Katherine Ryan has confirmed that the second season of her comedy special Backstage With Katherine Ryan will not air on Amazon Prime. However, she is now reportedly testing out a game show for Comedy Central, as reported by the British Comedy Guide.
Ryan announced today on her Telling Everybody Everything podcast that the stand-up showcase Backstage, which featured comedians performing and discussing their sets offstage, has not been recommissioned because it was too expensive to make and didn’t attract a large enough audience.
Series creators Expectation Entertainment (Alma’s Not Normal, The Lateish Show With Mo Gilligan) recorded performances by Frankie Boyle, Jimmy Carr, Sarah Millican, Jo Brand, Sara Pascoe, Tom Allen, Sue Perkins, Nish Kumar, Joel Dommett, Russell Kane, Rob Beckett, and Rosie Jones at London’s Roundhouse venue in the past year.
The six 30-minute episodes aired in June, and featured acts like Seann Walsh, Nick Mohammed, Judi Love, Darren Harriott, Desiree Burch, Ivo Graham, Michelle de Swarte, and Joanne McNally, with Geoff Norcott playing the role of a sidekick by writing roasts for Ryan to use in introducing the other comics.
We filmed it during the pandem and they were double PCR-testing everyone, every day, the whole audience, everyone; it just costs so much money to do all that, so it’s not coming back,” Ryan said, despite the show’s popularity.
To which he replied, “And then I caught Covid — spoiler alert, if you haven’t seen it, fuck you, you’re the reason it’s not coming back,” in a lighthearted manner. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to postpone the final day entirely; hopefully, insurance will help with the costs.
“The show was well-received, but its low ratings were a disappointment given its high production costs and high standards of excellence. It’s too bad that won’t be revisited again. On the other hand, we must press on.
As for what’s coming up next, Katherine Ryan promises, “Something new and exciting is happening soon, and if you haven’t seen Backstage With Katherine Ryan, I really stand behind it, on Amazon Prime Video, a wonderful show that showcased so many of my friends and comedians that I love.”
The Canadian comedian’s previous work includes the Netflix sitcom The Duchess and two stand-up specials. This was her first commission for Amazon.
Some critics praised Backstage, while others said it was “just another comedy show with a shadow one running backstage. It’s funny, and it grants us moments of insight – but only enough to make it feel like a missed opportunity.” Those are some strange words coming from the Guardian.
National media paid special attention to an episode in which Ryan and Pascoe talked about fictional sexual abusers. In the previous month, it was disclosed that Ryan was filming a pilot episode of the game show Make It Hard.
However, the source of the broadcast and other information were scant. The show was promoted as having “four of the funniest guests in the country,” as well as a celebrity co-host with Ryan, “daft questions, obscure facts, and laughs aplenty,” according to the ticketing site Standing Room Only.
The 30 minute unaired pilot was recently identified by BCG as being produced by Youngest Media for Comedy Central. Youngest Media is also responsible for Craig Charles’s Channel 4 quiz show Moneybags.
Currently, you can catch Ryan on stage with her stand-up show Missus. Louis Theroux, who recently did an interview series for the BBC, has been following her on tour, it was announced last month. Currently, Joe Wilkinson and the comedian are filming a travel show for Channel 4 called Joe and Katherine’s Bargain Holidays.
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