''Off the Hook'' is a

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

about a group of

freshers A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. It was first broadcast on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

and

BBC HD BBC HD was a 24-hour high-definition television channel provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007 before its discontinuation on 26 March 2013. It broadcast ...

between 10 September and 22 October 2009. The show's cast includes

Jonathan Bailey Jonathan Stuart Bailey (born 25 April 1988) is an English actor. Known for his comedic, dramatic, and musical roles on stage and screen, he is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award and a nomination for a Evening Standard Theatre Award. Ba ...

, who plays the protagonist together with Danny Morgan, James Buckley, Joanna Cassidy and

Georgia King Georgia May King (born 18 November 1986) is a Scottish actress. Early life Born in Edinburgh, King is the daughter of actor Jonathan Hyde and opera singer Isobel Buchanan. Career Although King grew up dreaming of being a director, she got her ...

Production

The series was commissioned as part of the

BBC Switch BBC Switch was the brand for BBC content aimed at UK teenagers. The brand was launched on Saturday 20 October 2007 on BBC Two and ceased broadcasting on 18 December 2010. It included a block of television programmes on BBC Two, an online porta ...

strand which was aimed at teenagers. Its original title was ''Fresh''. It first appeared online in small five-minute episodes in September 2008 before later being developed into a full series. It was filmed on location at the

University of Westminster The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Polyte ...

's Harrow campus, which is used as the backdrop for the fictional Bankside University.

Premise

The series centres on Danny Gordon (Bailey) as he embarks on his first year at Bankside University. Unbeknown to him his "worst best friend" from school, Shane McKay, has been awarded a place at Bankside via the clearing system, and proceeds to gatecrash Danny's university life. The pair share their student accommodation with Scarlet Hayes, Fred and Wendy "Weird Bloke". The first episode introduces the characters and displays Danny's introduction into university life including life modelling, chatting up girls who have boyfriends at home and learning that there is a university degree called Moral Philosophy with Comparative Philology.

Cast

as Danny Gordon * Danny Morgan as Shane McKay * James Buckley as Fred * Joanna Cassidy as Scarlet * Georgina King as Weird Bloke

References

External links

* * *{{British Comedy Guide, tv, off_the_hook 2009 British television series debuts 2009 British television series endings 2000s British teen sitcoms 2000s college television series BBC television sitcoms British college television series English-language television shows Television series about teenagers