All-female TV sketch shows don't have a great reputation - the problem being, of course, that there have barely ever been any. Most sketch shows are a bit rubbish, and any sub-set has a more than average chance of not being very good. But if a show's USP is that it's all-women, people like to decide it's the women-ness of it that makes it a bit weak in places rather than, say, the fact that sketch shows are really hard to get right. So this new show, Beehive is already up against it. It'll feature the superb Perrier-nominated stand-up Sarah Kendall and Alice Lowe from Garth Margenhi's Darkplace amongst others.
Producer Siobhan Rhodes says: 'Beehive is about women being funny. There isn't enough of that on TV right now. 'Only Barunka and Alice had met before I introduced Sarah and Clare. It was great to see chemistry immediately and to know that Beehive will be the first result of the introduction of these four unique but complementary talents.
According to Shane Allen, commissioning editor for comedy at Channel 4: 'Beehive has a distinct comic heart to it. It's a lovely mix of very silly performances but conceptually it's very cleverly written.'
Filming begins later this summer, and the show will go out on E4.
