ANGRY BOYS, a new comedy series from Chris Lilley, creator and star of the acclaimed comedy series “Summer Heights High,” and Princess Pictures, will begin pre-production in Australia this month, it was announced today by Sue Naegle, president, HBO Entertainment, and Courtney Gibson, executive head of Content Creation for Australia’s ABC TV. Produced by Lilley and Princess Pictures, who previously teamed for “Summer Heights High” and the comedy series “We Can Be Heroes,” the 12-episode half-hour series will be co-produced by HBO and ABC TV in association with the BBC.
“Chris Lilley combines a wicked sense of humor with fearless insights into human nature, which gives his comedy a universal appeal,” said Naegle. “We were thrilled to share ‘Summer Heights High’ with the U.S. audience and are sure that ANGRY BOYS will connect with our subscribers and the media.”
“The scripts are absolutely terrific,” noted Gibson. “Once again Chris is pushing comedy and character somewhere really challenging and ambitious. Moving forward with HBO and the BBC as partners means the series will play on the world stage right after we premiere it here in Australia.”
“ANGRY BOYS will be the biggest challenge and most fun we’ve ever had making a television show,” observed Laura Waters of Princess Pictures.
Shooting in a mock documentary style, ANGRY BOYS will explore what it means to be a 21st-century boy by putting the male of the species under the microscope. Says Lilley, “There will be new characters and lots of surprises for the audience, and I’m really excited about having a longer-running series to work with.”
“Summer Heights High,” which debuted on HBO in November 2008, took a humorous and brutally honest look at life in an average public school, focusing on a self-important, high-strung drama teacher, a haughty, private-school female exchange student, and a break-dancing obsessed delinquent, with Lilley playing all three lead roles. The series received widespread critical praise, with Entertainment Weekly calling the show “outrageous” and “brilliant,” while the New York Times termed it “highly entertaining” and “boundary pushing.” The San Francisco Chronicle described “Summer Heights High” as “wonderfully hilarious” and TV Guide hailed the series as “addictive.”
“Summer Heights High” aired on ABC TV in Australia to phenomenal success and remains the highest-selling comedy series DVD in Australian history.
