Rom’s pilots may land nightly show
THERE’S a good chance that we will be seeing much more of Romesh Ranganathan.
The comedian features in two of the three pilot shows lined up as BBC2’s answer to ITV’s The Nightly Show.
BBC2 chiefs have been searching for more than a year for a topical, funny and satirical show for a 10pm week-night slot.
They are looking for a series in the mould of Channel 4’s 11 O’Clock show, which launched the careers of The Office’s Ricky Gervais and Ali G star Sacha Baron Cohen.
The Beeb want it to encourage “live viewing on the day” giving the programmes an “unmissable quality”.
Teacher-turned-comedian Romesh, 39, will find out soon if one of his pilots is picked. Dad-of-three Rom jokes that if the bigwigs pick the one he isn’t doing, he’ll see it as “a damning indictment on my future”. He says: “Americans have done that kind of show so well for such a long time. “And we search bits out over here, people are always saying ‘Did you see the thing on Corden or The Daily Show or Saturday Night Live?’. “There’s a real appetite for it.” Rom knows the show will have to be extremely good to succeed in keeping people out of bed, even though it would be on relatively early at 10pm. He says: “Over here we’re in our pyjamas by 9ish. A show would have to be incredible for me to stay up really late to watch it. You’d be thinking ‘how can this be better than bed?’”
Perhaps this is why he declined an invitation to join The Nightly Show.
He explains: “With something like that, I’d want to be across it completely and to have written everything I say.
“And I just didn’t have the time. You’d have to devote a lot of time to those monologues. I wouldn’t want to go in feeling undercooked or like I was doing it half-heartedly. And I’m a stand-up so you want to do jokes that you’ve written.”
He is also waiting to hear if a sitcom pilot he made for Sky will be commissioned.
He says with pilots you don’t know if it is a great year or terrible year until decisions are made. Let’s hope Rom has the last laugh this time.