Zap2it Fall TV Preview 2008: Cable Comedy and Drama Series

Gavin & Stacey
BBC America

Premieres: Tuesday, Aug. 26
Airs: Tuesdays at 8:40 p.m.

Stars: Mathew Horne, Joanna Page, James Corden, Ruth Jones

What's It All About? After talking for months over the phone, Stacey (Page) travels from Wales to London to meet Gavin (Horne) in person, and the two fall instantly in love. While the overall arc of this series follows the title characters' whirlwind courtship, it's their friends and family who supply the show with depth and a good share of its laughs. The latter is especially true of Smithy and Nessa, the pair's plus-sized pals (played by the show's creators James Corden and Ruth Jones), who hook up -- somewhat reluctantly -- while tagging along on Gavin and Stacey's first date. While Gavin and Stacey's relationship is all romance and roses, Smithy and Nessa prefer extra-large thongs and toilet brushes. "The stuff that interests us, the stories that influenced us and the stuff that we like is the stuff that, I guess, holds a mirror up to the world that we live in and the world that we care about," says Corden. "And so, ultimately, we just wanted to tell a truthful, romantic love story which, hopefully, was really funny." They must be doing something right -- NBC has announced plans to adapt the series for American audiences.