BBC has announced new comedy Pandemonium to air over the Christmas period.
The one-off 30 minute pilot episode will form part of BBC One’s festive schedule.
A teaser reads: “2020 has been an absolute nightmare for the Jessop family (amongst others). Having seen their finances and future plans devastated, they’ve also had to abandon their holiday of a lifetime to California.
“With family morale at an all-time low, the Jessops decide they’re going to have their summer holiday after all, even if it means doing it in December. In Margate. All filmed by their youngest son, Pandemonium charts the Jessops last, dogged attempt at some quality family time in 2020, despite the best efforts of a global pandemic to pull them apart.”
Pandemonium features an all star cast including Katherine Parkinson (Defending the Guilty, The IT Crowd) as Rachel, Jim Howick (Sex Education, Ghosts) as Paul, Alison Steadman (Gavin & Stacey, Hold the Sunset) as Sue, Tom Basen (After Life, Plebs) as Robin and Tori Allen-Martin (Pure, Unforgotten) as Cherry.
Writer an star Tom Basen said: “I’d wanted to write a sitcom about a family going on holiday for some time, as I think there’s something really funny and high stakes about people under pressure to have a good time together, and the stress and anger this tends to produce instead.
“Seeing the extreme lengths families were going to this year (including my own) to have any kind of holiday during the pandemic, I realised how essential these moments of escape were for us and wanted to celebrate the hope and desperation that compelled families to make the best out of a terrible situation.
“Growing up, I was a big fan of the National Lampoons Vacation films, and I wanted to capture some of that warmth and chaos that comes from a group of people with very different attitudes, all bundled together and unleashed upon the world.”
Pandemonium airs Wednesday, 30 December at 9:45PM on BBC One.
You’ll be able to watch online via the BBC iPlayer here.
More on: BBC One
