Stars of new BBC comedy took inspiration from life in small towns in Northern Ireland for their new series Funboys.
Set and filmed in the heart of Northern Ireland, the series follows the mishaps of three close friends Callum (Ryan Dylan), Jordan (Rian Lennon), and Lorcan (Lee R James).
The series takes a “fly-on-the-wall approach, prioritising authentic, naturalistic comedy” whilst exploring modern themes of male vulnerability, religious dogma and more.
The four-episode series will be released on BBC iPlayer and BBC One Northern Ireland this coming Monday (February 10). Creators and actors Rian Lennon and Ryan Dylan hinted that parts of the series draw from real-life events and were light on the details.
“I’d say there are some events that could be in future episodes if we get more”, Rian Lennon told Belfast Live. He recalled how their self-made sketches were the genesis of the show.
“It (the series_ sort of grew from the sketches that made ourselves. So that’s how we met each other and we’ve been making sketches for a good 10 years together.
“It kind of grew from that and BBC saw one of the sketches, which we then developed it into a short which is on iPlayer at the minute.
“It was just flesh that out into a full series, and trying to retain the humour of the of the sketches that we do.
An episode featuring Callum and his love interest Gemma (Ele McKenzie) on an ill-fated swan pedalo ride is particularly drawn from real-life experiences.
Ryan Dylan reflected on the parallels between their experiences and the show, saying: “I would say not like one-to-one experiences that were exactly the same, but experiences that were equally, if not more, embarrassing.”
Lee R James then shed light on the quirks of their hometown: “Where me and Ryan are from, I think it is technically classed as a city but it is quite contained so you can’t really do anything without somebody knowing or saying.”
“There is some inspiration just from the fact that anything you do in these sort of small, tight knit communities is kind of like, could be very easily highlighted.
“Somebody will say to somebody knows someone who knows your ma and it’s all over the town.”
Taking the lead in the series, Ryan Dylan, Rian Lennon, and Lee R James may not be household names yet, but they’re joined by a mix of experienced and young actors. The wider cast includes local talent and some comedy stars including Stath Lets Flats and Barbie star Jamie Demetriou, Everyone Else Burns actress Ele McKenzie, Kneecap’s Brian Devlin and Owen Colgan.
Describing the series, Rian Lennonshared: “It is just about three friends who love each other very much, but are severely inequipped to deal with basic life things.
“We take that sort of to the nth degree like we approach it with utmost like seriousness and everything else.
“It’s just how their friendship fractures and grows, is destroyed by encountering these mundane life things like getting a girlfriend or having trouble at work.
Ryan Dylan added: “It’s like the contrast between those wholesome things and how seriously that. It’s like a more of a, like a psycho drama for these guys that they think so seriously about all this mundane crap”.
Funboys launches on BBC One NI at 11.10pm on Monday, February 10 BBC Three on Friday, February 14 at 10pm. All four episodes will also be box set on BBC iPlayer
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