HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s forthcoming streaming service, has lined up yet another woman-driven project. According to a press release, it has commissioned “Starstruck,” from comedian Rose Matafeo, alongside BBC Three.
Hailing from Avalon Television, “Starstruck” is a six-part comedy written, created by, and starring Matafeo. It centers on a 20-something in London who discovers her one-night stand was with a movie star. Matafeo is also among the exec producers.
“The BBC have been so supportive of this project from the get-go and to be able to get this show in front of American audiences at the same time via HBO Max is truly exciting,” said Matafeo. “I’m thrilled we get to make it, otherwise it would’ve technically just been a creepy fan fiction script that I submitted to the national broadcaster,” she joked. “The team we’ve brought together for this series are absolute dreamboats and I’m super excited to be working with them.”
“Very rarely does a comedy talent land as fully formed and instantly magnetic as Rose,” added Shane Allen, controller comedy commissioning at the BBC. “Her assertive millennial female voice is the perfect fit for BBC Three given the strong track record we have in launching sitcoms that speak to a younger audience. Prepare to be utterly enchanted by her winning blend of whip smart writing and the rich character world she has created.”
Matafeo won the Best Comedy Show prize at the 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Awards for her show “Horndog.” Her on-screen credits include “Rose Matafeo: Temp,” “Squinters,” and “Funny Girls.” She served as head writer on the latter. Matafeo also directed New Zealand sitcom “Golden Boy.”
Other projects in the works at HBO Max include “Dune: The Sisterhood,” Jessica Rothe and Sharon Horgan’s “Delilah,” and adaptations of Madeline Miller’s “Circe” and Jenny Lee’s “Anna K.”