Hulu Picks Up BBC Comedy 'Am I Being Unreasonable?"
Daisy May Cooper as Nic in 'Am I Being Unreasonable?'
BBC/Hulu
Even in the time of Web 3.0, there's nothing like a simple message board to attract readers. Here in the states, the most popular seems to be Reddit's famous AITA (Am I The [Expletive]?), the letters from which regularly go viral. In the U.K., especially among those looking forward to their first child or suffering through the sleepless trials of the first year, the most well-known is Mumsnet's AIBU (Am I Being Unreasonable?) This message board and its letters inspired comedian Daisy May Cooper (Rain Dogs) and her writing partner Selin Hizli (Grantchester), whose new series, Am I Being Unreasonable?, is now heading to Hulu in April 2023.
Production on AIBU began in 2021, with Cooper and Hizli writing and starring (and reportedly improving half the time). The BBC confirmed filming was completed in early 2022; however, no word was heard from the project until September, when the first trailer dropped. The series was initially supposed to debut the week of September 10 but was pushed back due to Queen Elizabeth's passing. Not that it mattered — the comedy was a massive hit, and by the end of October 2022, the BBC confirmed a second season was being commissioned to film in 2023.
Cooper's This Country was a massive U.K. lockdown hit in 2020, but the series has not yet crossed the pond, leaving her unknown to U.S. viewers. However, with Am I Being Unreasonable? a firmly established hit and a guarantee of more episodes on the way, it was destined to head across the pond. Meanwhile, Cooper's other recent project, Rain Dogs, was picked up and co-produced by HBO, debuting on the network (and streaming on HBO Max) weekly starting in March 2023. With an eye on Cooper's rising Q rating, Hulu forged a deal with BBC to bring the comedy over.
Here’s the series logline from the BBC:
Am I Being Unreasonable? sees Nic grieving a loss that she can’t share with anyone whilst stuck in a depressing marriage. Only her son, Ollie who she adores, keeps her going. But when Jen arrives in town her life is lit up with laughter and through this kindred soul her dark secret starts to bubble up.
Cooper and Hizli star in the series as Nic and Jen. The show’s co-stars include Jessica Hynes (Years and Years), Dustin Demri-Burns (The Great), Amanda Wilkin (Finding Alice), David Fynn (The Thief, His Wife, and the Canoe), Juliet Cowan (Everything I Know About Love), Karla Crome (Misfits), Lenny Rush (Enola Holmes 2), and Ruben Catt (Ted’s Top Ten). All six episodes were penned by Cooper and Kizli, who also acted as executive producers along with Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials), with director Jonny Campbell (Dracula) helming all the half-hour installments.
Am I Being Unreasonable Season 1 arrives as a binge-drop streaming on Hulu beginning Tuesday, April 11, 2023. Season 2 is expected to be out in 2024.
