The Happiness Chain: Sitcom Pilot

What Is The Happiness Chain?

The Happiness Chain is a sitcom script written by award-winning comedian and writer-performer Joz Norris. In 2023 it was nominated for the David Nobbs Memorial Trust New Comedy Writing Award and the Shortcom Sitcom Writing Competition.

TV comedy is in a funny place right now - there's not much money around, and everyone is justifiably wary of taking risks on unproven new ideas. But the comedy scene at large is healthier and more thriving than it's ever been. Countless comedians, writers, directors, filmmakers and performers are making the funniest, smartest and most imaginative stuff. We believe it's time to bridge the gap between the two by empowering those independent makers to make something good enough to minimise the risks perceived by TV commissioners in picking up new ideas.

Joz has teamed up with acclaimed comedy director Ben Kent (ITV's The Stand Up Sketch Show) and an all-star cast of comedy icons to turn The Happiness Chain into a professionally shot proof-of-concept taster in the hope of giving it its best shot at one day becoming a fully-fledged series, either for TV or online.

We have the most incredibly talented team on board for this project, and have spent the last few years building up connections and relationships within the world of TV and film comedy. We have every hope that, with your support to turn this acclaimed script into a reality, we'll be on the path towards making the next truly great, funny, characterful sitcom that everyone is crying out for.

What's It About?

Everybody wants to be happy, but they think they just have to get this out of the way first, whatever it is. Once I've done this, then my life will begin. Quite what "this" is is different for everyone, of course.

Alex is curious to a fault. He's the kind of person who can't walk past a hollow tree without knocking on it to see if anyone's in. He's so obsessed with looking at what everyone else is doing with their lives that he's forgotten to do much with his own. But he'll be happy when he gets his podcast off the ground, where he interviews people about what would make them happy, then tries it himself.

His best friend Hannah is the opposite. She's dedicated herself to getting on with ticking off life's checkboxes - career, relationship, house, marriage, kids. She colour-codes her bookshelves and she absolutely does not need you to like it. She'll be happy once she's finally tied the knot with her boyfriend Bobby.

When life throws some unexpected challenges their way and turns their lives upside-down, all their assumptions about what a happy life looks like get thrown up in the air. There's never been a better time for them to start questioning what else happiness might look like.

Together, they're going to attempt to try everything that everybody else on the planet has ever done in order to be happy, and find out which one works best.

But there's a secret lurking between them which could tear up their entire friendship.

The Happiness Chain is a comedy with heart and characters we really care for, but it never forgets to put the funny first and foremost. We're not here to care for these characters in their time of need, we're here to laugh at their ridiculous efforts to set their lives straight, and the knots they tie themselves in as they go about it.

Every bit of research on comedy viewing trends at the moment suggests that people are crying out for shows that make them belly laugh and boast big, funny, loveable, memorable characters. The Happiness Chain is that show.

We all want to be happy. And we all hope we'd be better at working out how than these idiots.

Who Is Involved?

JOZ NORRIS (Writer, Producer, Actor - "Alex") - As a comedian, Joz has made shows that have won the Comedians' Choice Award for Best Show and been longlisted for the prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award, and he's appeared on cult podcasts like RHLSTP. As a writer-performer, he co-wrote and starred in the multiple critics' choice BBC Radio 4 sitcom The Dream Factory and has made several other acclaimed radio programmes, and been nominated for multiple awards for his comedy scripts and short films. As an actor, he's guest starred in Radio 4's The Many Wrongs Of Lord Christian Brighty; The Train At Platform 4 and The Now Show, and appeared in Channel 4's Hodge Podge and Shots, ITV's Elevenish, Dave's The Dave Talks and Comedy Central's Guessable.

BEN KENT (Director) - Ben is an acclaimed director and DoP who directs ITV's hit show The Stand Up Sketch Show, starring many of the UK's best comics. He also directed Tamsyn Kelly's sitcom pilot Seagulls and Red Richardson's acclaimed comedy special. He is also celebrated for his directing work in commercials and documentaries, and he wrote and directed the short horror film Child, which has played at film festivals worldwide.

ROISIN O'MAHONY (Actor, "Hannah") - Roisin is one half of the acclaimed cult sketch comedy duo Roisin & Chiara, in which guise she’s taken the Edinburgh Fringe by storm multiple times and co-starred as one of the lead roles in the CBBC sketch show/sitcom Class Dismissed. She’s guest starred in Liam Williams’ Ladhood and Mitchell & Webb’s Back and is an acclaimed actor and director in theatre, having just starred in Content at the Dublin Theatre Festival.

HUGE DAVIES (Actor, "Bobby") - Huge is one of the most unique and exciting comedians in the UK, having been nominated for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Comedy Award and filmed his sellout show The Carpark as a special for 800 Pound Gorilla. He wrote and starred in The Artists, his own Channel 4 sitcom, and has appeared on comedy shows from 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown to Harry Hill's Clubnite to Jonathan Ross's Comedy Club, as well as guest starring in sitcoms including Romesh Ranganathan's Avoidance and Tom Basden's Here We Go.

ROSALIE MINNITT (Actor, "Sara") - Rosalie took the Edinburgh Fringe by storm last year with the sellout smash hit Regency parody Clementine, which returned for a second sold out run this year and has also sold out multiple runs at Soho Theatre. It was one of the Guardian's Top 10 Comedy Shows of 2023.

PHIL ELLIS (Actor, "Keith") - Phil's anarchic kids' gameshow Funz And Gamez won the Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel Prize in 2014, and since then he's been nominated for the Sky Best Comedy Show Award and the Malcolm Hardee Award for Comic Originality while cementing his place as one of the UK's best loved comedians. He also wrote and starred in his own acclaimed Radio 4 sitcom, Phil Ellis Is Trying, co-starring Johnny Vegas and Lolly Adefope.

DONNA PRESTON (Actor, "Margaret") - Donna's acting credits range from comedy shows like Inside No. 9 and Famalam to fantasy dramas like Good Omens and The Sandman, and she also presents Apocalypse Wow and The Full Treatment. She's been nominated for two Channel 4 National Comedy Awards as well as a Broadcast Award for Fully Blown, which she wrote and created for BBC Three.

Where Will The Money Be Going?

Great question. You deserve to know! The budget has been carefully researched based on the exact requirements of the script. Many very talented legends are giving their time and expertise to this project, and we want to at the very least cover the travel and catering expenses of those working on the project purely because they believe in it. Location hire eats up a chunk more of it, and certain technical things like sound and lighting and hair and make-up. We also want to invest in art department to make sure it all looks just right. If we beat our target and make more money then there are more things we'd like to spend money on, including upping the fees we can offer to key creatives, but these are the most important upfront costs at this point:

Location Hire Fees - £1000

Travel Expenses - £400

Catering Budget - £600

Costumes & Art Department - £500

Sound Engineer - £500

Camera & Lighting - £1000

Hair & Makeup - £500

What Does The Future Hold?

For us, making this taster into the very best thing it can be is not the end of this project, it's just the beginning. Don't get me wrong - if we end up making a short film that we can be hugely proud of and that we can show to the world at screenings, film festivals and eventually online, and that brings a lot of laughter to people who watch it, we'll be very happy and proud of what we've made with your support. But it's not where the hard work ends.

The thing we're most excited about is the opportunity to present the story and characters of The Happiness Chain, via a proof-of-concept short that showcases the idea as the best thing it can be, to our contacts in TV commissioning and production and explore the possibility of turning it into a fully-fledged series in its own right, either for TV or online in some capacity.

With the amazing talents we've assembled around this pilot, and the accolades the script has received from the film and TV industry, we think the sky's the limit for the future of this series. With a lot of hard work, and a little bit of luck, and your incredibly generous support, you won't just be helping us to make a one-off short film we can all feel proud of (though it'll also be that). You'll be helping us to make something that one day will be a series loved by audiences everywhere.

Please help us to make this project a reality!