Lead Balloon
Lead Balloon is a British television series produced by Open Mike Productions for BBC Four. The series was created and is co-written by comedian Jack Dee and Pete Sinclair. It stars Dee as Rick Spleen, a cynical and misanthropic comedian whose life is plagued by petty annoyances, disappointments and embarrassments. Raquel Cassidy, Sean Power and Tony Gardner also star. The first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC Four in 2006, with the first episode achieving the highest ratings for a comedy on the channel. Repeats of the series were run on BBC Two and BBC HD, bringing it to a larger audience. A second series of eight episodes aired on BBC Two in November 2007, and a third series began airing in November 2008. A fourth and final series commenced broadcast on 31 May 2011 on BBC Two and ended on 5 July. Comparisons were made by critics to the successful American comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, and positive comments were made about Lead Balloon's characters, particularly Magda, the Eastern European housekeeper. The first series was released on DVD in November 2007. The show's theme tune is a cover version of "One Way Road", written by Noel Gallagher and performed by Paul Weller.
15 Storeys High
15 Storeys High is a critically acclaimed British sitcom, set in a tower block. The main characters are Vince Clark, a misanthropic, cynical recluse played by Sean Lock, and Errol Spears, Vince's exact opposite and whipping boy, played by Benedict Wong.
The Probability of Miracles
Based on the Wendy Wunder novel of the same name, 'The Probability of Miracles' follows Campbell “Cam” Cooper, an irreverent cynic, who has been suffering from neuroblastoma since she was 8 years old. After receiving an “expiration date” from her doctor, Cam’s mother uproots their family to a town called Promise in the hope that a miracle may save Cam’s life. While Cam doesn’t believe in magic or miracles, she goes along for the ride and plans to try to do some normal teenage hijinks with her final summer on earth…but life and Promise have something very different in mind for her.