ROSE MATAFEO’S HIT ROMCOM AIRS AT 10PM ON MONDAY 28TH AUGUST ON BBC THREE AND 10:40PM ON FRIDAY 1st SEPTEMBER ON BBC ONE
“Matafeo is endlessly watchable, her timing and delivery pure alchemy… Starstruck is a gem: warm-hearted but never saccharine, a very modern rom-com with fizzy ‘do keep-up’ dialogue”
★★★★★ Phoebe Luckhurst, Evening Standard
“Starstruck was a pure delight, sewing together a fresh sitcom using patchwork pieces of old Hollywood and new romcom. Series two is as much of a treat as the first”
★★★★ Rebecca Nicholson, The Guardian
Series three of BAFTA nominated comedian, writer, actor and director Rose Matafeo’s critically acclaimed romcom Starstruck will premier on the BBC this month. The global hit show is set to air in weekly double bills from 10pm on Monday 28th August on BBC Three, and 10:40pm on Friday 1st September on BBC One, along with a box set drop on BBC iPlayer on Monday 28th August where the first two series of Starstruck have received over 8.2m requests on BBC iPlayer so far.
Still living in London and working at the local cinema, series three follows Jessie (Matafeo) as she explores a new single life having parted ways with film star Tom (Nikesh Patel; Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hulu; Indian Summers, Channel 4). Two years on from the breakup, Jessie navigates the pressures of adulthood and is confronted with the consequences of her own choices as her friends move on to the next stages in their lives, while Jessie is left questioning what she is really looking for.
Co-written by Rose Matafeo, Alice Snedden and Nic Sampson, series three also marks Matafeo and Snedden’s directorial debut, while Minnie Driver (Modern Love, Amazon; Good Will Hunting) reprises her role as Tom’s agent Cath, and John Simm (Life on Mars, Doctor Who; BBC One) joins the cast for the brand-new series.
An international hit, series three will air on BBC Three and BBC One in the UK and, at a later date to be announced, Max in the U.S.. Series three of Starstruck will also air on ABC in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand, HBO Max in Latin America, Crave in Canada, Lionsgate Play in India and Southeast Asia, HOT and YES in Israel, HBO Max territories in Europe and HBO in the Baltics, RTL Deutschland, and RaiPlay in Italy.
Starstruck was commissioned for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer by Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy Commissioning and Fiona Campbell, Controller Youth Audience (BBC iPlayer and BBC Three). Produced by Avalon, Starstruck is executive produced by Rob Aslett, Jon Thoday, Cath Gagon, Richard Allen-Turner, Rose Matafeo, and Gregor Sharp for the BBC. Toby Welch is series producer, and Rose Matafeo and Alice Snedden direct. Gregor Sharp is the Commissioning Editor for the BBC.
Previews Available
Starstruck Series 3 airs in weekly double bills from 10pm on Monday 28th August on BBC Three, and 10:40pm on Friday 1st September on BBC One, while the full box set is available on BBC iPlayer from Monday 28th August
Social Media Handles:
Instagram: @rosematafeo
Twitter: @Rose_Matafeo
For further information contact:
Avalon: Florrie Sheehan, fsheehan@avalonuk.com
BBC: Harriet Murdoch, harriet.murdocj@bbc.co.uk
CRITICAL PRAISE FOR STARSTRUCK SERIES 2 IN THE UK:
“deftly observed comedy of relationship insecurity… Matafeo’s heroine is immensely likeable and powers the show”
★★★★ Gerrard Gilbert, The I
“Rose Matafeo makes a triumphant return as BBC Three’s not-so-hidden gem really comes into its own… From the jazzy piano music to the meet-cutes and misunderstandings, Starstruck feels like a Hollywood classic dressed in a millennial Londoner’s clothing. It takes a textbook odd couple set-up but executes it with swagger and charm. The fast, flirty dialogue feels natural and isn’t over-written. Jess and Tom’s chemistry is sweet rather than sickly”
★★★★ Michael Hogan, The Daily Telegraph
“Brilliantly relatable, while also achieving the near-impossible with a Notting Hill-style romcom feel, this has a sparkling script with zinging chemistry between the two leads… the series is totally bingeable- and fortunately the whole box set is on iPlayer”
Sara Wallis, The Daily Mirror
“The first series has been streamed almost five million times on BBC iPlayer, making it BBC3’s biggest comedy of last year and announcing the arrival of Matafeo as a star and a kind of millennial Nora Ephron, both here and in America, where it streamed on HBO Max… It’s also very funny… Starstruck is a hymn to love itself”
Alice Jones, The Times
“Rose Matafeo’s whip-smart, gender-swapped Notting Hill-style romantic comedy returns… The writing has a good handle on the sense of stasis that can attach itself to rootless twentysomethings adrift amid the excitement and impossibilities of London. And the couple’s attraction and confusion always play out in plausibly human and relatable ways”
Phil Harrison, The Guardian
“Starstruck is still the best comedy about your messy, chaotic 20’s… those seriously laugh-out-loud pop culture gags are fired up even more.”
Maybelle Morgan, Refinery 29
“The first series of this romcom, starring and co-written by Rose Matafeo, along with Alice Snedden and Nic Sampson, was one of the TV highlights of 2021. Now, here’s the very welcome second series continuing the story”
★★★★★ Boyd Hilton, Heat Magazine
“Matafeo and Patel triumphantly return as Jessie and Tom, wielding their charmingly awkward chemistry and seemingly effortless flirtation”
Shannon Connellan, Mashable
“The big hit of the spring 2021 lockdown, Rose Matafeo’s sweet comedy about a year in the life of a millennial who wakes up in bed with a Hollywood star returns with a deft subversion of romcom tropes”
John Dugdale, The Sunday Times
“Rose Matafeo’s whip-smart, gender-swapped Notting Hill-style romantic comedy returns”
Phil Harrison, The Observer
“A welcome return for one of the wittiest comedies of 2021”
★★★★★ Steven Perkins, TV Times Magazine
“The rollercoaster London romcom returns”
★★★★ Robin Wiggs, Daily Mail
“Rose Matafeo’s… brilliant romcom returns for a second series”
David Butcher, Radio Times
“marvellous, moreish comedy”
David Bell, The Sun
“Rose Matafeo’s heart-warming and pleasingly old-fashioned romcom returns with more millennial dating misadventures”
Gerrard O’Donovan, The Daily Telegraph
“It remains five stars because it’s still lovely, a scene-stealing Minnie Driver returns as Tom’s agent, and it has a great script”
★★★★★ Deborah Ross, Mail on Sunday
“We’re Starstruck by Rose Matafeo. The comedian, writer, and Starstruck creator is our new comedy obsession”
Sophie Goddard, Stylist
“It’s as fun as it always was, and (as importantly) it’s as funny… Starstruck is one of the most charming shows of 2022… Starstruck series 2 feels at once like a natural continuation of the first series, and as though it’s evolved into something cleverer, something more thoughtful”
Alex Moreland, National World
“The breakout success of the first season was due to its unassuming charm and comedic timing, steered by the plot-propelling cohort of genuinely funny, drunken, gross women you want to be your friend IRL – akin to Fleabag, Girls or Catastrophe”.
Maybelle Morgan, Refinery 29
“Funny and heart-warming, this modern fairy tale is ideal for anyone fed up with romcom cliches”
Emily Baker, The I
“the romantic comedy series created by and starring comedian Rose Matafeo that stole our hearts by bringing a new millennial twist to Notting Hill. It was hands down one of the best TV shows of 2021”
Shannon Connellan, Mashable
CRITICAL PRAISE FOR STARSTRUCK SERIES 2 IN THE U.S:
“Consistently fizzy charm elevated by Matafeo’s irrepressible energy”
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter
“HBO Max comedy Starstruck feels like such a breath of fresh air. A throwback to the romantic comedies of yesterday that still understands and embraces its place in the contemporary television landscape, the series is a delight from start to finish, fully deserving of the steady drumbeat of word of mouth and social media buzz that built around its initial premiere last year”
Lacy Baugher Milas, Paste Magazine
“Matafeo’s voice is completely distinctive and the show is her voice, so I look forward to future seasons of Starstruck offering an effervescent escape from the gloomy norm… and I really look forward to seeing what else Matafeo wants to do with her ever-broadening platform”
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter
“Starstruck is the lighthearted TV rom-com we could all use right now”
NYC Daily Post
“witty, neatly crafted comedy package”
Meara Isenberg, CNET.com
“Starstruck is still a super funny, impossibly delightful balm”
Allison Picurro, TV Guide
“bubbly and sharp”
Erin Strecker IndieWire
“Starstruck was one of 2021’s most purely delightful TV surprises…Somehow, over six episodes running just 20 minutes each, creator and star Rose Matafeo managed to both embrace and upend the romantic comedy genre… Starstruck” sparkled with the best of them”
Caroline Framke, Variety
“Starstruck has achieved what it takes other shows countless seasons to nail… You’ll be reminded of exactly why you fell in love with Starstruck in the first place”
Carly Lane, Collider
“Starstruck conjures the magic of everyday romance… It’s funny and a little heightened and very smart”
Kathryn Van Arendonk, Vulture
“Just as Stellar, Just as Messy”
Carly Lane, Collider
“Matafeo and Patel light up the screen… Starstruck’s lead pair is endlessly endearing and watchable”
Saloni Gajjar, AV Club
“Irresistible”
Kelly Connolly, TV Guide
“Every episode is laugh-out-loud funny and they fly by!… I’m absolutely in love with it”
Sarah Carey, That Hashtag Show
“I’ve described this show to friends as a reverse Notting Hill, but to be honest it’s more charming… it’s Matafeo’s flirty chemistry with virtually everyone that makes this show so delightful”
Tom Obaro, BuzzFeed News
– Ends –
Notes to Editors:
The full cast includes: Rose Matafeo, Nikesh Patel, Emma Sidi, Joe Barnes, Al Roberts, Ambreen Razia, Alice Snedden, Lola Rose Maxwell, Nic Sampson, Lorne MacFadyen, Constance Labbé, Abraham Popoola, Daniel Jarrett-Cook, Rory Marshall, Minnie Driver, Connie Walker, Toni Midlane, John Simm, Jon Pointing, Emily Vinnicombe, Foluké Anglin, James Woolley, Amy Gledhill, Kayla Meikle, Shiloh Coke, Seline Mosinski, Olivia Marcus, Ross Tomlinson, Stuart Thompson, Johnny White Really-Really, Eleanor Grace, Rob Auton.
About Rose:
Rose Matafeo is a BAFTA nominated comedian, writer and actor from New Zealand.
Rose’s critically acclaimed show Horndog won the award (formerly the Perrier) for Best Show at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival and was nominated for Best Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. She has since recorded the show as a special for HBO MAX.
Rose is a regular face on TV having featured on Have I Got News For You (BBC One), The Royal Variety Performance (ITV) W1A (BBC One), Unspun with Matt Forde (Dave), Jon Richardson’s Ultimate Worrier (Dave), 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4) 8 Out Of 10 Cats (E4), Hypothetical (Dave), There’s Something About Movies (Sky One), Dave Gorman’s Terms and Conditions Apply (Dave) House of Games (BBC Two), Big Zuus Big Eats (Dave) and The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice (Channel 4) in the UK. She was also a contestant on series nine of Taskmaster (Dave/Channel 4).
In the US, Rose has performed a stand up slot on Conan (TBS). In New Zealand Rose was the lead writer and star of the sketch show Funny Girls (TV3), and a regular on panel show 7 Days (Three Now NZ). 2020 saw her star to great acclaim in the feature Baby, Done (Piki Films). She also co-hosts the podcast Boners of the Heart with fellow comic Alice Snedden.
Her own sitcom, Starstruck, which she has written and stars in was commissioned by BBC3 in the UK and HBO Max in the US. The first two series of Starstruck have been streamed over 8.2m times on BBC iPlayer so far in the UK where it became the channel’s best performing new comedy of the year before airing on HBO Max in the US, the show was also pre-sold to over 50 territories including Australia (ABC) and New Zealand (TVNZ).
About Starstruck:
Consistently receiving huge critical praise across the globe, Starstruck has been nominated for Best Comedy Programme at the Broadcast Awards 2022, and Best Comedy Series at the Edinburgh TV Awards 2021, while Matafeo has received nominations from BAFTA 2022 for Female Performance in a Comedy Programme, and a National Comedy Award 2021 for Best Breakthrough Artist. The show was highlighted by Rotten Tomatoes as their #3 best TV show of the year, featured in the Guardian’s ‘Top 10 Best Shows of 2021’, AV Club’s ‘Top 8 Great TV Hidden Gems’, Decider’s ‘Best TV Shows of the Year’, as well as highlighted as one of the best shows to watch in The Decider, New York Times, Paste Magazine, NME, Thrillist, Washington Post, CNET, The Guardian, The I, The Telegraph, Stylist, Vulture, Concrete Playground, Rotten Tomatoes, Time Magazine, Buzzfeed, Chicago Tribune, Paper City Mag, Mashable, Hollywood Reporter, NPR, Star Tribune, Jezebel, TV Insider, TV Guide, Boston Globe, and Bustle, while Matafeo was featured in Variety’s ‘Best Performances of 2021’, The Times’s ‘Top 10 Funniest Actors on TV’.
As well as airing on BBC Three in the UK and HBO Max in the U.S. Starstruck has premiered in a total 96 countries including on ABC in Australia, TVNZ in New Zealand, Canal + in France, Bell Media in Canada, HBO Max in Europe, HBO Max in Latin America, Lionsgate Play in India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia, HOT, DBS and Cellcom in Israel, while it is set to air soon on RTL in German speaking Europe.
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, Artists Rights Group and The Agency together represent a diverse and distinctive roster of artists including actors, comedians, writers and directors, among them Academy Award, BAFTA, Emmy, Tony and Olivier Award-winners.
Avalon is the UK’s largest true independent television production company, with over 40 shows in production in the last year including: hit entertainment format Taskmaster (Channel 4 in the UK, Network 10 in Australia, TV4 in Sweden, TVNorge/Discovery+ in Norway); Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); Starstruck (HBO Max/BBC); Not Going Out (BBC), the UK’s longest running sitcom on air; Breeders (FX/Sky); The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show (BBC); and Fantasy Football League (Sky). Avalon has produced over 4,000 episodes of hit programming for audiences in the UK, US and around the world, winning over 30 Emmy Awards and BAFTAs from nearly 100 nominations.
Other landmark Avalon shows include Catastrophe (Amazon/Channel 4), Flatbush Misdemeanors (Showtime), The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), TV Burp (ITV), and the cult classic workplace sitcom Workaholics (Comedy Central). Avalon has also produced over 60 comedy specials for various platforms including Amazon, HBO and Netflix, as well as numerous podcasts and radio shows, including the UK’s biggest podcast Shagged. Married. Annoyed. with Chris & Rosie Ramsey. Avalon’s dedicated distribution arm licences its catalogue of programmes and formats to over 200 territories worldwide.
Avalon also produces and promotes live comedy around the world and has promoted more winners and nominees of the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award than any other company. Avalon produced Newman and Baddiel: Live at Wembley, the UK’s first arena comedy show, Jerry Springer: The Opera, winner of four Olivier Awards, and is currently producing Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical in the West End.
