The series got renewed for a second season in August 2022 and is scheduled to premiere in 2023. The first broadcast was on 26 May this year and is available on All 4.
Jack Rooke gives an exclusive interview at Westminster World. He talks about the series Big Boys on Channel 4 and reveals what we should expect in the upcoming season two.
Jack also spoke about Big Boys season two. During those episodes, we will watch more stories being developed regarding the other characters. In contrast, the main focus remains on the main ones.
Jack Rooke said: “I think it’s just going to be a bit more expansive. I want to sort of delve into some of the other characters’ back stories and for it to feel like a real ensemble cast of different people’s stories.
“And it still always comes back to sort of Jack and Danny and their experiences and how they’re kind of coping.
“But I really just want it to feel like we’ve landed at the Uni now we’re in second year, and the stakes are a bit higher and still for it to try and combine being funny, but having those moments of pathos. But, yeah, hopefully, I don’t make it bad.”
Jack Rooke is the writer and creator of Big Boys, a sitcom that has been critically praised. It stars Dylan Llewellyn and Jon Pointing as first-year university students who live together in 2013.
It is narrated by Llewellyn’s character Jack, a semi-fictionalized version of Rooke. This series tackles grief and mental health issues in a light and funny way.
Jack Rooke said he wanted to create a series he wished existed when he went through grief himself. He expressed that he felt insecure about himself and that the best way to deal with it was to keep working and focus on that.
Jack Rooke disclosed the reasons for writing the series and the main drive that made him want to do the TV series.
Jack Rooke said: “I think my main drive is that I really just love storytelling, actually, and I really like a bit of a sort of, I suppose, a bit of a nerd about, like, the different ways in which people can, like, tell, I suppose, their experiences in ways that feel funny and comedic and humorous.
“Like, I’m a big comedy fan. I love sitcoms, and I sort of always have done and think there’s a real power in how you can make something that’s a real life story that might have elements of hardship or stuff that’s sad or traumatic or whatever and how you can then present that in a way that feels positive and in a way that feels like it can contribute to sort of helping people and enabling people to sort of feel part of a kind of wider sense of empathy.
“And I think I wish felt with big boys that I just really wanted to write that grief because it was something that happened to me as a kid, and I felt like I wanted to sort of make the show that I wish I’d have had at that time to sort of see how teenagers do cope with those heavier topics because a lot of teenagers go through them and don’t talk about it and don’t know how to sort of process it. So I kind of wanted to use comedy and humour to make that experience feel accessible for people.”
Jack Rooke also advises young creators on what they should consider if they want to follow his career path.
Jack Rooke said: “My main advice, people wanting to get into screenwriting, is to just make sure that when you’re writing anything, whether it’s journalistic or creative or whatever, that there’s characters that people really can love and understand and find compelling.
“And I think everything is based on characters, really. And I think the better you become at writing about people and writing about the nuances of human behaviour, the better. All of your writing is in any regard.
“Like, everything for me starts with character, so yeah, and also just like, persevering and just having, you know, a creative vision that you want to stick by.”
Edited by Mellina Shahrom and Besmira Kruja