EXCLUSIVE: Laurie Kynaston (Fool Me Once, The Sandman), Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (Derry Girls, Screw) and Alex Lawther (The End of the F***ing World, Alien: Earth) are toplining Leonard and Hungry Paul, a feel-good drama for the BBC and Ireland‘s RTÉ, we’ve learned.
Based on Rónán Hession’s novel of the same name, filming has begun in Dublin on a six-part show and will continue through this month. We’ve got the news ahead of the BBC Comedy Festival in Belfast tomorrow, where it will be unveiled. In the UK, it will air on BBC Three and iPlayer.
Irish indie Subotica is producing for BBC Northern Ireland in association with BBC Comedy, Screen Ireland and RTÉ, with Avalon co-producing and distributing internationally. Richie Conroy and Mark Hodkinson adapating Hession’s book, which has sold over 300,000 copies since publication in 2019. Andrew Chaplin (Alma’s Not Normal, Smoggie Queens) is directing.
The story follows two unique board-gaming friends who meander through leafy suburban life, charting a story about Judo, ancient Rome, first loves and the expansion of the Universe.
“I am delighted to see ‘Leonard and Hungry Paul’ being adapted for the screen,” said author Hession. “It’s a real privilege as a writer to see my work being brought to life in a different creative form.”
Executive producers Tristan Orpen Lynch and Aoife O’Sullivan will oversee the show for Subotica, alongside in-house producer Natalie McAuley. Adam Barth is executive producer for Avalon, Kate McColgan is executive producer for Fís Éireann / Screen Ireland and other executive producers include Wally Hall, David Harari, Morwin Schmookler and Ross Boucher.
Dublin-based Subotica is known for dramas such as RTÉ’s The Boy That Never Was, which we featured as a Global Breakout in September last year, and the upcoming Binge rom-com series Mix Tape, which recently won the TV series Audience award at this year’s SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Eddie Doyle, Senior Head of Commissioning for BBC Northern Ireland commissioned the series and Mary McKeagney and Emma Lawson are commissioning editors for the BBC.
“This series promises something special and is full of charm and poignant moments that encapsulate ordinary life,” said Doyle. “With a stellar cast bringing this acclaimed novel to the screen, it will make an exciting addition to BBC Northern Ireland’s offering this year.”
A source close to the show noted the combination of the BBC and RTÉ highlighted how drama series produced at “reasonable price points” for international co-commissioners are still getting made, while many other projects reliant on U.S. pre-sale deals remain “stuck in limbo.”
Kynaston is known for roles in films such as England is Mine, How to Build a Girl and Muse, and TV shows including BBC comedy Cradle to Grave, Virgin Media and Prime Video sci-fi The Feed, Paramount+’s The Doll Factory and Netflix shows The Sandman and Fool Me Once. Theater work includes The Son and The Winslow Boy.
O’Donnell is best known for her role in Channel 4 comedy Derry Girls. She also appeared in Screw, another Channel 4 show, and last month starred in Channel 5 drama series The Feud.
Lawther starred in Channel 4 comedy-drama The End of the F***ing World and is well known for his Black Mirror episode ‘Shut Up and Dance’ from 2016. He’s set to star in FX drama Alien: Earth and also has had roles in Disney+’s Andor, BBC comedy The Cleaner and Apple TV+ live-action/animated special The Velveteen Rabbit.
Kynaston is repped by Conway van Gelder Grant and 2PM Sharp; Lawther is repped by Conway van Gelder Grant, UTA, Entertainment 360 and Tapestry London. O’Donnell is repped by The Artists Partnership.
