Catastrophe, Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney’s sitcom about a dysfunctional couple, has been recommissioned for two more series.
Channel 4 confirmed the award-winning show would follow the tumultuous lives of American advertising executive Rob and teacher Sharon, into seasons three and four.
Horgan and Delaney, who write and star in the series they describe as 49% autobiographical, said they were thrilled to bring their flawed yet beloved characters back to the screen.
“Rob and Sharon are a blast to spend time with,” said the pair. “And we’re not talking about ourselves in the third person, we’re talking about the characters. We’re eager to breathe life back into Rob and Sharon. OK, now we are talking about us.
“In the first series, Rob and Sharon went through a lot (us) and even more in the second series (back to the characters). We’re looking forward to putting Rob and Sharon (both us and the characters) through further pain for your enjoyment (now we’re talking about you).”
Catastrophe, which was originally turned down by the BBC, has proved a big success for Channel 4, becoming their second highest performing comedy of 2015. The collaboration between Horgan and Delaney was born on Twitter after Delaney tweeted admiration for Horgan’s cult comedy Pulling.
The show subsequently went on to win a Bafta for writing and two Royal Television Society awards. The Guardian named it the fourth best show of 2015, describing it as “a modern great … at its heart it’s an ordinary love story, couched in some first-class swearing, about sexual honesty, served with a side-plate of adultery, lust, elderly parents, flirtatious colleagues, money worries and a dead dog. The love story we deserve, then.”
While the first series of Catastrophe dealt with the aftermath of a one-night stand between Rob and Sharon which left her accidentally pregnant, the second season skipped forward to the couple in the midst of married life, with two young children, as they grappled with the pain and joy of marriage and parenthood.
The third six-part series will begin filming in November for a premiere in 2017.
Phil Clarke, head of comedy at Channel 4, said he was thrilled to have brought back Catastrophe for two more seasons.
He said: “It’s a welcome return for the brave, razor-edged, excruciatingly honest and painfully funny portrayal of a modern, long-term relationship.”
