HBO Max & BBC Three Team On Rose Matafeo’s Millennial Comedy ‘Starstruck’ From ‘Catastrophe’ Producer Avalon Television

HBO Max and BBC Three have partnered on a six-part comedy created by, written by and starring New Zealand-born comedian Rose Matafeo.

They have ordered Starstruck from the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, who is based in London and has appeared on BBC’s Have I Got News For You, W1A and Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off spin-off Extra Slice. She is also the lead writer and star of New Zealand sketch show Funny Girls.

The scripted comedy, which is produced by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Catastrophe producer Avalon Television, follows twenty-something Rose (Rose Matafeo), a millennial in London, juggling two dead-end jobs and navigating the awkward morning-after when she discovers the complications of accidentally sleeping with a movie star.

It is the latest British partnership for HBO Max, which recently picked up the streaming rights to a raft of BBC series including Doctor Who, Luther, Pure, Trigonometry, Stath Lets Flats, Home and Ghosts. BBC Three is the home of series including Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, Showtime pick-up Back To Life, People Just Do Nothing, which is being remade by Amazon and This Country.

Starstruck was commissioned by Shane Allen, Controller Comedy Commissioning at the BBC and Fiona Campbell, Controller of BBC Three, while the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Gregor Sharp.  Executive Producers are Matafeo, Jon Thoday, Richard Allen-Turner and Rob Aslett.

“The BBC have been so supportive of this project from the get-go and to be able to get this show in front of American audiences at the same time via HBO Max is truly exciting,” said Matafeo. “I’m thrilled we get to make it, otherwise it would’ve technically just been a creepy fan fiction script that I submitted to the national broadcaster. The team we’ve brought together for this series are absolute dreamboats and I’m super excited to be working with them.”

“The minute we were introduced to Rose and Starstruck, we knew we had something special,” said Sarah Aubrey, head of original content, HBO Max. “She is exactly the type of original, culture-forward creator we are excited to be working with at HBO Max and we are looking forward to a long partnership.”

“Very rarely does a comedy talent land as fully formed and instantly magnetic as Rose,” added BBC’s Allen. “Her assertive millennial female voice is the perfect fit for BBC Three given the strong track record we have in launching sitcoms that speak to a younger audience. Prepare to be utterly enchanted by her winning blend of whip smart writing and the rich character world she has created.”

“Rose is an exceptional talent and we are delighted with the incredibly important immediate support from the BBC and very pleased we are partnering with HBO Max on this exciting show,” added Avalon MD and exec producer Jon Thoday.