“Father Ted” Musical Revealed To Be In The Works

Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License

We all love a good British sitcom. The dry, witty humor and those insatiable accents are hallmarks of a great British show. For those of you who were around in the 90s, perhaps you’ll remember the critically acclaimed Father Ted. For those of you who both remember the show and are still in mourning over its cancellation after three seasons, mourn no longer. Father Ted: The Musical is almost upon us.

Set in west Ireland, the comedy follows three Catholic priests and their shenanigans after they’re all banished to fictional Craggy Island. In its heyday, Father Ted was one of the most popular shows in Ireland and the UK and even boasts fans who are comedic legends themselves, including Jim Carrey, Steven Martin, and Ricky Gervais.

While there have always been whispers of a reboot, talks didn’t get serious until last summer. In 2018, series creators Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews revealed they had another project in the works for beloved Ted, this time a musical. Dubbed Pope Ted, Linehan noted that the musical was the real final episode of the sitcom. This only further frenzied the fans. Creators also divulged that Neil Harron of The Divine Comedy would be tagging along on the project to help develop the musical numbers. 

In an interview last week, Harron mentioned that the musical was almost finished and previewed a few other tidbits about the revival.

“Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews, praise be, settled their differences and we are all back in a room writing the musical.

I think I’ve got a few gags in it  because I’d say ‘Why don’t they do this?’ and Graham and Arthur would boggle ‘That’s funny! I didn’t know you were funny?’ I replied: ‘Have you listened to any of my songs?!’ God, I’ve written a lot of songs for it!

I loved the original series and we’re trying to do justice to the style and give the characters proper stories.

You’re trying to make a proper musical with a proper plot, yet if it becomes too plot-heavy, it doesn’t feel like the original series which was so silly sometimes.

It’s a delicate balance but we’re getting there. I think it’ll be a hugely entertaining evening out – but then I would say that!

It’s very exciting. In fact, we are pretty much almost finished. It’ll still be quite a while before it hits the boards.”

While it’s unfortunate that we won’t get to see Father Ted grace our screens – er stages – for some time, at least we can all revel in the fact that progress is happening. What makes the musical adaptation even better is that the creators seem incredibly excited about their work! That’s when you know it’s going to be a great show.

Need to get your hands on more British content? Watch Kit Harrington deliver a charming and hilarious SNL monologue.