We can all agree Red Dwarf became a different beast once writer Rob Grant left after Series VI, but I don’t believe anyone begrudged the show’s extremely belated returns in 2009 and 2012 on UKTV’s Dave, written solo by the franchise’s other head, Doug Naylor. And next year and the year after, we’ll be getting even more of the boys from the Dwarf, with the channel commissioning two new seasons.
Regardless of opinions on the quality of the newer instalments, they proved rather popular with audiences. According to the announcement on the official Red Dwarf website, 2009’s Back To Earth pulled in 2.6 million viewers and Series X was always above 1.6 million (with 2 million at its peak) for each of its six episodes.
It’s confirmed that the core cast will return, along with Naylor as writer and director. Production on Series XI and XII will start in spring later this year. No solid dates are provided as to when the new shows will air and no mention is made of episode counts, but I’d say six is a pretty good guess, going by the length of previous seasons, especially the most recent, X.
A trailer of sorts was also posted, but it’s essentially 25 seconds of logos. If you don’t believe me, well… I warned you:
I enjoyed Series X, so if the new seasons are to the same standard (hopefully better), I can’t see this being anything other than a good thing.
Photo: reddwarf.co.uk