The British comedy Everyone Else Burns makes its US television debut on The CW on October 26, 2023 at 9:30pm ET/PT. The half-hour series starring Simon Bird and Kate O’Flynn will be part of the network’s Thursday night comedy block that includes Son of a Critch, Run the Burbs, and Children Ruin Everything.
Bird (The Inbetweeners) stars as David Lewis, O’Flynn (Landscapers) plays Fiona, Amy James-Kelly (Military Wives) is Rachel, and Harry Connor is Aaron. Dillon Mapletoft and Oliver Taylor created the series and serve as writers and executive producers. JAX Media’s Tony Hernandez and Brooke Posch also executive produce.
“Blessings be upon the Lewises: a strictly religious family who believe the world will end within the decade. Patriarch David longs for the church to promote him. Long-suffering Fiona hungers for a life beyond sermons and squash. Aaron is a model young believer — except his drawings feature the rest of the family burning in hell,” reads The CW’s synopsis. “And anxious 17-year-old Rachel is about to fall for someone who could save her social life, but also damn her soul.”
The series premiere was directed by Nick Collett from a script by Mapletoft and Taylor.
In a January 2023 interview with British Comedy Guide, Mapletoft explained why he and Taylor believed setting a sitcom in the world of a doomsday cult would be a great idea.
“We loved the combination of naturally high narrative stakes. Because if you’re extremely religious, everyday scenarios mean different things to you,” said Mapletoft. “Things other people wouldn’t have a second thought about. So high stakes in terms of life and death, Heaven and Hell. But also a new perspective on coming-of-age moments that hopefully we can all identify with. When you’re brought up in that environment, it can give you a different sort of lens.”
Mapletoft added: “We went on a writing retreat and started talking about different aspects of my upbringing. We borrowed a few moments that were meaningful to me and created this fictional group we could tailor for the most comic potential. It felt like a great prism to make the show as funny as possible.”
