Hugely popular sketch show What if? has been nominated for this year’s International Emmys in the Best Comedy category. This is the second time that production outfit Shelter has been nominated for an Emmy with one of their TV series. Last year their monster hit Benidorm Bastards won both a Golden Rose TV award and an Emmy Award.
In total, four series have been nominated in the Best Comedy category, including the BBC’s Absolutely Fabulous. Producer Tim Van Aelst of Shelter commented that, even after the Golden Rose nomination and BANFF award earlier this year, they are still ‘as excited as kids’ with the international recognition. Read the interview with Tim Van Aelst in Flanders (i)
What If? presents a series of imaginary scenarios such as: What if your butcher was a civil servant? What if Facebook had existed in the Middle Ages? Or what if nobody had invented the fork? The comedy show initially aired on commercial station 2BE but was rescheduled on the channel’s ‘big sister’ arm, VTM, due to its immense popularity. VMMa, the channel’s parent company, recently signed up for a second series of What If?, which is to air beginning of 2013.
What if? has already been sold to a number of territories, including Canada and The Netherlands, by sales company Red Arrow International, which sold Shelter’s previous comedy show Benidorm Bastards to well over 20 territories.