Channel 4 Cancels BAFTA-Winning ‘The Big Narstie Show’

Jake Kanter
·2 min read
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EXCLUSIVE: Another one bites the dust at Channel 4. The UK broadcaster has canceled The Big Narstie Show.

Channel 4 informed producers earlier this year that the BAFTA-winning entertainment show will not return for Season 6, though the news has only just percolated amid an ongoing content cull. Channel 4 said it was a creative rather than a cost-cutting decision.

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Hosted by rapper Big Narstie and comedian Mo Gilligan, The Big Narstie Show launched in 2018 and established itself as an anarchic vehicle for chat, musical performances, and topical comedy.

It was produced by Expectation, the outfit behind Clarkson’s Farm and David Schwimmer comedy Intelligence, and Dice Productions Entertainment, which is co-owned by Big Narstie.

Channel 4 said: “The decision not to recommission a sixth series of The Big Narstie Show is not part of our response to challenges in the advertising market.

“We are immensely proud of the five series we have made of this innovative BAFTA-winning show but we have to look carefully at what we commission each year to make sure we continue to innovate and offer viewers a varied range of programming. We look forward to working with Dice, Expectation and Big Narstie on other projects in the future.”

Channel 4 is scrambling to cut costs after its ad revenue plummeted and producers are being asked to share the pain, with mounting cancellations, delayed shoots, and cash flow requests.

The issues have been compounded by Channel 4’s ratings hitting a historic low last month and top executives being handed six-figure loyalty bonuses, which they later deferred.

The broadcaster’s issues are the talk of the UK industry and there is genuine anger over how executives have handled the turmoil.

Channel 4’s content chief Ian Katz emailed producers this week in a bid to soothe unrest. He acknowledged that it was a difficult period, but said the broadcaster was well-placed to negotiate the transition to streaming.

Katz warned, however, that Channel 4 will be commissioning “relatively little over the summer months” outside of digital and current affairs.

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