Philomena Cunk exploring cinema in new series for BBC
Philomena Cunk is returning to the BBC with a new series that sees the dimwit documentarian explore the history of cinema.
Philomena Cunk is returning to the BBC with Cunk on Cinema.
Two years after her mockumentary on Life, the deadpan documentarian - played by Diane Morgan - will put absurd and ill-informed questions about the history of film to experts in the three-part BBC Two series, which entered production this week.
Cunk said: "Cinema has given the world some of the most profound, memorable and moving visual moments in its unswerving depiction of the human condition: the shower scene in Psycho, Death playing chess in that Swedish thing, and Tom Selleck's glistening moustache in Three Men And A Little Lady, to name but all three of the only examples I can think of at the moment.
"There will, unfortunately, be some bits in black and white, but we'll keep that to the barest minimum."
The episodes see mundane Cunk - who fails to pronounce anything correctly - quiz film buffs about the invention of the camera, the introduction of Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) to the big screen, and the impact of artificial intelligence (AI).
Charlie Brooker, 55, created the dimwit character, who first appeared on his BBC Two review programme, Weekly Wipe, in 2013, and he will write and executive produce Cunk on Cinema, alongside Diane, 50, and Sam Ward.
Charlie said: "Now that Sora has killed off Hollywood and itself (presumably as part of a murder-suicide pact), it's the perfect time to look back at two hundred centuries of cinema, in the company of an idiot we’re apparently cursed to employ: Philomena Cunk."
Cunk previously dished out her comedy gold views in multiple mockumentaries, including on Shakespeare (2016) and Earth (2022), for which Diane received Best Female Performance in a Comedy Programme BAFTA nominations.
Jon Petrie, Director of Comedy at the BBC, said: "Philomena Cunk is back!
"As our leading intrepid documentary filmmaker, who better to investigate the world of cinema?
"This series follows in the hugely successful footsteps of other Cunk projects, so we can’t wait to see what she unearths this time around."
Cunk on Cinema is made by Pacesetter Productions.
Jon added: "A huge thank you to the incredibly talented team at Pacesetter, Diane and Charlie for bringing Philomena back onto our screens."
Although an air date is yet to be confirmed for Cunk on Cinema, it will broadcast on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer, as well as be streamed on Netflix outside of the UK and Ireland.
