Outnumbered
Encyclopedia
Outnumbered is a British sitcom
. Airing on BBC One
since 2007, it stars Hugh Dennis
and Claire Skinner
as a father and mother outnumbered by their three children (played by Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche
and Ramona Marquez
). There have been four series to date: 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
Produced by Hat Trick Productions
, Outnumbered is written, directed and produced by Andy Hamilton
and Guy Jenkin
, although parts of the show are semi-improvised
.
The programme has received critical acclaim for its semi-improvisational scripting and realistic portrayal of children and family life." Ratings have been average for its time slot, but the series has won a number of awards from the Comedy.co.uk awards, the Royal Television Society
, the British Comedy Awards
and the Broadcasting Press Guild
. The first three series are available on DVD and the fourth has been broadcast in 2011. An American adaptation is currently being planned. The series began airing in the US on BBC America
as of 30 July 2011.
, whose two parents are "outnumbered" by their three, somewhat unruly, children. The father, aged 48, Pete (Hugh Dennis
), is a history teacher at an inner city
school and the mother, aged 45, Sue (Claire Skinner
), is a part-time personal assistant
. The three children are: Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), aged 15, whose teenage sarcasm and obsession with girls worries his mother,, Ben (Daniel Roche
), aged 11, who is a pathological liar, does unusual things, is constantly asking his parents if he is allowed to watch Little Britain
, and is always coming up with hypothetical questions like "who would win in a fight between...", and Karen (Ramona Marquez
), aged nine, who asks too many questions and who imitates a lot of what she sees on television. Other regular characters include Sue's 47 year old new age
sister, Angela Morrison (Samantha Bond), and their father Frank (David Ryall
), referred to as "Grandad", who is in the early stages of dementia
. The writers also use the popular sitcom device of the unseen character
in the form of Veronica, Sue's demanding boss in series one. In series two, the device is used again, but in the form of Sue's new boss Tyson, who is revealed to be a conman
who absconds in the final episode of the series. Series three introduces Rosalind Ayres
as Pete's mum, referred to as "Gran", who is addicted to online gambling and has a growing hatred for Pete's father. Other new characters in Series 3 include Kelly (Anna Skellern
), whom Jake has a crush on, Angela's new husband Brick (Douglas Hodge
), who is an American therapist, and his daughter Taylor Jean, who wants to live with her mum. Also introduced is a campaigner against council plans to place speed bumps on the road who pesters the family. In the fourth series (the first episode aired on 2 September 2011), Karen is aged nine, Jake is fifteen and Ben is eleven.
ended in 1998. It was commissioned by BBC controller Lucy Lumsden. The executive producer
is Jon Rolph. Originally a 20-minute long pilot was made; this was given to Lumsden, who then commissioned six episodes. The setting for the show is somewhere in South London, with the show being shot on location in Wandsworth
. The house used for external shots is in Dempster Road, Wandsworth. During the second series, the family receive a final demand for council tax
from the fictional "Limebridge Council", sent to the fictional address of 19 Keely Road, London, W4 2CF.
The writers use improvisation in order to achieve convincing performances from the child actors. Dennis commented: "In most sitcoms all the lines for children are written by adults. So they are speaking the words of people 30 years older. And you really want kids to have their own voices, and say their own things." Jenkin added: "You rarely get the feeling that children in sitcoms are real. They tend to be the same type of character – the smartarse who says adult things – and they are rooted to the spot, staring at the camera, because they've been told to stand in one place and say the lines. We decided to attempt to do something that hadn't been tried before, bounced some ideas around and we got very keen on this idea of involving improvisation very quickly."
Series four has been filmed and the first episode of the fourth series aired on 2 September 2011 at 9.00 pm on BBC One.
, saying that "compared to the ridiculous carry-on of My Family, it's much more low-key and realistic. In fact it's so low-key, nothing actually happens, which could well be a nod to Seinfeld – the touchstone of all great sitcoms. The getting ready for school chaos is like Supernanny
: The Movie only with nicer children. It's also taken a leaf out of Curb Your Enthusiasm
's book with large chunks of improvisation – although the strongest language you'll find here is "ponk"."
Kevin Maher of The Times
dismissed the programme, saying it was not funny or dramatic enough. He wrote, "Outnumbered was at its most meretricious. For every exchange between adult and child was hijacked by a crass sitcommy need for sotto voce punchlines and knowing winks to the wings. A protracted scene in which 45-year-old dad (Hugh Dennis) was unable to wrestle a live power drill from the hands of 7-year-old son Ben (Daniel Roche), and instead had to, ho-ho, pay him £5 for the privilege, was emblematic of the show's dubious capacity for fake pay-offs."
Rod Liddle
, writing in The Sunday Times
, praised the show, although he was somewhat surprised, saying, "An exquisitely middle-class, middle-aged domestic situation comedy set in West London – and starring one of those bloody stand-up comics who now festoons every network, it really should be hated before it is even seen. Start liking this sort of programme and you are an ace away from enjoying Terry and June
and having a house that smells faintly of weak tea, Murray Mints and urine. So, maybe it's just me, but Outnumbered is very funny indeed: despite its current bout of self-flagellation, the BBC still knows how to make people laugh. Comedy may be the very last thing the corporation does well."
James Walton wrote in The Daily Telegraph
that the domestic setting and more mundane storylines were a virtue, saying, "All of this feels both carefully observed and suspiciously heartfelt. More unusually, it's not contrived. Outnumbered sticks firmly with the mundane, yet manages to be funny about it. It doesn't avoid the sheer dullness involved in family life either – but, happily, depicts it with a winning mixture of exasperation and affection." He did, however, criticise the scheduling of the programme saying, "Despite the very specific London setting, the series (shown in two batches of three, this week and next) will surely appeal to the parents of young children everywhere. As long, that is, as they're not asleep by 10.35pm."
In 2008 review in The Times
, Bryan Appleyard
described Outnumbered as "the best British sitcom in years and among the best ever", adding: "As a portrait of a dysfunctional household redeemed by love and the acceptance of our fallibility, it bears comparison with The Simpsons
. And, like The Simpsons, it consoles."
.
The show was given the "British Comedy Guide Editors' Award" in The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2007 and the "Best Returning British TV Sitcom" in The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2008, beating Peep Show
by six votes.
In 2009, it won the Royal Television Society
Award for "Scripted Comedy", and two Broadcasting Press Guild
Awards in the same year: "Best Comedy/Entertainment" and the "Writer's Award". Outnumbered also won 3 awards at the 2009 British Comedy Awards
: Best Sitcom, Best British Comedy and Best Female Newcomer for Ramona Marquez
.
has announced plans to make an American version of Outnumbered, created by Andy Hamilton
and Guy Jenkin
. Larry Levin
will act as both writer and executive producer. Bryan Gordon
will be the director.
"Larry wrote a fantastic script", said MRC TV topper Keith Samples. "Everything fell into place; it had a karmic feel to it. Kevin loved the original and loved what Larry did with the adaptation."
An unbroadcast pilot
has been made and further scripts have been written. The pilot will be broadcast, but a date has yet to be given.
.
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
. Airing on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
since 2007, it stars Hugh Dennis
Hugh Dennis
Peter Hugh Dennis is an English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist, best known for his work with comedy partner Steve Punt. He is also known for his position as a permanent panelist on the TV comedy show Mock The Week...
and Claire Skinner
Claire Skinner
Claire L. Skinner is an English actress, who is well known in the United Kingdom for her television career.-Biography:Born and brought up in Hemel Hempstead, Skinner, the youngest daughter of a shopkeeper and an Irish-born secretary, was immensely shy as a child...
as a father and mother outnumbered by their three children (played by Tyger Drew-Honey, Daniel Roche
Daniel Roche (actor)
Daniel Peter Roche is an English child actor. He is best known for playing Ben in the BBC One sitcom Outnumbered.-Life:...
and Ramona Marquez
Ramona Marquez
Ramona Marquez is an English child actress from Wandsworth, South London, most known for her role as Karen Brockman in the BBC One sitcom Outnumbered...
). There have been four series to date: 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
Produced by Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions is a British independent production company that produces television programmes, mainly specialising in comedy.-History:...
, Outnumbered is written, directed and produced by Andy Hamilton
Andy Hamilton
Andrew Neil Hamilton is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter and radio dramatist.-Early life:...
and Guy Jenkin
Guy Jenkin
Guy Jenkin is a comedy writer who is best known for working on sitcoms and comedies such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Jeffrey Archer: The Truth and Outnumbered...
, although parts of the show are semi-improvised
Improvisational theatre
Improvisational theatre takes many forms. It is best known as improv or impro, which is often comedic, and sometimes poignant or dramatic. In this popular, often topical art form improvisational actors/improvisers use improvisational acting techniques to perform spontaneously...
.
The programme has received critical acclaim for its semi-improvisational scripting and realistic portrayal of children and family life." Ratings have been average for its time slot, but the series has won a number of awards from the Comedy.co.uk awards, the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
, the British Comedy Awards
British Comedy Awards
The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:...
and the Broadcasting Press Guild
Broadcasting Press Guild
The Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
. The first three series are available on DVD and the fourth has been broadcast in 2011. An American adaptation is currently being planned. The series began airing in the US on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
as of 30 July 2011.
Plot
Outnumbered is centred around the Brockmans, a middle class family living in south LondonSouth London
South London is the southern part of London, England, United Kingdom.According to the 2011 official Boundary Commission for England definition, South London includes the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Southwark, Sutton and...
, whose two parents are "outnumbered" by their three, somewhat unruly, children. The father, aged 48, Pete (Hugh Dennis
Hugh Dennis
Peter Hugh Dennis is an English actor, comedian, writer, impressionist and voice-over artist, best known for his work with comedy partner Steve Punt. He is also known for his position as a permanent panelist on the TV comedy show Mock The Week...
), is a history teacher at an inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
school and the mother, aged 45, Sue (Claire Skinner
Claire Skinner
Claire L. Skinner is an English actress, who is well known in the United Kingdom for her television career.-Biography:Born and brought up in Hemel Hempstead, Skinner, the youngest daughter of a shopkeeper and an Irish-born secretary, was immensely shy as a child...
), is a part-time personal assistant
Personal assistant
A personal assistant or personal aide is someone who assists in daily business or personal tasks. It is common in design to have a PDA, or personal design assistant....
. The three children are: Jake (Tyger Drew-Honey), aged 15, whose teenage sarcasm and obsession with girls worries his mother,, Ben (Daniel Roche
Daniel Roche (actor)
Daniel Peter Roche is an English child actor. He is best known for playing Ben in the BBC One sitcom Outnumbered.-Life:...
), aged 11, who is a pathological liar, does unusual things, is constantly asking his parents if he is allowed to watch Little Britain
Little Britain
Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...
, and is always coming up with hypothetical questions like "who would win in a fight between...", and Karen (Ramona Marquez
Ramona Marquez
Ramona Marquez is an English child actress from Wandsworth, South London, most known for her role as Karen Brockman in the BBC One sitcom Outnumbered...
), aged nine, who asks too many questions and who imitates a lot of what she sees on television. Other regular characters include Sue's 47 year old new age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
sister, Angela Morrison (Samantha Bond), and their father Frank (David Ryall
David Ryall
David Ryall is an English actor who has appeared on British television since the 1970s. He has had leading roles in Lytton's Diary and Goodnight Sweetheart, as well as memorable roles in Dennis Potter's The Singing Detective and Andrew Davies's adaptation of To Play the King and The Final Cut, the...
), referred to as "Grandad", who is in the early stages of dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
. The writers also use the popular sitcom device of the unseen character
Unseen character
In fiction, an unseen character is a character that is never directly observed by the audience but is only described by other characters. They are a common device in drama and have been called "triumphs of theatrical invention". They are continuing characters — characters who are currently in...
in the form of Veronica, Sue's demanding boss in series one. In series two, the device is used again, but in the form of Sue's new boss Tyson, who is revealed to be a conman
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
who absconds in the final episode of the series. Series three introduces Rosalind Ayres
Rosalind Ayres
Rosalind Ayres is an English actress. Active since 1970, Ayres may be best known by a wide audience for her role was in the 1997 film Titanic, in which she played Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon....
as Pete's mum, referred to as "Gran", who is addicted to online gambling and has a growing hatred for Pete's father. Other new characters in Series 3 include Kelly (Anna Skellern
Anna Skellern
Anna Skellern is an actress best known as the first female member of The Chaser's television programme CNNNN.- Early years :...
), whom Jake has a crush on, Angela's new husband Brick (Douglas Hodge
Douglas Hodge
Douglas Hodge is an English actor, director, and musician who trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.Hodge is a council member of the National Youth Theatre for whom, in 1989, he co-wrote Pacha Mama's Blessing about the Amazon rain forests staged at the Almeida...
), who is an American therapist, and his daughter Taylor Jean, who wants to live with her mum. Also introduced is a campaigner against council plans to place speed bumps on the road who pesters the family. In the fourth series (the first episode aired on 2 September 2011), Karen is aged nine, Jake is fifteen and Ben is eleven.
Production
Outnumbered was the first collaboration between Hamilton and Jenkin since Drop the Dead DonkeyDrop the Dead Donkey
- Major characters :* Gus Hedges — The unctuous Chief Executive of the company, and yes-man to Sir Roysten Merchant. A management stereotype, complete with clichés and clumsy metaphors, he swiftly transforms GlobeLink from a serious news network to a ratings-chasing tabloid channel...
ended in 1998. It was commissioned by BBC controller Lucy Lumsden. The executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
is Jon Rolph. Originally a 20-minute long pilot was made; this was given to Lumsden, who then commissioned six episodes. The setting for the show is somewhere in South London, with the show being shot on location in Wandsworth
Wandsworth
Wandsworth is a district of south London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-Toponymy:...
. The house used for external shots is in Dempster Road, Wandsworth. During the second series, the family receive a final demand for council tax
Council tax
Council Tax is the system of local taxation used in England, Scotland and Wales to part fund the services provided by local government in each country. It was introduced in 1993 by the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as a successor to the unpopular Community Charge...
from the fictional "Limebridge Council", sent to the fictional address of 19 Keely Road, London, W4 2CF.
The writers use improvisation in order to achieve convincing performances from the child actors. Dennis commented: "In most sitcoms all the lines for children are written by adults. So they are speaking the words of people 30 years older. And you really want kids to have their own voices, and say their own things." Jenkin added: "You rarely get the feeling that children in sitcoms are real. They tend to be the same type of character – the smartarse who says adult things – and they are rooted to the spot, staring at the camera, because they've been told to stand in one place and say the lines. We decided to attempt to do something that hadn't been tried before, bounced some ideas around and we got very keen on this idea of involving improvisation very quickly."
Series four has been filmed and the first episode of the fourth series aired on 2 September 2011 at 9.00 pm on BBC One.
Ratings
The first episode received 4.1 million viewers (25.5% of the audience share) when it began and finished with 2.8 million (19.5%) at the end, which is larger than the average 2.2 million (14%) normally attracted by television shows in its particular time slot. The audience for the second episode fell by half a million viewers, while still being the highest ranking show in its time slot, with 18% of the audience share. However, it maintained a constant audience throughout the first series, with the fourth episode attracting 2.7 million viewers (20% audience share).Critical reception
The show initially received a mixed reception, though after the second season reviews have gradually shifted towards a fairly positive tone. The Daily Mirror found the mundane settings to be similar to the American sitcom SeinfeldSeinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, saying that "compared to the ridiculous carry-on of My Family, it's much more low-key and realistic. In fact it's so low-key, nothing actually happens, which could well be a nod to Seinfeld – the touchstone of all great sitcoms. The getting ready for school chaos is like Supernanny
Supernanny
Supernanny is a reality TV programme which originated in the United Kingdom about parents struggling with their children's behaviour. The UK version has aired on Channel 4 with E4 showing repeats since 2004. The program returned in 2010...
: The Movie only with nicer children. It's also taken a leaf out of Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
's book with large chunks of improvisation – although the strongest language you'll find here is "ponk"."
Kevin Maher of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
dismissed the programme, saying it was not funny or dramatic enough. He wrote, "Outnumbered was at its most meretricious. For every exchange between adult and child was hijacked by a crass sitcommy need for sotto voce punchlines and knowing winks to the wings. A protracted scene in which 45-year-old dad (Hugh Dennis) was unable to wrestle a live power drill from the hands of 7-year-old son Ben (Daniel Roche), and instead had to, ho-ho, pay him £5 for the privilege, was emblematic of the show's dubious capacity for fake pay-offs."
Rod Liddle
Rod Liddle
Roderick E. L. Liddle is an English print, radio, and television journalist.He is an associate editor of The Spectator, and former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he is the author of Too Beautiful for You , Love Will Destroy Everything , and co-author of The Best of Liddle Britain...
, writing in The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
, praised the show, although he was somewhat surprised, saying, "An exquisitely middle-class, middle-aged domestic situation comedy set in West London – and starring one of those bloody stand-up comics who now festoons every network, it really should be hated before it is even seen. Start liking this sort of programme and you are an ace away from enjoying Terry and June
Terry and June
Terry and June is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The programme is largely a continuation of Happy Ever After, and stars Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford...
and having a house that smells faintly of weak tea, Murray Mints and urine. So, maybe it's just me, but Outnumbered is very funny indeed: despite its current bout of self-flagellation, the BBC still knows how to make people laugh. Comedy may be the very last thing the corporation does well."
James Walton wrote in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
that the domestic setting and more mundane storylines were a virtue, saying, "All of this feels both carefully observed and suspiciously heartfelt. More unusually, it's not contrived. Outnumbered sticks firmly with the mundane, yet manages to be funny about it. It doesn't avoid the sheer dullness involved in family life either – but, happily, depicts it with a winning mixture of exasperation and affection." He did, however, criticise the scheduling of the programme saying, "Despite the very specific London setting, the series (shown in two batches of three, this week and next) will surely appeal to the parents of young children everywhere. As long, that is, as they're not asleep by 10.35pm."
In 2008 review in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Bryan Appleyard
Bryan Appleyard
Bryan Appleyard is a British journalist and author.- Career :Appleyard was educated at Bolton School and King’s College, Cambridge and after graduating with a degree in English, he became Financial News Editor and Deputy Arts Editor from 1976 to 1984 at The Times. Subsequently he became a...
described Outnumbered as "the best British sitcom in years and among the best ever", adding: "As a portrait of a dysfunctional household redeemed by love and the acceptance of our fallibility, it bears comparison with The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
. And, like The Simpsons, it consoles."
Awards
Outnumbered was nominated for the 2008 "Broadcast Award" for "Best Comedy Programme", but lost the award to The Thick of ItThe Thick of It
The Thick of It is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of modern British government. It was first broadcast on BBC Four in 2005, and has so far completed fourteen half-hour episodes and two special hour-long episodes to coincide with Christmas and Gordon Brown's...
.
The show was given the "British Comedy Guide Editors' Award" in The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2007 and the "Best Returning British TV Sitcom" in The Comedy.co.uk Awards 2008, beating Peep Show
Peep Show (TV series)
Peep Show is a British sitcom starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb. The television programme is written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain, with additional material by Mitchell and Webb themselves, amongst others. It has been broadcast on Channel 4 since 2003. The show's seventh series makes it...
by six votes.
In 2009, it won the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Award for "Scripted Comedy", and two Broadcasting Press Guild
Broadcasting Press Guild
The Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally....
Awards in the same year: "Best Comedy/Entertainment" and the "Writer's Award". Outnumbered also won 3 awards at the 2009 British Comedy Awards
British Comedy Awards
The British Comedy Awards is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year.-History:...
: Best Sitcom, Best British Comedy and Best Female Newcomer for Ramona Marquez
Ramona Marquez
Ramona Marquez is an English child actress from Wandsworth, South London, most known for her role as Karen Brockman in the BBC One sitcom Outnumbered...
.
U.S. version
FoxFox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
has announced plans to make an American version of Outnumbered, created by Andy Hamilton
Andy Hamilton
Andrew Neil Hamilton is a British comedian, game show panellist, television director, comedy screenwriter and radio dramatist.-Early life:...
and Guy Jenkin
Guy Jenkin
Guy Jenkin is a comedy writer who is best known for working on sitcoms and comedies such as Drop the Dead Donkey, Jeffrey Archer: The Truth and Outnumbered...
. Larry Levin
Larry Levin
Larry Levin is an American businessman and the president and CEO of Secrets of Traders and Trading Advantage headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. He trades the S&P 500 at the Chicago Board of Trade, now known as The Chicago Mercantile Exchange . Larry Levin has been trading his own account or...
will act as both writer and executive producer. Bryan Gordon
Bryan Gordon
Bryan Gordon is a television and film director and writer. He has been nominated three times for the Directors Guild of America Award and in 2002 received the Directors Guild award for comedy directing. He’s been nominated for an Emmy twice – both for his work on the HBO series Curb Your...
will be the director.
"Larry wrote a fantastic script", said MRC TV topper Keith Samples. "Everything fell into place; it had a karmic feel to it. Kevin loved the original and loved what Larry did with the adaptation."
An unbroadcast pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
has been made and further scripts have been written. The pilot will be broadcast, but a date has yet to be given.
DVD releases
The first three series and the Christmas special are available to buy on DVD. They have been published by 2 Entertain2 Entertain
2 Entertain is a British video and music publisher, formed by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004....
.
| DVD Title | No. of discs | Year | No. of episodes | DVD release dates | DVD extras | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 2 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
Region 4 DVD region code DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region... |
||||||
| Complete Series 1 | 1 | 2007 2007 in British television This is a summary of the year 2007 in British television.-Events:*1 January - Celebrity Big Brother 5 launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.... |
6 | 17 November 2008 | 1 July 2010 | Interviews with the cast and writers | |
| Complete Series 2 | 2 | 2008 2008 in British television This is a list of events taking place in 2008 related to British television.-Events:-BBC One:-BBC Two:-BBC Three:-BBC Four:-ITV:-Channel 4:-Five:-E4:-Sky1:-Watch:-Dave:-FX:-Changes of network affiliation:... |
7 | 16 November 2009 | 2 September 2010 | The Comic Relief special, out-takes and deleted scenes | |
| Christmas Special 2009 | 1 | 2009 2009 in British television This is a list of events taking place in 2009 related to British television.-Events:-BBC:-ITV:-Channel 4:-Five:-Subscription Channels:-New channels:-Defunct channels:-Rebranding channels:-Changes of network affiliation:... |
1 | 18 January 2010 | — | — | |
| Complete Series 3 | 1 | 2010 2010 in British television This is a list of events taking place in 2010 related to British television.-Events:-BBC:-ITV:-Channel 4:-Five:-Subscription Channels:-New Channels:-Defunct Channels:-Changes of network affiliation:... |
6 | 15 November 2010 | 11 February 2011 | The Sport Relief special and documentary | |
| Complete Series 4 | TBA | 2011 2011 in British television This is a list of events taking place in 2011 related to British television.-Events:-BBC:-ITV:-Channel 4:-Channel 5:-Subscription Channels:-New channels:-Defunct channels:-Rebranding channels:-Changes of network affiliation:... |
TBA | 21 November 2011 | — | — | |
| Christmas Special 2011 | 1 | 2011 2011 in British television This is a list of events taking place in 2011 related to British television.-Events:-BBC:-ITV:-Channel 4:-Channel 5:-Subscription Channels:-New channels:-Defunct channels:-Rebranding channels:-Changes of network affiliation:... |
1 | 26 December 2011 | — | — | |
| Complete Series 1 & 2 | 3 | 2007 2007 in British television This is a summary of the year 2007 in British television.-Events:*1 January - Celebrity Big Brother 5 launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.... & 2008 2008 in British television This is a list of events taking place in 2008 related to British television.-Events:-BBC One:-BBC Two:-BBC Three:-BBC Four:-ITV:-Channel 4:-Five:-E4:-Sky1:-Watch:-Dave:-FX:-Changes of network affiliation:... |
13 | 16 November 2009 | — | Same as individual releases | |
| Complete Series 1–3 | 5 | 2007 2007 in British television This is a summary of the year 2007 in British television.-Events:*1 January - Celebrity Big Brother 5 launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.... –2010 2010 in British television This is a list of events taking place in 2010 related to British television.-Events:-BBC:-ITV:-Channel 4:-Five:-Subscription Channels:-New Channels:-Defunct Channels:-Changes of network affiliation:... |
20 | 15 November 2010 | 5 April 2011 | Same as individual releases | |
| Complete Series 1–4 | TBA | 2007 2007 in British television This is a summary of the year 2007 in British television.-Events:*1 January - Celebrity Big Brother 5 launched on Channel 4, with celebrities such as Jermaine Jackson, Dirk Benedict and Leo Sayer.... –2011 2011 in British television This is a list of events taking place in 2011 related to British television.-Events:-BBC:-ITV:-Channel 4:-Channel 5:-Subscription Channels:-New channels:-Defunct channels:-Rebranding channels:-Changes of network affiliation:... |
TBA | 21 November 2011 | — | Same as individual releases | |
External links
- Outnumbered, an external wiki
- Review, Leicester Mercury