Commissions

Greenlit: Romesh’s Return Ticket, BBC3

Romesh’s Return Ticket w/t (6 x ) –  Stand-up comedian Romesh Ranganathan travels to Sri Lanka to connect with his roots. The people he meets, the places he goes, the experiences he has will all have been set up by his mum, who is sending her son on the trip she has always wished he’d make.

Romesh gets asked about his Asian roots all the time. But he can’t answer any of the questions he’s asked. While that is a constant source of shame and embarrassment, he can’t quite bring himself to do something about it. Romesh, who considers himself British through and through, grew up in Crawley, doesn’t speak a word of Tamil, has no idea about his cultural heritage and has almost zero desire to go to Sri Lanka.

But his mum has other ideas, and she’s sending him back to become the good Tamil boy she hoped he’d be. Each episode will be a mini-adventure revolving around one of the Ranganathan’s distant Sri Lankan friends or relations. They’ll be taking him to the must-see locations and will also be expecting him to take part in traditional rituals and customs. And when it comes down to it, they’ll also be expecting him to pull his weight.

The result is either going to be a sense of cultural awareness and a renewed sense of self-identity… or it’s going to drive him mad.

Channel: BBC3

Producer: RUMPUS

TX: Late 2015

Source: BBC press release