Paramount+ has boarded the BBC and CBS Studios’ upcoming Dawn French sitcom Can You Keep A Secret?.
The streamer has taken U.S. rights to the comedy, with Paramount Global Content Distribution selling around the world.
In Can You Keep a Secret?, British comedy icon French plays domineering grandma Debbie Fendon, a woman who will stop at nothing to protect her family. When her hermit-like husband William (Mark Heap) unexpectedly dies, she makes an outlandish decision that will put the family under more pressure than ever before. The show also stars Craig Roberts and Mandip Gill.
The BBC and CBS Studios are already combining on James Norton-starring historical epic King and Conqueror. Big Talk Studios is also behind Can You Keep a Secret? along with creator Simon Mayhew-Archer’s Mayhay Studios.
The BBC will be delighted with the Paramount+ deal. The start of 2025 has been characterized by the American co-pro market drying up and the BBC has itself admitted in recent months that it is struggling to fully fund shows due to a lack of American money.
Can You Keep a Secret? is EP’d by Kenton Allen, Mayhew-Archer, French and Toby Welch, with Simon Hynd set to direct. Written and created by Mayhew-Archer, the series will air on BBC iPlayer and BBC One in the U.K. and Paramount+ in the U.S.
