“Matafeo is an astute, often hilarious observer of millennial life”
★★★★ The Telegraph, Rupert Hawksley
“A near perfect comedian”
★★★★ Brian Logan, The Guardian
“Rose Matafeo is a total scream!”
Christopher Rosa, Glamour U.S.
LONDON – 15th March 2021 – The brand new 6-part romcom Starstruck, created, written by and starring Edinburgh Comedy Award winning comedian, writer and actor Rose Matafeo (Baby Done, Taskmaster) is set to air later this year on BBC Three and BBC One in the UK, HBO Max in the USA, ABC in Australia, and TVNZ in New Zealand.
Co-written by Rose Matafeo and Alice Snedden, the cast includes actor Nikesh Patel (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hulu; Indian Summers, Channel 4) as leading man and love interest. While comedian, actor, and writer Emma Sidi (Pls Like, BBC Three; King Gary, BBC Three), Sindhu Vee (Live at the Apollo, BBC One; Mock The Week, BBC Two) will take on roles. Special guest star Minnie Driver (Modern Love, Amazon; Good Will Hunting) will feature alongside the wider cast including Al Roberts (Stath Lets Flats, Channel 4), Jon Pointing (Plebs, ITV), Joe Barnes (The Now Show, BBC R4), Nic Sampson (The Luminaries; BBC Three), Lola Rose Maxwell (Down From London, Topic), Abraham Popoola (The Great, Channel 4), and Ambreen Razia (This Way Up, Channel 4).
Starstruck follows Jessie (Rose Matafeo), a millennial living in East London juggling two dead end jobs and navigating the awkward morning-after-the-night-before when she discovers the complications of accidentally sleeping with famous film star Tom (Nikesh Patel).
As well as being broadcast on BBC One and BBC Three in the UK, HBO Max will be the broadcast partner for the series in the USA, while the show has also been picked up by ABC to air in Australia, and TVNZ in New Zealand.
The news arrives shortly after Matafeo’s Comedy Award winning stand-up special Horndog launched on BBC One and BBC Three last month as part of the BBC’s Festival of Funny after previously enjoying successful performances around the world with sell-out shows at the New Zealand International Comedy Festival and a Barry Award nominated run at the Melbourne Comedy Festival, before being crowned Best Show at the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2018.
Starstruck is directed by Karen Maine (SXSW Award Winning Yes God Yes), and was commissioned by Shane Allen, Controller Comedy Commissioning at the BBC and Fiona Campbell, Controller of BBC Three. Produced by Avalon, executive Producers are Rose Matafeo, Jon Thoday, Richard Allen-Turner and Rob Aslett. Toby Welch acts as series producer. Gregor Sharp is the Commissioning Editor for the BBC, and Jeniffer Kim is SVP of International Content for HBO Max.
Transmission details will be confirmed in due course
WHAT THE PRESS HAVE SAID ABOUT ROSE MATAFEO
Rose Matafeo is going to be huge
★★★★ Alice Jones, The I
“The 28-year-old New Zealander bursts with confidence and energy, making her one of the most exciting new voices on the global comedy circuit… One to watch”
★★★★ Linda Marric, NME
“a gobsmackingly energetic and brilliantly accomplished hour of mid-twenties angst and comedic obsession”
The Daily Telegraph
“This is a comedy tour-de-force”
★★★★★ Steven Perkins, TV Times Magazine
“delivered with outrageous charm and immaculate comic chops”
Stephen Armstrong, Sunday Times Culture
“A big hit… very funny material”
Keith Watson, Metro
“Rose Matafeo has quickly – and quite rightly- established herself as one of the best new voices on the comedy scene”
Lynn Gibson, Inside Soap
“it’s a likeably breathless rush through slogan t-shirts, and terrifying dolphins- but watch for the last few minutes which transform everything that has gone before”
Victoria Segal, The Sunday Times
“heaps of millennial angst, mid-twenties obsession and laugh’s”
★★★★ Jason Arnopp, Heat Magazine
This Kiwi livewire has been on the cusp of breaking through in the UK for a couple of years and Horndog feels like her moment
★★★★ Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard
Wonderfully clever and heartwarming
★★★★ Veronica Lee, Arts Desk
Seamless and authentic
Margaret Lyons, New York Times
Rose Matafeo: Horndog is without a doubt my favorite comedy special of this year…. It’s relatable and energetic, and of course, so, so funny
Lea Palmieri, The Decider
Matafeo exudes the energy of a Looney Tunes character while performing, bouncing around from side to side, breaking off to play little character bits, and even ending the show with a random dance number that feels like a fitting finale
Christian Becker, Paste Magazine
A real force of nature
★★★★ Paul Fleckney, Chortle
Comics don’t come much more exciting than Rose Matafeo
★★★★ Fergus Morgan, Fest
The 26-year-old Kiwi’s comedy resonates, her charisma is undeniable
★★★★ Craig Angus, The List
Such positivity and exuberance mixed with real smarts and stand-up chops are a rare treat indeed
★★★★ Tony Makos, The Skinny
Horndog is a superbly funny show from a wonderful comic at the top of her game
★★★★ Daisy Malt, Three Weeks
Social Media Handles:
Instagram: @rosematafeo
Twitter: @Rose_Matafeo
For further information contact:
Avalon: Florrie Sheehan, fsheehan@avalonuk.com
BBC: Chris McCluskey, chris.mccluskey@bbc.co.uk
Notes to Editors:
The full cast includes: Rose Matafeo, Nikesh Patel, Emma Sidi, Sindhu Vee, Minnie Driver, Al Roberts, Jon Pointing, Joe Barnes, Ed Harrison, Liz Kingsman, Matthew Jacobs, Nic Sampson, Lola Rose Maxwell, Paul Raymond, Ross Tomlinson, Saskia Chana, Tessa Coates, Alice Snedden, Nadia Parkes, Abraham Popoola, and Ambreen Razia.
About Rose Matafeo
New Zealand born Rose has established herself as one of the most exciting new voices in comedy and is firmly fixed as the “voice of millennials” (Comedy Awards).
A regular face on screen, January saw Rose star in the feature film Baby Done (exec produced by Taika Waititi), while she has featured on BAFTA winning Taskmaster (Ch4), Have I Got News For You (BBC One), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV 1), Unspun with Matt Forde (Dave), Ultimate Worrier (Dave), Hypothetical (UKTV), The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice (Channel 4), The Last Leg (Channel 4), and performed on Conan (TBS). Rose has acted in BBC One’s W1A, BBC Three’s Pls Like and Climaxed, and E4’s Dead Pixels, while she wrote and starred in the three-part series Rose Matafeo: Temp for Channel 4’s Comedy Blaps.
In the US, she also performed a stand-up slot on Conan (TBS). In New Zealand Rose is the lead writer and star of the sketch show Funny Girls (TV3) which is in its third series, and a regular on panel show 7 Days (Three Now NZ). She also starred in the feature Baby, Done (Piki Films). She is also co-host of podcast Boners of the Heart with Alice Snedden.
About Avalon
Avalon is a multi-award-winning talent management, television production and live promotion group with offices in London, Los Angeles and New York.
Avalon, Artist Rights Group (ARG) and The Agency represent a prolific roster of artists including comedians, actors, presenters, writers and directors. Avalon’s numerous ground-breaking returning television shows currently in production include: Not Going Out (BBC), the UK’s longest running sitcom on air; Taskmaster (Channel 4), the BAFTA-winning hit entertainment format showing in 100 countries; multi Emmy-winner, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), the network’s most successful entertainment show launch since 2010; Starstruck, a new sitcom from the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Rose Matafeo (HBO Max/BBC); Everything’s Gonna Be Okay, from creator Josh Thomas (Freeform); Breeders, a sitcom starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard (FX/Sky); a new series of the iconic British satirical puppet show, Spitting Image (BritBox UK); and multiple comedy specials for Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max and Netflix.
Other landmark Avalon shows include BAFTA winning and multi Emmy nominated Catastrophe (Amazon Prime Video/Channel 4), Fantasy Football League (BBC/ITV), multi BAFTA-winning TV Burp (ITV), and Workaholics (Comedy Central USA). Avalon also distributes its catalogue of programmes to over 150 countries worldwide. Avalon has produced many globally successful podcasts and is at the top of the UK iTunes chart with the multi-award-winning Shagged. Married. Annoyed by Chris and Rosie Ramsey.
As a leading promoter of live comedy, Avalon produced Newman and Baddiel: Live at Wembley, the UK’s first arena comedy show; Jerry Springer: The Opera, the first West End show to win all four UK ‘Best New Musical’ awards; and has continued to produce and promote live shows globally, as well as promoting more winners and nominees of the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award than any other company.
For Avalon news visit: www.avalonuk.com/press or follow @avalonent
