Comedy Writing graduate’s script picked up by prime-time production company

When writer Andy Thompson joined Falmouth’s online Comedy Writing master’s in 2020, he never expected the work he produced on the course to pique the interest of a leading television production company.  

Yet he now finds himself developing his Final Major Project script into an eight-part series with Rollem Productions, one of the UK’s leading television production companies famed for Fat Friends, The Syndicate and other prime-time comedy and drama series.  

Having previously written comedy for the stage, he was keen to refine his skills and took advantage of the time afforded by the COVID lockdowns to take on the MA. “I've been writing comedy since school, so quite a long time now!”, Andy laughs. “The progress I saw in my writing during my time on the course was huge. Delivering content to regular deadlines and immersing myself for twenty to thirty hours a week really worked the writing muscle and helped me to hone my craft. I found the discipline of deadlines enormously valuable, and I’ve kept that habit going through writing competitions ever since.” 

With ambitions to craft off-beat comedy, Andy’s Final Major Project centred on making mental health more accessible via comedy and is the script which caught the attention of the team at Rollem.  

Although the course is online, I was surprised at how sociable and interactive it felt.

“I’m over the moon to be working with Rollem and excited that they've seen something positive in my work”, Andy says. “Their track record in TV comedy stretches back decades, with real respect in the industry and a sharp eye for quality, which makes their recognition even more meaningful.”  

Founded by award-winning writer Kay Mellor OBE, Rollem are a writer-first production company who champion new and unique voices. In developing the concept into an eight-part series, they are providing Andy with invaluable guidance and advice on structuring the episodes so they dovetail neatly while building a strong narrative arc.  

And this is just the beginning for Andy; alongside his Final Major Project, he graduated from the course with a full portfolio of scripts and ideas. “For me the hard part is developing the premise and characters; once that’s in place I enjoy playing with them across different formats”, he says. “A short film script written in my first module, for example, has since existed in four different formats including a stage play!” 

Andy’s talent and curiosity now have discipline and direction, made possible by sticking to the regular writing regime he developed over the course of the MA. “I’ve been able to stick to that since graduating three years ago and would highly recommend it”, he muses. “Course Leader Simon Nicholls and the support tutors Karen and Rex are incredibly knowledgeable, and although the course is online, I was surprised at how sociable and interactive it felt – I really looked forward to the weekly drop-in sessions and tutorials.” 

Learn more about Comedy Writing MA (Online)