Though there had been some mild chatter about the idea earlier in the year, Disney+ made word of a The Full Monty follow-up series official today, revealing that the likes of castmembers Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy and Lesley Sharp are all returning for the new show.
Fittingly, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the 1997 film's release, which saw a group of unemployed steel workers turning to a striptease act to make the money and provide for their families. The result, cinematically speaking, was a giant hit, earning more than $257 million worldwide (from a $3.5 million budget), and scoring several Oscar nominations, winning Best Music.
Writer Simon Beaufoy and producer Umberto Pasolini are returning, though original director Peter Cattaneo is not - instead, Alma’s Not Normal director Andrew Chaplin and No Offence’s Catherine Morshead are sharing shot-calling duties.
A supporting cast of children and grandchildren will all join the veterans, and the story finds the original band of brothers navigating Sheffield and its crumbling healthcare, education and employment sectors, exploring the brighter, sillier and more humane way forward where communal effort can still triumph over adversity.
Production kicked off in Sheffield and Manchester today, with the show targeting Disney+ in the UK and Hulu in the States.