Germany's ARD Takes BBC's Taylor Lautner Sitcom 'Cuckoo'

The German pubweb will air the first two seasons of the sitcom, the first of which starred Andy Samberg, in primetime this fall.

German public broadcaster ARD has snapped up the first two seasons of British culture-clash comedy series Cuckoo, the second season of which stars Twilight alum Taylor Lautner.



The first season of Cuckoo starred Brooklyn Nine-Nine and former SNL actor Andy Samberg and was the top-rated comedy on BBC Three when it launched in 2012, with 1.15 million viewers. Samberg's character was written out of the show when the actor's other commitments put the future of the sitcom in jeopardy. Lautner was cast to replace him and will star in the second season of the show, currently in production.

BBC Three is set to become an online-only channel due to budget cuts at the British broadcaster, starting in 2015.

ARD's deal for Cuckoo, with sales group FremantleMedia International (FMI), will mark the first time in more than a decade that an international series has made it onto primetime on the German pubweb. ARD plans to debut Cuckoo in Germany this fall.
The first season of the sitcom starred Samberg as a new age slacker who makes life hell for his uptight British in-laws (played by Greg Davies and Helen Baxendale). Tamla Kari co-stars as Cuckoo's wife, Rachel.
Season one ended with Samberg's character disappearing while on a walkabout in the foothills of the Himalayas. In season two, Lautner, playing a mysterious stranger searching for his lost father, arrives to wreak havoc on the staid English family.
Cuckoo has been a sales hit for FMI, which has closed deals for more than 70 territories, including with Foxtel in Australia, HBO Central Europe, which took the sitcom in 16 territories, and Amedia and 2x2 in Russia.

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