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The state of television consistently shifts, and even now, shows become unlikely hits overnight. A series like Baby Reindeer does not seem like a barn burner on its face, yet it defined the months of April and May for Netflix. An appetite is growing for international shows, and Hapless joins the trend of British shows coming stateside. With the release of Hapless on Peacock, showrunner, creator, and director Gary Sinyor sat down with Fandomwire to discuss the comedy series. Along the way, we discussed its roots, his background when approaching the show, and his push to make more Hapless in the future.

The Origins of Hapless

Sinyor had helmed several movies and episodes of television before kicking off Hapless. Sinyor explains, “I think the biggest difference isn’t necessarily between TV and film, but between working with a large crew or working with a very tight small crew. And I...

As comedy has shifted the bounds of acceptable content, some shows continue to push the line between problematic and funny. Unlike some comedians insist, good comedy series like It’s Always Sunny in Philadephia push the boundary of what is allowed on television. Hapless, a new series streaming on Peacock, looks to bring the same energy from a crew of British comedians. It approaches its comedy with traditional sitcom approaches, but unlike many shows, it lets the humor spiral out of control. Most importantly, it gives its stars the material to milk the most laughs possible out of the punchlines. The show is very funny, even if it occasionally feels too similar to the Curb Your Enthusiasm or The League.

Hapless Plot

Hapless follows Paul Green (Tim Downie), a British journalist completing stories for The Jewish Enquirer. As Paul investigates various stories, he comes into contact with different aspects of Jewish and secular British culture.

British royal family news shows that Prince Harry is a swell guy when he’s not trolling his family and the monarchy.

Right now two of the monarchy’s most beloved members, his father King Charles and his sister-in-law Princess Catherine, are undergoing cancer treatment.

The ranks of senior working royals is rather thin as a result but Harry believes he can singlehandedly save the institution he has spent four years tearing down. Who thinks like this?

Royal author Christopher Andersen told Hello! Canada that clueless Harry is “eager to return to London and help take up some of the slack now that the medical issues of the king and the Princess of Wales have thrown the monarchy into a state of crisis.” He’s the main character.

Royal Family News – Harry Can Save The Family

Harry is thought to be traveling to the U.K. next month for a...

The ultimate cringe comedy has ended as Curb Your Enthusiasm took its final bow.

After 15 seasons of watching Larry David’s fictional self make a complete and utter ass of himself again and again, it might seem like the end is near for the medium.

Rest assured, this brand of humor will not disappear quickly, and streaming on Peacock today is Hapless, a British comedy from creator Gary Sinyor about -- to harken back to David’s Seinfeld -- nothing.

First of all, you should probably know that I am not generally a sitcom gal. My comedy needs to be brusque and sarcastic, borderline rude, but not raunchy.

As you can imagine, cringe comedies make my heart sing.

These comedies often feature somewhat neurotic people who have failed to fully mature as they live life. As a single adult without children, this speaks to me. How do you mature without kids?...

At the end of each chapter of Hapless, Paul (Tim Downie) cracks open his laptop to scan the headlines of The Jewish Enquirer. Almost invariably, whatever piddling story he’s spent the past episode chasing has been outflanked by the likes of “Cloudy weather in Tel Aviv” (mind you, the show takes place in London) and buried among links to “exclusives” like “Twin brothers share bar mitzvah” and “Jewish Film Festival opens with Jewish-themed film.”

Even by the standards of “the fourth-largest Jewish publication in the U.K.,” these are nothing articles. But they’re right in line with the spirit of the series, an amusingly sour half-hour comedy about a petty man getting worked up over petty things, with petty results. Think of it as a British Curb Your Enthusiasm, if Larry David had been a total nobody forced to look for the “jangle” (Jewish angle) in every remotely...

Exclusive: UK cringe comedy Hapless from director Gary Sinyor is set to launch stateside on Peacock on April 10th.

All 14 episodes from season one and two will be available. Above is the trailer.

Hapless follows the misadventures of Paul Green (played by Outlander and Good Omens 2 actor Tim Downie), a single, freelance journalist working for the fourth largest Jewish publication in the UK. Across both seasons, Hapless chronicles Paul and his constant ability to end up in the most awkward – situations.

Also starring are Jeany Spark (Black Mirror), Mike Fenton Stevens (Slow Horses) and stand-up comedian Josh Howie. Guest stars include Sally Phillips (Veep) and Nick Blood (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.).

The sitcom has been described as similar in its approach to U.S. hit Curb Your Enthusiasm. It previously played on Prime in the UK and Viaplay in a handful of international territories.

Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon - Part One” Trailer Gets Debut

Netflix wrapped up this year’s virtual Geeked Week with the debut of the official trailer for Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire.”

The epic space opera is centered on Kora, a stranger with a mysterious past who crash lands on a moon in the furthest reaches of the universe and begins a new life among the peaceful settlement of farmers. But soon, she becomes their only hope for survival against the tyrannical Regent Balisarius and the Imperium army.

Watch the trailer for “Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire” below:

Sofia Boutella leads the cast also made up of Djimon Hounsou, Charlie Hunnam, Michiel Huisman, Staz Nair, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Cleopatra Coleman, E. Duffy, Anthony Hopkins, Jena Malone, Ed Skrein, Fra Fee, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Stuart Martin, Corey Stoll, Cary Elwes,...

Baby Shark is swimming over to Chomp City, aka the big city of sharks, in the official trailer for Baby Shark’s Big Movie, the first feature-length animated movie based on the preschool property.

“Baby Shark is forced to leave behind the world he loves after his family’s move to the big city and must adjust to his new life without his best friend William,” reads the official synopsis. “When Baby Shark encounters an evil pop starfish named Stariana, who plans to steal his gift of song in order to dominate all underwater music, he must break her spell...

Exclusive: Peacock has acquired U.S. rights to season one and two of Brit sitcom Hapless.

The series, which heralds from veteran Brit director Gary Sinyor, revolves around an obsessive and gaffe-prone journalist for a fictional Jewish newspaper. Tim Downie stars.

The “cringe” comedy has been described as similar in its approach to U.S. hit Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Both series are on Prime in the UK and have also been picked up by Viaplay for Scandinavia, Poland and Benelux.

Series two stars Jeany Spark as Paul’s sweary single-mum sister Naomi and Mike Fenton Stevens as his impish Dad with Josh Howie reprising his role as neurotic singleton Simon.

Hapless is written and directed by Gary Sinyor whose credits include Leon The Pig Farmer, Stiff Upper Lips and New Line’s The Bachelor.

“Paul is like a younger Larry [David] but without the money and success, and more hair,...

A version of this story about the actors of “Succession” first appeared in the Down to the Wire: Drama issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

Like Logan Roy at a hostile Waystar Royco board meeting, “Succession” crushed the competition on Emmy nomination day. The HBO drama about the machinations of an uber-rich media family not only received the most nominations (25 total), but it also set a new record with its 14 acting nods, the most a series has ever earned in a single year.

The history-making is fitting for a show that counts among its many strengths a powerhouse ensemble cast. At the center of the maelstrom is Brian Cox as the bilious Logan, whose back-stabbing children scheme to take over the company while a constellation of employees are forever in orbit around them, hedging their bets. The actors all play off each other, creating the show’s distinctive rhythm.

Kieran Culkin,...