miranda) and Darren Strange (Phone Shop, The Armando Iannucci Shows) as a married couple with two teenaged kids, forced to move in with their parents played by Coronation Street’s Susie Blake and Friends’s Tom Conti.

Lumsden commented: “We’ve been on the hunt for smart comedies about family life for Sky 1 HD and feel we have found it with PARENTS. We’re very excited about the cast we’ve managed to attract and can’t wait to start production.”

Farrell added: “We’ve loved working with Joe, Lloyd and Lucy on the PARENTS scripts, and can’t wait to bring them to life on Sky 1 HD.”

PARENTS is the latest comedy commission for Sky 1 HD following Sky's commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years. By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.  This commitment follows the success of home-grown content such as entertainment hits GOT TO DANCE, AN IDIOT ABROAD and A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, dramas such as STRIKE BACK and MAD DOGS, comedies such as TROLLIED, STELLA and SPY, and factual shows such as ROSS KEMP EXTREME WORLD and the BAFTA-winning documentary FLYING MONSTERS 3D.

Sky 1 HD’s comedy continues to go from strength-to-strength. In December 2011, Sky 1 HD was nominated for five British Comedy Awards and won for Best TV Comedy Actor (Darren Boyd, Spy) and Best Female Comic (Victoria Wood, Victoria Wood’s Angina Monologues). TROLLIED is the most-watched comedy launch in Multi-Channel history with a record breaking audience of 2.011m viewers tuning into the first episode.

PARENTS will commence in March 2012 and will be broadcast on Sky 1 HD in Summer 2012. The series will be directed by Simon Delaney (Cold Feet, Lead Ballooon) and will be exec produced by Ben Farrell for Objective and Lucy Lumsden for Sky.

For further information please contact

Chris Aylott - Head of PR, Sky 1 HD
T: 020 7032 2893
E: chris.aylott@bskyb.com