HBO signs first-look deal with Sharon Horgan, orders new comedy series

Sharon Horgan will host a series for HBO about a divorced woman who cares for her parents and child. Horgan, creator and actress of Bad Sisters and Catastrophe, has signed a two-year first-look deal with HBO, along with her production company Merman. The first project under the deal is a comedy series that Horgan (pictured below) will write, produce and star in. HBO has given the untitled series a straight-to-series order.



“We’re thrilled to be reunited with Sharon. Her willingness to offer up her own experiences through the characters she creates makes us all feel a little less lonely, that is what sets her comedy apart so brilliantly,” said Amy Gravitt, executive vp comedy programming at HBO and Max. “She also has such a sharp eye for material and a strong desire to shepherd other people’s stories, we’re looking forward to the new talent she will bring into the fold.”

Horgan previously had a first-look deal with Apple TV. That pact led to Bad Sisters, which aired two seasons and is awaiting news on a third. Horgan has also worked with HBO in the past, where she created and executive produced Divorce (2016), which ran for three seasons.

“I’m so happy to once again be working with Casey [Bloys], Amy, Francesca [Orsi] and the team at HBO, and really excited that Merman get to continue to tell stories for a company that’s been home to some of the most iconic television shows ever created,” said Horgan.

The new series for HBO will follow a “50-year-old divorcee’s search for sex and love whilst juggling caring for her ailing parents and parenting her should-be grown up son,” per the show’s logline.

In addition to Bad Sisters, Catastrophe and Divorce (2016), Horgan co-created the BBC comedy series Motherland and its spin-off Amandaland, and Starz series Shining Vale.