Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney reunite for Catastrophe 3 and 4

Channel 4 has today confirmed that the multi award-winning comedy Catastrophe has been green-lit for a third and fourth series.

Written by and starring Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney, the series has garnered universal critical acclaim and a raft of awards since launching in 2015.

Viewing of the second series of Catastrophe was + 20% on series one and averaged 1.4m/7.0% over the six episodes making it Channel 4's second highest performing comedy of the year.

The third, six-part series (6 x 30') will go into production in November for a premiere on Channel 4 in 2017.

Phil Clarke, Head of Comedy at Channel 4, said; "I am thrilled to commission a third and fourth series of the multi award-winning Catastrophe. It's a welcome return for the brave, razor edged, excruciatingly honest and painfully funny portrayal of a modern, long term relationship."

Sharon / Rob said "We are thrilled to be making a third series of Catastrophe. Rob and Sharon are a blast to spend time with. And we're not talking about ourselves in the third person, we're talking about the characters. We're eager to breathe life back into Rob and Sharon. Okay, now we are talking about us. In the first series Rob and Sharon went through a lot (us) and even more in the second series (back to the characters). We're looking forward to putting Rob and Sharon (both us and the characters) through further pain for your enjoyment (now we're talking about you)."

Jon Thoday, Joint MD of Avalon Television, added: "I'm delighted we're bringing the show back for a third and fourth series with Channel 4, whose initial vision and immediate support of this exciting show has been exceptional."

Catastrophe has already won: two 2016 Royal Television Society Awards (Scripted Comedy and Writer: Comedy) two 2016 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards (Best Comedy and Best Writer), a 2016 BAFTA TV Craft (Writer: Comedy), a 2016 Rose D'Or Award (Best Sitcom), a 2016 Golden Nymphs Award (best actress in comedy); a 2016 South Bank Sky Arts Award (Comedy); and a 2016 Women in Film and TV Awards (Writing).

An Avalon Television production, with co-producers Birdbath Productions and Merman, Catastrophe was commissioned by Phil Clarke and Nerys Evans for Channel 4. The series is directed by Ben Taylor (Cardinal Burns and Cuckoo) and produced by Jack Bayles (The Mimic, VIP), and the Executive Producers are Richard Allen-Turner (Man Down), Kara Baker, Rob Delaney, Sharon Horgan and Jon Thoday (Last Week Tonight With John Oliver).

What the UK press said:

"inverts the classic romcom with sexual honesty, a barrage of swearing and a wonderfully dysfunctional support cast... Catastrophe is a modern great... All 12 episodes were superb in pretty much almost every aspect... ... at its heart it's an ordinary love story, couched in some first-class swearing, about sexual honesty, served with a side-plate of adultery, lust, elderly parents, flirtatious colleagues, money worries and a dead dog. The love story we deserve, then"

Will Dean, The Guardian

"definitely the funniest British comedy of the past five years... I shan't say much more about it, because it's so funny that me telling you the funny bits would be considerably less funny than you actually watching it, which is definitely what you should do. It's tight and sparse and there's never a wasted moment. In a nutshell, the best bits are about all the terrible things you never quite say to your friends, family and significant other, and what would happen if everybody just said them."

Hugo Rifkind, The Times

"One of the many joys of Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney's brilliantly funny and warm-hearted comedy is its fearless embrace of authentic and thorny issues... their consistently excellent performances and ladlings of keen, spoky and cliché-free writing alchemise everything they touch into comedy gold"

Ben Dowell, Radio Times

What the US press said:

"Season 2 of Rob Delaney and Sharon Horgan's unlikely romantic sitcom venture into parenthood and only got better at finding love and honesty (and jokes! So many jokes!) in a hopeless place." Entertainment Weekly

"The second season proves that the Sharon Horgan/Rob Delaney comedy is no fluke - it's hilarious, spot-on and real." Tim Goodman , The Hollywood Reporter

"They joke splendidly and fight even better." James Poniewozik, The New York Times

"utterly irresistible" June Thomas, Slate

"So exhilarating, so gaspingly funny, you'll burn through the episodes as fast as you can."

Ken Tucker , Yahoo! TV

"Instead of the shininess and fuzziness of the traditional rom-com, the show offers a grittier - but much more charming, and much more relatable - vision of what romance is all about." Megan Garber , The Atlantic

About Avalon Television

Avalon Television is a completely independently owned production house operating out of New York, Los Angeles and London. Avalon Television are also currently in production with: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO); the BBC's longest running sitcom, Not Going Out (BBC One); Russell Howard's Stand Up Central (Comedy Central UK); a third series of the critically acclaimed sitcom, Man Down (Channel 4); Adam DeVine's House Party (Comedy Central USA); the internationally popular, Russell Howard's Good News (BBC Two); Taskmaster (UKTV); and series six of hit comedy, Workaholics (Comedy Central).

For further information on Avalon Television news visit: www.avalonuk.com/press (opens in a new window)

About Merman

Founded in 2014 by Sharon Horgan and Clelia Mountford, Merman is already making waves across television, film and branded content, with an extensive number of projects in development and production on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Merman family is dedicated to creating quality scripted content and is privileged to collaborate with some of the industry's leading names including: Sarah Jessica Parker, David Cross, Will Arnett, Rob Delaney, Shaun Pye, Mark Chappell, Aisling Bea, and Jack McBrayer amongst others. Merman's current projects include the award-winning Catastrophe for Channel 4 and Amazon, Todd Margaret for IFC, and Divorce for HBO, with many more in development and production.

For further information on Merman visit www.hellomerman.com (opens in a new window)