My top five ‘Hmmmm… Interesting’ shows on Punkanary
By Joanna Tilley (@JoannaTilley)
I hope we can all agree that the Comedy Crowd and its weekly newsletter has brought a lot of joy into our email lives. Not only is it full of opportunities for new comedy writers, but it has links to some great inspirational articles and I think most importantly of all it feels inclusive and friendly. For me, the Comedy Crowd offers a bit of hope and camaraderie in a world where being paid to do what I love so often feels like a pipe-dream. Comedy writers may find themselves united in frustration, but united we are, and the Comedy Crowd has brought us all together – which is lovely.
At the end of 2018, the Comedy Crowd took its passion for comedy one gigantic step for mankind further by setting up a website called Punkanary. The idea of Punkanary is to provide a platform where comedy makers can showcase their work, gain a fan base and interact more with other comedy lovers. There are already over 100 shows on Punkanary and I have enjoyed watching the videos as they have rolled in over the last few months. But every now and then I see one, put my finger to my chin and think deeply, ‘Hmmmm… Interesting’.
So without further ado, here are my top 5 ‘Hmmmm… Interesting’ shows on Punkanary, thus far. Shows that if I were a comedy commissioner I might want to find out more about.
1. FIT TO DROP
Watching the shows on Punkanary made me realise something more clearly than I have done in the past. There are definitely some formats of comedy that are in vogue. And if the panel show wins this popularity contest by a landslide, then the mockumentary is ripe for second place. Fit To Drop certainly has a ‘This Country’ and ‘People Just Do Nothing’ vibe – but not just because it is a similar format – but because it is funny. Written and directed by Sarah Johnson and John Spence-Arnold, Fit To Drop zooms in on Fiona who is trying to build up a fitness empire with the help of her friends. This eight-minute pilot works because it is what so many people try to do with comedy, but fail – simple. There’s also a strong leading character and some great dialogue and visual humour. So much potential. Check it out here.
I love pussy! Sorry, what I meant to say is I love Tales From Pussy Willow. This show massively feels on trend, and the part-animation look is unusual and simply pretty awesome. I admire animation because it seems like a lot of hard work, but this show plays with the form, which makes it more fun. The sketch on their Punkanary page made me laugh and I wanted more. Luckily, there’s plenty more to see on their YouTube channel, Tales from Pussy Willow. From a quick Twalk (that’s Twitter stalking, that is) of creator Kate Jessop’s page, I can see the show is already winning awards so it may be on its way. But I would recommend producers and power-folk people have a look. It’s clever. Check it out here.
3. RUINED: A HIPSTER GHOST STORY
Quite often I watch a video clip on Punkanary and think ‘boy that was great’, but would a TV commissioner take a risk on it? The sad thing is that zany, surreal, Mighty Boosh style comedy is disappearing and being replaced with depressing real world comedy-dramas. The thing I loved about Ruined: A Hipster Ghost Story is that it is suitably silly, strange and different. After a bit of Twalking, I discovered writer Lily Smith studied comedy writing at NFTS – thus I am going to assume she is a talent to watch because they rejected me twice. Anyway, I certainly felt some ‘hmmmm… interesting’ going on whilst watching it. Consider it for yerrselves here:
During this slick trailer I definitely got the ‘hmmmm… interesting’ vibe. I like the fact there’s a no-nonsense female in the hero role and the spoof element suggests this could be a lot of fun. The trailer has been produced by Adam McNicol, who I met last year when asked to ‘star’ as an extra in a short film he was making. That also felt like a slick operation, so I am going to add one and one together and assume that there may be something in this agent and her misfortune. Check out the trailer here.
5. HOT DESK
Hot Desk is another show that feels on trend and whilst being filmed in one confined location certainly helps, the production value feels very high. The premise is nice and simple – with Andrew Neck (played by Ben Rufus Green) sitting next to a hot desk of rotating employees. With so many frustrated creatives finding themselves in ‘the boring office job to pay the bills’ scenario, this show is bound to attract an audience that empathise with the awkward situations Andrew finds himself in, and causing. There are a couple of episodes to enjoy on the Punkanary page here.
And that brings us to the end of my ‘Hmmmm… Interesting’ top-five. If you have any other suggestions of your own favourite shows please share below or with us on Twitter @punkanary @thecomedycrowd.
Also do not forget that comedy shows registered by January 31st on Punkanary will have the chance to be screened at the 2019 LOCO Comedy Film Festival at the BFI. For more information, clickedy click here.
Long live the hyperlink and goodbye!