Cover story
Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan return or the final series of hit comedy Castrophe
Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney return for more relationship chaos in the comedy Catastrophe
Catastrophe
Tuesday, C4 HD, 10pm
catastrophe BECAME AN instant hit for C4 in 2015 with its Baftawinning storyline about a London primary-school teacher and an American advertising executive whose one-night stand turns into marriage when she gets pregnant.
In the new season, Sharon and Rob – played by Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, who also write the series – are now parents of two young children. They’re dealing with the fallout from the previous season’s finale, in which Sharon admitted a minor infidelity and Rob – an alcoholic who had secretly returned to the bottle – had a car accident while
drink-driving.
IN TROUBLE
‘They decided they couldn’t function without each other, no matter what,’ explains Horgan. ‘Then Rob revealed he was secretly drinking and he almost died. So in series four, it is about the struggle of staying together – because they have no other option.’
As well as successfully blending comedy with such dramatic storylines, the series is known for its realistic (and hilariously crude) sex scenes, which Horgan explains was always intentional.
‘We didn’t want the sex in the show to ever look pretty. We wanted it to look real – and rank! What’s funny is that, season
by season, there has been less and less sex as they become a longterm couple and there’s not much sex in the new season at all.’
Horgan reckons that the secret of the show’s success lies in its believable, likeable characters,
‘It’s the characters that people love, and are important,’ she reveals. ‘There is so much good TV on right now, so what is going to make people want to come back and watch more? A show can be great and it can be funny, but you must want to know what happens to the characters.’
SAD LOSS
One character missing from season four is Rob’s mother Mia, who was played by Hollywood star Carrie Fisher for the first three seasons before her death in December 2016.
Horgan promises that her presence is felt in the new season, and remembers the iconic star fondly. ‘She had so much more to give and to do, and she was excited about her life and doing more acting. She loved playing Mia and she totally got it – you never really had to explain or suggest anything to her. ‘We got to know her
so well, especially filming the third series, and I felt like it was the beginning of a lifelong friendship with someone I could spend a lot of time with – and then she was gone.’
WRAPPING IT UP
Sadly for fans, both Delaney and Horgan insist the new season of
Catastrophe will be its last.
‘We’ve been doing it for five years now and have made four series that we absolutely love,’ Horgan explains. ‘We’re both very proud of the show and we’ve made exactly what we wanted to make, for better or worse. We do wrap it up at the end of this season, but we don’t kill them off or anything!’
‘We didn’t want to have to struggle to come up with storylines,’ adds Delaney. ‘And we’ve said what we want to say about families for now. But if we go now after four short seasons and then want to come back when we’re older, maybe people will want to watch that.’
Both have new projects to work on in the meantime. Horgan is writing a second season of her comedy Motherland, while Delaney has completed a stand-up tour and is currently filming a movie about disgraced Fox TV boss Roger Ailes, with Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and John Lithgow.
But even if they don’t make another season of Catastrophe, don’t be surprised if there’s another Horgan/delaney collaboration in the future.
‘I’m sure we will work together again at some point,’ Delaney promises, grinning at Horgan.
‘We have a good little thing going.’
‘No, we have a great little thing going,’ Horgan corrects him with a smile.
‘They decided they couldn’t function without each other, no matter what’
sharon horgan