James Corden and Ruth Jones, the writers behind Gavin & Stacey, are working together again on The Choir, a new comedy drama for Apple TV. The pair will star as Ben and Lisa, siblings who have not seen each other for several years. The eight-episode series is set to premiere on the streamer in 2027. The announcement brings together one of British television’s best-known comedy partnerships for the first time in years.
In the story, Ben has been living abroad while Lisa has stayed in the small English town where they grew up and where little ever happens. A bad turn of events forces Ben back home to his estranged family, and the series follows his attempt to repair his relationship with his older sister with the help of a struggling local choir. The show’s logline describes it as a homecoming to “a town he never liked”. The premise sets the pair up in a family drama with comic elements rather than a straight sitcom.
Apple TV confirmed the full cast in a post on X on 6 October. Jones and Corden lead an ensemble that includes Tom Davis, Rosie Sheehy, Susan Brown, Jason Watkins, David Harewood, Alexandria Riley, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Tom Edden and Gary Lamont, alongside Emily Lloyd-Saini, Stephen Leask, Luiis Rouf, Jo Foster, Evie Jones and Farrah Abbassy. Hannah Waddingham, James McAvoy and Jim Broadbent appear as guest stars across the run.
The project was first teased in 2025, when it was described as uplifting and full of heart. It is the first new series from the pair since Gavin & Stacey, the BBC romantic comedy in which Corden played Smithy and Jones played Nessa. That show ran for three series between 2007 and 2010, followed by two Christmas specials that brought the story to a close. The new show moves the partnership from the BBC to a global streaming service.
The farewell episode set a record as the most-watched scripted programme across broadcasters and streamers since records began in 2002. Jones has since said that Gavin & Stacey “will definitely not be coming back”, leaving The Choir as the next chance for audiences to see the writing partnership on screen. Apple TV has not yet announced a precise release date. Production details, including filming locations and the name of the director, have not been made public.
