Apple TV+ Sets Premiere Date for Comedy 'Still Up'

British dramas (and faux-British dramas) have been well-represented in the last decade’s rush by streaming services to produce “prestige TV series” as they were fruitful and multiplied across the entertainment landscape. However, British comedies, while rarer, have rarely disappointed. From Fleabag, which was a rare Emmy winner for Amazon Prime, and Killing Eve single-handedly holding up BBC America, to the joys of Netflix’s Derry Girls and Ghosts managing to be a hit on two different continents with two different casts, British humor is a smart bet. Apple TV+ aims to hit that success in the post-Ted Lasso era with its new U.K. comedy Still Up.

Still Up was initially announced in October 2022, as filming began in London. Billed as produced by the same outfit as HBO’s critically acclaimed I May Destroy You, the series boasted starring Antonia Thomas, who had already found crossover success in America on The Good Doctor. This not-quite-romantic comedy co-stars Welsh actor Craig Roberts, best known on this side of the pond for his turns in Being Human and Becoming Human, which aired here on BBC America.

Still Up is one of Apple TV+’s growing slate of British fare, which includes hits like Slow Horses, Hijack, and the upcoming The Buccaneers. It joins other British comedies on the streaming service like Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters and the Rafe Spall-starring Trying, neither of which have managed to break big yet, but with new seasons due out in 2024, they may still find an audience.

Here's the series synopsis:

Still Up is an almost romantic comedy set in the after-hours world of insomniacs Danny, the socially anxious yet gifted journalist, and Lisa. Lisa, an impulsive and free-spirited aspiring illustrator whose questions over her daughter’s future start keeping her up at night. The pair have no secrets, except their feelings for each other, and while the world sleeps they spend their long nights talking despite never meeting.

Roberts (Red Oaks) and Thomas (Small Axe) play the would-be, could-be, sleepless couple, Danny and Lisa. They are joined by the comic ensemble of Blake Harrison (A Very English Scandal), Lois Chimimba (Vigil), Luke Fetherston (Almost Never), and regular Noel Fielding collaborator Rich Fulcher (The Mighty Boosh). The series was co-created and written by Steve Burge (Seekers) and Natalie Walter, with Bryce Hart (Ten Percent) also writing on the series. Director John Addis (Lucky Break) helmed all eight episodes. Paul Schlesinger (Twenty Twelve) and Phil Clarke (I May Destroy You) executive produced the series with Various Artists Limited for Apple TV+.

Still Up will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 22, with three episodes to start, followed by one a week every Friday through October 27, 2023.