The BBC has cancelled The Goes Wrong Show, it’s finally been revealed. More details on that not-very-good news right here.
Very sad news. The BBC has cancelled The Goes Wrong Show. For anybody who hasn’t had the pleasure, the show – created and written by Jonathan Sayer, Henry Lewis and Henry Shields, who are also part of the onscreen ensemble – follows the misadventures of the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society, an amateur theatre troupe who attempt to stage a different play each week in front of a studio audience, but are woefully unsuited to the task.
From malapropisms to slapstick, egocentric fights between actors, physical comedy and stunts, Sayer, Lewis and Shields wring every possible gag out of the premise, heightened by the bravura comic acting of the Mischief Theatre ensemble – Charlie Russell, Dave Hearn, Bryony Corrigan, Nancy Zamit, Chris Leask, Greg Tannahill and Ellie Morris.
The first series was broadcast at the end of 2019, while the second series suffered delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and eventually premiered in 2021.
It’s also worth saying that their 2016 special Peter Pan Goes Wrong, adapted from the play of the same name, might just be one of the funniest things currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
The news was buried on page 23 of a report on the future of the BBC, which you can read here.
The full quote reads as follows:
“We will continue to shift funding away from content primarily aimed at broadcast channels. We have already cut 1,000 originated hours on television. That has meant tough decisions on long-running titles like Holby City, Doctors, A Question of Sport and Autumnwatch, and newer titles like I Can See Your Voice, Freeze the Fear, King Gary, The Goes Wrong Show and The Witchfinder“.
The report seems to indicate that the BBC is cutting down on the amount of scripted programming, particularly comedy. There is already a dearth of sitcoms currently on the BBC, apart from gems like Diane Morgan’s Mandy.
Both series of The Goes Wrong Show are available to watch on BBC iPlayer, along with their 2017 special A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong.
