“Refreshingly funny and at times quite silly… a first-class comedy”
Tim Glanfield, The Sunday Times
“endlessly charming, offbeat humour… Horne’s show sparkles ”
Isobel Lewis, The Independent
“this riotously fun sitcom is an utter delight… The Horne Section TV Show is a lot of fun. It’s a riotous, good-natured sitcom that sits somewhere between Flight of the Conchords and The Goodies”
Stuart Heritage, The Guardian
The creator of BAFTA and National Comedy Award Winning Taskmaster, Alex Horne and his band The Horne Section are set to tune up their instruments for a second time as Channel 4 have revealed the musical sitcom is set to return for a second six-part series, following the critically acclaimed run of its debut series on the channel last year.
Currently in production and created, written by, and starring Alex Horne and The Horne Section, series two sees internationally renowned musician, comedian, writer, and actor Reggie Watts join the cast this series along with critically-acclaimed comic Tim Key, and John Oliver as returning special guests. Desiree Burch (Live At The Apollo), Georgia Tennant (Staged), and Camille Ucan (Lee and Dean) also star in the returning cast, while Ronni Ancona (Friday Night Live), Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts), Stevie Martin (8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown), and Anna Crilly (Horrible Histories: The Movie) join the new cast for the new show that was described as “riotously fun… [and] an utter delight” (The Guardian ★★★★) and highlighted as one of the ‘Best Hidden Gem TV Shows’ (The Sunday Times).
Away from the screen The Horne Section host the iTunes chart topping podcast The Horne Section Podcast and three series of Alex Horne Presents The Horne Section on BBC Radio 4. Horne has been working with the band since 2010, when they first performed together at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Separately, members of The Horne Section have performed with recording artists including Robbie Williams, Madness, Florence and the Machine, Amy Winehouse, George Ezra, Basement Jaxx, Disclosure and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.
The Horne Section Series 2 was commissioned for Channel 4 by Head of Comedy, Charlie Perkins and Commissioning Executive, Joe Hullait. The Executive Producers are Alex Horne, James Taylor, Jon Thoday, Richard Allen-Turner for Avalon. The series is produced by Matt Stronge and directed by Barbara Wiltshire. The Horne Section are: Alex Horne (band leader), Joe Auckland (trumpet and banjo), Mark Brown (saxophone and guitar), Will Collier (bass), Ben Reynolds (drums and percussion) and Ed Sheldrake (keyboards).
Transmission details to be revealed in due course
WHAT THE PRESS SAID ABOUT THE HORNE SECTION TV SHOW SERIES 1:
“Britain’s funniest band”
Emma John, The Guardian
“a quietly charming watch… fans of the Horne Section and Taskmaster will find a lot to enjoy”
Rachael Healy, The I
“funny and delightful… this is a welcome escapist treat”
Boyd Hilton, Heat
“Horne’s irresistible, intelligent, humour”
Julia Raeside, The Times
“It’s a thoroughly endearing affair- Horne’s long-running band share an obvious personal and comic chemistry. Crucially, like the Flight of the Concords before them, their musical chops are comfortably up to the task of composing briskly amusing ditties in whatever genre takes their fancy”
Phil Harrison, The Guardian
“clever, chaotic sitcom… Alex and his band, who he’s played with for more than a decade, show off their musical talent and songwriting skills to great effect”
Stuart Pink, The Sun
“This is my favourite kind of comedy: a silly surreal sitcom. Fans of hit TV show Taskmaster will know Alex Horne as Greg Davies’s sidekick; theirs is one of TV’s great double acts, in the mould of Morecambe and Wise, Reeves and Mortimer, Patsy and Edina, and Trinny and Susannah”
Sarah Vine, Daily Mail
“ingenious and engagingly playful”
John Dugdale, The Sunday Times
“It all makes for barmy, yet wonderfully original TV”
Emma Pryer, The Daily Mirror
“hilarious sitcom”
Gerrard O’Donovan, The Daily Telegraph
“an understated delight”
Steve Bennett, Chortle
“and excellent new sitcom… The Horne Section TV Show is a clever blurring of fact and fiction”
Mike Ward, Daily Express
“funny sitcom”
Huw Fullerton, The Radio Times
“So clever, so daft”
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke
“hilarity and havoc… brimming with in-jokes, meta gags, and silly comedy songs”
Sukaina Benzakour, The Sun Online
“Irreverent and sometimes surreal, the humour is self-aware and silly, with the lovable blend of comedy and catchy music that The Horne Section is known for”
Laura Vickers-Green, Den of Geek
About Alex Horne
Alex Horne is an award-winning comedian, author and podcaster, long-established as a key figure in the British comedy scene.
He is the creator and co-host of the BAFTA and National Comedy Award-winning hit TV Show, Taskmaster, which first aired on Dave before graduating to Channel 4 in 2020. With over 100 episodes, an Emmy-nomination and a Royal Television Society and Broadcast Award for Best Entertainment Programme under its belt, Taskmaster is a gem of British programming. The show has also transcended national broadcasting borders, with adaptations airing in a dozen markets around the world, including Australia, New Zealand, Quebec, Portugal, the Nordics, and Croatia. The Taskmaster format is a smash hit in Sweden, where it won the title of Best Entertainment Programme of the year in 2020. Other notable instalments in the Taskmaster Entertainment Universe include a book, a board game and two podcasts.
Alex is also the creator and frontman of The Horne Section, a six-piece band of multitalented musicians. After a successful pilot, The Horne Section TV Show was commissioned for release by Channel 4, with its first season airing in the Autumn of 2022. This follows the band’s establishment as a staple at the Fringe, appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4) and Never Mind The Buzzcocks (BBC2), and the release of the iTunes-chart-topping The Horne Section Podcast.
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 150 countries; multi Emmy-winning, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); The Russell Howard Hour (Sky), one of the network’s most successful entertainment show launches since 2010; Starstruck (HBO Max/BBC), a sitcom from Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Rose Matafeo; Buffering (ITV), a sitcom co-created by and starring BAFTA-winning comedian and voice of Love Island, Iain Stirling. Breeders, the comedy series starring Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard (FX/Sky); the immediately recommissioned, The Chris & Rosie Ramsey Show (BBC); a brand-new series of the iconic comedy football show blending football fanaticism with celebrity chat, Fantasy Football League (Sky); 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), 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 regularly 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
About Channel 4
Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned yet commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic and social impact across the UK – at no cost to the taxpayer.
The broadcaster’s distinctive remit is set by Parliament, and it has a role to represent unheard voices, challenge with purpose and reinvent entertainment. For over 40 years, it has been a British success story, engaging generation after generation of young people.
Through a unique publisher-broadcaster model, Channel 4 commissions its content from the UK independent production sector. Working with around 300 creative companies every year, Channel 4 makes a major contribution to the local, regional and national economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses across the country.
In 2020, Channel 4 launched its Future4 strategy to become a digital-first public service media company and to continue to deliver significant impact for UK audiences and investment into the UK creative economy.
Across its bases in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 is turbocharging its efforts to find, nurture and develop talent across the UK. Through its training and development initiative 4Skills, Channel 4 is opening up opportunities in broadcasting, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people, and addressing skills gaps across the Nations and Regions.
Channel 4 has the UK’s biggest free streaming service plus 11 television channels including: Channel 4, E4, E4 Extra, More4, Film4, 4Seven and The Box Plus Network. Through Film4 Productions, Channel 4 also invests in British filmmakers to huge critical acclaim, producing 37 Oscar wins and 88 BAFTA wins in its history.
https://www.channel4.com/
