A “fantastically innovative comedy” which generated a massive Twitter buzz and unanimously impressed the judges with its originality.

murder-in-successville-4

Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC Three

A genre-bending mix of comedy, reality and (at a push) whodunit detective drama, Murder In Successville could not have been an easy pitch.

At its heart was a sterling performance from Tom Davis as DI Sleet, who perfectly married a witty script with glorious improvisation.

In each episode, he was joined by a celebrity who would be set the challenge of solving a murder in the warped world of Successville, which is populated with caricatures of other famous faces.

Despite its sombre subject matter and faux-noir tone, this show was a riot and each week’s celebrity sidekick would invariably break down laughing.

That sense of fun was contagious and passed on seamlessly to the viewers – and our judges, who were unanimously impressed by its originality. One branded it the “absolute standout programme – brave, witty and funny”.

There was massive Twitter buzz post-TX, fuelled by the celebs who took part, such as Jamie Laing and Greg James, and those who were lampooned – not least tennis player Andy Murray and One Direction’s Niall Horgan.

A “fantastically innovative comedy”, said one judge, who was “excited to see more of it”. They will be pleased: series two has just been launched by BBC Three – and the show played a part in Tiger Aspect winning Best Independent Production Company at the Broadcast Awards earlier this year.

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