WHILE the controversial premise for a new sitcom called Hungry causing backlash, not everyone is outraged.
Father Ted co-creator Graham Linehan spoke out on social media, expressing his disbelief that there had been so much criticism of a programme that has yet to air.
“People have been asking me about the C4 famine comedy controversy so I’ll get this over with. Tis dumb. Controversy is dumb, petition is dumb,” he told his 429,000 Twitter followers.
“Hey, Irish outrage junkies! Get outraged about women having to travel to the UK for medical procedures! THEN move onto comedy programmes,” he added.
Linehan is no stranger to tackling unusual topics in his writing, with Father Ted going on to become an iconic television series in both Ireland and Britain, despite poking fun at the Catholic Church.
He also wrote critically acclaimed comedies Black Books and The IT Crowd — with all three programmes being Channel 4 productions.
London-based stand-up comedian John Ryan agrees with Linehan to an extent but warned the show’s concept has the potential to reinforce negative stereotypes.
“If they are making a programme based on the Potato Blight and the policy of Famine and thereby using comedy to raise awareness of an appalling act of genocide and dark period of Anglo Irish History then good luck to them,” the former Irish post columnist said.
“If it is done in the style of Blackadder Goes Forth when the excellent writing team used pathos and humour it may well be worth making.”
But he added: “However I fear a romp along the lines of Father Ted and Mrs Brown and a fiddley dee dee lets mock the ‘Oirish’. Will the Irish habit of ridiculing ourselves along the stereotypical lines that are always churned out ever end?
"I do not recall any Jewish comedy set in the gas chambers nor Black comedy on the slave ships. But maybe they don’t have our humour, or maybe they have more respect for their history?”
