Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
KATE & KOJI AXED
ITV ditches Brenda’s cafe sitcom
SITCOM Kate & Koji has been axed by ITV after just two series.
Starring Brenda Blethyn, 76, as a seaside cafe owner, it was the channel’s first studio audience sitcom in seven years when it launched in 2020.
The show, which also starred Jimmy Akingbola, 44, as asylum-seeker Koji, a doctor who sets up a surgery in Kate’s cafe to help her bring in customers, once drew more than five million viewers. Jimmy left the show after landing a leading role in the re-boot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-air.
In the second series, Koji was played by Okorie Chukwu.
Ratings fell and ITV have now confirmed it will not return.
A spokesman said: “We’ve loved having Kate & Koji on the channel. We would like to thank all of the cast and crew for their hard work.”
ITV said many more new comedies were in the pipeline including The Family Pile, about four sisters selling up their old home after their parents die.
Also coming soon is Alan Carr’s Changing Ends, an autobiographical look at the comic’s early years. Strictly contestant Jayde Adams has a series launching on new streaming service ITVX. Called Ruby Speaking, it was inspired by the years she spent working in a Bristol call centre.
ITV boss Kevin Lygo has described the speed at which audiences give up on comedies as “brutal”. He believes ITVX, which launches next month, will give sitcoms a better chance of success.