Tim Meadows and Patrick Brammall.
Trent O’Donnell and Patrick Brammall are heading to the writers’ room, figuratively if not literally, after CBS All Access today announced a second series of No Activity.
Produced by CBS Television Studios in association with Funny or Die, Jungle and Gary Sanchez Productions, the US remake of the Stan-commissioned comedy premiered on the US streaming service and on Stan last November.
Directed by O’Donnell, the eight-part show starred Brammall and Brooklyn Nine-Nine and The Goldbergs’ Tim Meadows as low-level cops in San Diego who are supposed to be monitoring a major drug operation.
The guest cast included Will Ferrell (who shared EP duties with Funny or Die partner Adam McKay), Darren Gilshenan, Sunita Mani, Jason Mantzoukas, Jesse Plemons, Amy Sedaris and J.K. Simmons.
“As CBS All Access’ first original comedy series, No Activity flipped conventional storytelling on its head by showcasing some of the world’s best comedic talent as they hilariously explored the mundane lives of every day cops and criminals,” said Julie McNamara, executive VP, original content for CBS All Access.
“While the first season pushed boundaries and broke rules, we are confident that Trent O’Donnell and Patrick Brammall, along with their partners at Funny or Die and Gary Sanchez Productions, have just scratched the surface and will deliver a new season that continues to elevate this as a truly one-of-a-kind series.”
CBS Access also renewed dramas The Good Fight and Star Trek: Discovery.
Stan reported record sign-ups and viewing figures in the November to January period, boosted by three original productions: No Activity; season two of Screentime and Emu Creek Pictures’ Outback thriller Wolf Creek; and Roadshow Rough Diamond’s Romper Stomper.
The idea for the Australian series originated when Brammall and Gilshenan were sitting in a car filming an episode in the second series of The Moodys, directed by O’Donnell.
In between takes they riffed about numerous subjects. O’Donnell saw the potential for a comedy and later filmed scenes with the pair in the carpark below Jungle’s offices.
The initial thought was to screen the scenes as interstitials online before Jungle’s Jason Burrows, Brammall and O’Donnell parlayed the idea into a half-hour comedy which they pitched to Stan.