Stephen Fry lines up period BBC ‘romp-com’ The Georges

British actor, comedian and presenter Stephen Fry is lining up a new show The Georges, a period comedy drama for the BBC about the four King Georges who ruled England in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

The series, which Fry described as a ‘romp-com’ is being developed for the BBC by Sprout Pictures, the indie producer he set up with Gina Carter.

“There were four Georges, one after the other and they despised each other,” Fry explained. “There were affairs, madness and yet during that period England goes on to become the most powerful nation on earth. It’s a dynastic saga of this mad, dysfunctional family.”

It has not been confirmed whether Fry will star, but he has appeared in front of the camera in each of Sprout’s projects so far. The company is currently making five part factual series Planet Word, presented by Fry, for the BBC. It also makes ITV drama series Kingdom, which stars Fry as a provincial solicitor Peter Kingdom.

Aside from the The Georges, its upcoming projects include Hallelujah! a copro with BBC Films about a performance of Handel’s Messiah, and The Winged Boy, a family drama being produced with Gold Circle Films.

Fry is about to star in the follow-up to Warner Bros’ recent Sherlock Holmes movie, in which he will play the detective’s brother Mycroft.