“This is not a drill!”
Father Ted is officially coming back — only this time as a musical.
Graham Linehan, one of the co-creators of the beloved comedy, announced the news in a series of tweets.
Calling it the “real final episode of Father Ted”, he wrote:
“‘Pope Ted—The Father Ted Musical’ written by Arthur Mathews and myself, music by Neil Hannon, is almost written.
“I just thought you’d like to know. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”
‘Pope Ted—The Father Ted Musical’ written by Arthur Mathews and myself, music by Neil Hannon, is almost written. I just thought you’d like to know. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!
— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) June 2, 2018
Linehan’s fellow writer Arthur Matthews and Neil Hannon of the Divine Comedy, who wrote both the show’s theme tune and My Lovely Horse, are attached to the project.
According to the BBC, the musical will see Ted move on from the fictional Craggy Island to take on his new role as the Pope.
Linehan told the news outlet that the musical would be about “the least qualified man in the world becoming Pope.”
On why he is revisiting the characters now, he added:
“I didn’t want to do anything like this until the right idea came along, and when Trump won and Corbyn won I kind of thought, ‘maybe Ted has a chance’.
“I thought it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch. Obviously we’re pulling some shenanigans to get him into that position, but I think the shenanigans are entertaining enough that people won’t mind.”
And while there’s no word yet on when the musical would actually debut on stage, he told the publication they were hopeful it would be next year.
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