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That’s a wrap on “The Franchise” at HBO.

The comedy series about the making of a big-budget superhero movie, created by John Brown and executive produced by Armando Iannucci and Sam Mendes, has been canceled after one season at HBO. The series followed the production of a film that is part of a larger franchise, centered around first assistant director Daniel (Himesh Patel).

“We’re so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the tremendously talented team behind ‘The Franchise,’ especially Sam Mendes, Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci, and this hilarious ensemble of actors,” an HBO spokesperson said in a satement to TheWrap. “While we won’t be moving forward with another season, we look forward to collaborating with all of them in the future.”

The eight-episode comedy did not resonate with audiences, failing to crack the Nielsen streaming top 10 lists throughout its run. It aired its Season 1 finale on Nov.

Set in the close-knit community of an evangelical church in Manchester, Everyone Else Burns makes its triumphant return for a second season of belly laughs and thought-provoking fun. Drewing from writer Dillon Mapletoft’s own upbringing in a fundamentalist Christian environment, this cult sitcom charmed audiences with its first outing. While Season 1 centered around family man David Lewis’ ambitions and dreams for his children, the new episodes shift focus to relationships and matters of the heart.

As ever, comedy gold arises from probing the eccentricities of cult life through the day-to-day happenings of the Lewis family. Dad David remains a hapless leader, mom Fiona seeks purpose beyond motherhood, and rebellious daughter Rachel comes of age—now faced with the prospect of an arranged marriage.

Besides sharp wit and razor-thin social satire, what makes Everyone Else Burns such unmissable viewing is its deep care for humanizing even the most extreme of characters.

Updated to clarify both series have moved to the CW app and cwtv.com: Canadian comedy Run The Burbs and British sitcom Everyone Else Burns have both been pulled from The CW schedule, the network has confirmed. Both are still available on The CW app and cwtv.com

They’ll be replaced for now on linear with reruns of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Great American Joke Off.

The news of Everyone Else Burns comes just a few weeks after The CW ordered a second season of the critically acclaimed apocalyptic family comedy following Channel 4’s renewal of the UK series in August.

They are the most recent acquisitions to be pulled from the network, following Australian series Bump and Barons, which were pulled halfway through Seasons 2 and 1, respectively. Down to Earth With Zac Efron and Fantastic Friends, starring James and Oliver Phelps, were canceled after two episodes each.

For nearly two decades, The CW wasn’t TV’s most popular network — outside of carefully curated demographics — but it might have been the network most confident in its brand. Shows on The CW looked and felt like they were shows that could exist only on The CW.

Currently, I struggle to find the proper analogy to describe the grab bag of acquisitions that fill The CW’s schedule since the network was acquired by the Nexstar Media Group.

Is the process of surfing through the CW slate, trying to guess a program’s origins, like taking a road trip with the family and playing the license plate game? “There’s New Mexico! There’s British Columbia! How did New Brunswick get all the way over here?”

Or is The CW’s strategy of picking up motley offerings that weren’t on the radar of Netflix or Hulu or Max...

Kate O’Flynn as Fiona, Ali Khan as Joshua and Simon Bird as David in ‘Everyone Else Burns’ (Photo: James Stack/Channel 4 © 2023 Channel 4)

The CW Network is all-in on Everyone Else Burns, picking up a second season of the British comedy ahead of its season one U.S. premiere. The half-hour apocalyptic family comedy’s first season aired in the UK on Channel 4 in January 2023 and was renewed in May 2023.

Season one debuts on The CW on Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 9:30pm Et/Pt.

“Everyone Else Burns is a brilliant and bitingly funny series that is as much about family as it is about the end of days,” stated Brad Schwartz, President of Entertainment, The CW Network. “There is truly no other comedy on television like it, and we are thrilled to work alongside the immensely talented writers and producers to bring the uniquely hilarious Lewis family to The CW for another season.

Ahead of the Season 1 premiere, The CW has ordered a second season of the critically acclaimed apocalyptic family comedy Everyone Else Burns. The CW’s pickup follows Channel 4’s renewal of the UK series in August. The first season is set to premiere on The CW on Thursday, October 26 at 9:30 Pm.

“Everyone Else Burns is a brilliant and bitingly funny series that is as much about family as it is about the end of days,” said Brad Schwartz, President of Entertainment, The CW Network. “There is truly no other comedy on television like it, and we are thrilled to work alongside the immensely talented writers and producers to bring the uniquely hilarious Lewis family to The CW for another season.”

Everyone Else Burns follows the Lewises, a strictly religious family who believe the world will end within the decade. Patriarch David (Simon Bird) longs for the church to promote him.

The CW network has picked up a second season of U.K. comedy “Everyone Else Burns” ahead of the show’s first season debuting on the U.S. broadcaster.

Part of the CW’s acquisition-heavy fall slate, a programming lineup set by new owner Nexstar to avoid impacts of the now-ended writers strike and ongoing actors strike, “Everyone Else Burns” Season 1 originally aired on Channel 4 in the U.K. in January. It will premiere Thursday at 9:30 p.m. on the CW.

Per its official logline, “Everyone Else Burns” centers on the Lewises, a strictly religious family who believe the world will end within the decade. Patriarch David longs for the church to promote him. Long-suffering Fiona hungers for a life beyond sermons and squash. Aaron (Harry Connor) is a model young believer – except his drawings feature the rest of the family burning in hell. And anxious 17-year-old Rachel...

The British comedy Everyone Else Burns makes its US television debut on The CW on October 26, 2023 at 9:30pm Et/Pt. The half-hour series starring Simon Bird and Kate O’Flynn will be part of the network’s Thursday night comedy block that includes Son of a Critch, Run the Burbs, and Children Ruin Everything.

Bird (The Inbetweeners) stars as David Lewis, O’Flynn (Landscapers) plays Fiona, Amy James-Kelly (Military Wives) is Rachel, and Harry Connor is Aaron. Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor created the series and serve as writers and executive producers. Jax Media’s Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch also executive produce.

“Blessings be upon the Lewises: a strictly religious family who believe the world will end within the decade. Patriarch David longs for the church to promote him. Long-suffering Fiona hungers for a life beyond sermons and squash. Aaron is a model young believer — except his drawings feature...

The CW has released trailers for its new series for the 2023-24 season: the AMC Studios-produced drama 61st Street; Canadian series Children Ruin Everything, Run the Burbs, Son of a Critch, The Spencer Sisters and Sullivan’s Crossing; UK series Everyone Else Burns; documentary film series I Am; reality series Fboy Island; and German eco-thriller drama series The Swarm. You can read about each and watch below.

61St Street

Produced by AMC Studios. From Peter Moffat, J. David Shanks and Outlier Society and executive producers Moffat, Shanks, Michael B. Jordan, Alana Mayo, Jeff Freilich, Hilary Salmon. The propulsive thriller courses through the dark heart of the infamous Chicago criminal justice system as police and prosecutors investigate a deadly drug bust that threatens to unravel the police department’s code of silence. Cast includes Courtney B. Vance, Aunjanue Ellis, Mark O’Brien, Holt McCallany, Tosin Cole, Andrene Ward-Hammond and Bentley Green.

Children Ruin Everything...

Exclusive: The CW has picked up Everyone Else Burns, Channel 4’s apocalypse comedy about a religious sect starring Friday Night Dinner’s Simon Bird.

The show, which was the first to come from Emily in Paris producer Jax Media’s UK office and is co-produced with Universal International Studios, is expected to be be unveiled as part of the network’s fall lineup.

Penned by up-and-comers Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor, Everyone Else Burns stars Bird as David, a misguided patriarch living in a small religious sect in Manchester. David, who believes the world will end in apocalypse, is losing a grip over his family, with each character going on their own personal journey with regard their hyper-religious upbringing. Kate O’Flynn, Lolly Adefope, Kadiff Kirwan and Morgana Robinson also star.

Everyone Else Burns was well received by critics and achieved decent ratings when it aired on Channel 4 earlier this year.

The 2023 London Screenings, which unfold Feb. 27 to March 3, take place in an increasingly crowded international TV calendar. The event kicks off just days after the Berlinale Series Market, overlaps with the BBC Studios Showcase and precedes Series Mania and MipTV.

The week-long showcase has established itself as a key place to acquire the best of British and international programming. All major global TV distributors, spanning 26 companies, have a plethora of content to offer across genres and formats, and a series of screenings, meetings and events have been lined up.

To help you cut through the slates, Variety has surveyed the goods from key international distributors. Here are our picks of 15 shows that will whet buyers’ appetites.

A Body That Works

(Keshet International)

“A Body That Works”

An intense triangle involving love, jealousy, desire and selflessness sees a childless couple enlist the help of a surrogate to conceive. At the heart...

This is why I don’t do interviews,” says Simon Bird. “I regret everything I say.” I’ve just asked the 38-year-old star of The Inbetweeners and Friday Night Dinner about Rishi Sunak. In his 2021 mid-pandemic stand-up special Debrief, Bird suggested that Sunak, then chancellor of the Exchequer, was “personally culpable for gross negligence manslaughter”, branding his Eat Out to Help Out scheme an “act of terrorism”. “There was definitely an element of comic hyperbole there,” he tells me, somewhat pragmatically. “I don’t feel like it’s my place really to get into politics. Although, I mean, the reason you’re bringing it up is because I literally did get into politics... I’ve totally contradicted myself. But how do I feel about him being prime minister? Well, I don’t think I’ll be voting for him. And I’ll probably leave it at that.”

As I chat...

Exclusive: Creatives from Jax Media and Universal International Studios (Uis) have talked up “subverting traditional narratives” by bringing “heart and warmth” to upcoming Channel 4 religious comedy Everyone Else Burns.

The Simon Bird-starrer is the first to hail from Jax’s UK office, headed up by former Baby Cow exec Molly Seymour, and follows a family in a religious sect who believe the world is going to end. Bird stars as misguided patriarch David, with Kate O’Flynn, Lolly Adefope, Kadiff Kirwan and Morgana Robinson opposite the Inbetweeners alum.

Speaking to Deadline, Jax President Brooke Posch and Seymour said creators Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor never intended to poke fun at the subject matter. Each character goes on their own personal journey and there are nuances to the way in which they relate to their hyper-religious upbringing. The writers, who are currently working on an adaptation of their stage show Fix...

Good afternoon Insiders and a happy holiday to you all, Max Goldbart here seeing out the year. We’re inching slowly towards the holiday and have just got a quick summary of the week’s headlines and some Essentials for you this week. We’ll be taking a well-earned (we hope!) break next week but back all systems go on Friday January 6. Until then, our heartfelt thanks go out to all you Insider readers. We are nothing without you. Merry Xmas, Happy Chanukah and a Happy New Year.

BBC China woes: Don’t you dare tuck into your turkey without checking out this must-read exclusive investigation from Jake on how a little-known commercial BBC outfit has been producing ads for China’s propaganda machine. Jake’s in-depth exposé found BBC StoryWorks has partnered with at least 18 Chinese clients including Huawei since 2015. Within a day, lawmaker Lord David Alton, who is...

Exclusive: Sex Education producer Eleven is embarking on its next project, a TV series adaptation of up-and-coming creative duo Oliver Taylor and Dillon Mapletoft’s stage show Fix My Brain.

The pair, who are adapting with Eleven, developed their two-person comedy show at university and performed it under their Two Surnames moniker.

Fix My Brain is an exploration of both depression and of somebody living with someone with depression, and it attracted rave reviews when it played On the UK festival circuit prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then, Taylor and Mapletoft’s stock has risen and their debut long-form TV comedy, Everyone Else Burns from Russian Doll producer Jax Media and NBCUniversal International Studios, will launch next month on Channel 4. The Simon Bird-starring irreverent comedy follows the lives of a family who are part of a religious sect.

Meanwhile, a number of comedy-dramas dealing with issues around mental health,...

British broadcaster Channel 4 has ordered an apocalyptic comedy series starring Friday Night Dinner and The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird.

The ad-supported, public service broadcaster has handed the six-part order to Jax Media, the company behind series including Netflix’s Russian Doll and HBO Max’s Search Party, and Universal International Studios, the London-led global production arm of the NBCU studio.

Everyone Else Burns explores life in a hyper-religious community and asks: how does an idiosyncratic family navigating modern day life protect themselves from eternal hell fire?

Bird stars alongside Kate O’Flynn, Amy James-Kelly, Lolly Adefope, Al Roberts, Soph Galustian, Harry Connor, Ali Khan, Lloyd Griffith, Kadiff Kirwan, Morgana Robinson, Arsher Ali, Liam Williams, Kath Hughes, and Seb Cardinal.

It is a coming-of-age comedy about a Mancunian family and the puritanical Christian sect they are devoted to. Will patriarchal David Lewis ever ascend the church ranks and become an Elder?...