US cable network HBO has released the first teaser trailer for Family Tree, the new improvised mockumentary by Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman director Christopher Guest – starring Irish comedy actor Chris O'Dowd.

Advertisement

Best known to British TV viewers for The IT Crowd, O'Dowd is now a big name in America thanks to the film Bridesmaids and his guest role in the HBO series Girls. In Family Tree, he takes the lead as 30-year-old Tom Chadwick. Having lost his job and his girlfriend, Tom arrives in LA on a quest to discover more about his family history.

British comedian Nina Conti and PhoneShop actor Tom Bennett star as O'Dowd's sister and best friend.

The series is a co-production with BBC2 and will air here, as well as on HBO, this spring.

The trailer is short but among the delights are Conti and her familiar puppet Monk, Guest's fellow Spinal Tap star Michael McKean doing a terrific English accent, and Fred Willard, another member of Guest's regular repertory.

More like this
Advertisement

Also appearing in the series are Meera Syal, Ashley Walters, Kevin Pollak, Ed Begley Jr and Guest himself.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement