Bill’s Included: Everything You Need to Know About the New BBC Sitcom – Start Date, Cast and Plot

Rob Brydon is returning to traditional sitcom comedy in Bill’s Included, a brand-new BBC comedy about an overenthusiastic landlord who finds himself sharing his home with four students. Packed with awkward encounters, household chaos and unexpected friendships, the six-part series promises plenty of laughs as an unlikely group of housemates attempt to navigate life under one roof.

Produced by Baby Cow, the comedy sees Brydon take centre stage as a well-meaning divorcee who discovers that becoming a landlord might be considerably harder than he imagined.

Here’s everything you need to know about Bill’s Included, including its release date, cast, plot and creative team.

What is Bill’s Included about?

Bill’s Included follows Bill Beam (Rob Brydon), a well-meaning but overenthusiastic divorcee who finds himself facing an uncertain future after his marriage unexpectedly falls apart.

At the beginning of the first episode, Bill returns home to discover that his wife is having an affair with their gardener. She leaves him, leaving Bill alone in the family home – something he quickly realises he cannot cope with.

When a fire breaks out at the local university halls of residence, creating a student housing crisis, Bill spots an opportunity to make some extra money by renting out his spare rooms.

Before long, four very different students move into his home, turning his previously quiet household into a lively and unpredictable shared living space.

However, Bill has ambitions beyond simply collecting the rent. Determined to become part of the household, he attempts to act as both a responsible landlord and an honorary housemate. He even comes up with his own title for the role: a ‘land friend’ rather than a landlord.

As Bill and his mismatched lodgers muddle through everyday chaos, growing pains and unexpected friendships, the household gradually begins to resemble an unconventional found family.

But can Bill learn to respect the boundaries between landlord and friend? With his enthusiasm regularly getting the better of him, things are unlikely to go smoothly.

Who is in the cast of Bill’s Included?

Rob Brydon as Bill Beam

Rob Brydon leads the cast as Bill Beam, a recently divorced homeowner who rents out his spare rooms to four students to stay financially afloat.

Best known for his role as Uncle Bryn in Gavin & Stacey, Brydon brings his sitcom experience and trademark comedic timing to another well-meaning character whose good intentions frequently land him in trouble.

The four student housemates are central to the story, although their individual casting details have not been provided in the initial series announcement.

Bill’s Included release date: When does it start?

Bill’s Included is scheduled to premiere on Friday 20 November.

The series will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

With six episodes, each running for 30 minutes, viewers can look forward to a traditional half-hour sitcom format.

How many episodes are in Bill’s Included?

The first series consists of six episodes, each approximately 30 minutes long.

The comedy is designed around Bill’s increasingly complicated relationship with his four student lodgers, with plenty of opportunities for household misunderstandings, awkward situations and unlikely friendships.

What has Rob Brydon said about Bill’s Included?

Rob Brydon has described the programme as a traditional sitcom and explained how the story begins with Bill’s marriage falling apart before he takes in four students.

Speaking about the series, Brydon says:

“Bill’s Included is a traditional sitcom. It involves my character, Bill Beam, right at the beginning of episode one he comes home to discover that his wife is having an affair with their gardener. She leaves him and he’s left alone in the house, and he doesn’t like being alone.

He sees that there’s been a fire at the local university halls of residence and there’s a housing crisis. So, he has the bright idea of renting rooms to students. He ends up with four different students who come to live in his house, and he does his very best to be their friend. He calls himself a land friend, not a landlord. And then, of course, we get into all sorts of scrapes”.

Brydon also discussed his return to sitcom comedy, revealing that the project has been in development for several years.

He adds:

“I haven’t done a sitcom since Gavin & Stacey. I’d been hosting shows like Destination X, Would I Lie to You?, The Floor, I did my travel country music documentary and I missed it and I wanted to do it. It was my friend Steve Coogan’s company Baby Cow, they started to develop some scripts for me. This must have been 4 or 5 years ago, maybe more. It went through several iterations until we ended up where we are now”.

Who is behind Bill’s Included?

Bill’s Included is a Baby Cow production, part of BBC Studios, made for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

The series is written by Ben Ashenden and Alexander Owen, who are also among the executive producers.

The executive producing team includes Rupert Majendie, Ben Ashenden, Alexander Owen, Rob Brydon, Tom Basden, Justine Randle and Steve Coogan.

Lauriel Martin produces the series, with Dave Lambert directing.

The BBC commissioning editors are Ben Caudell and Roya Eslami, while BBC Studios is responsible for handling global sales.

Where can you watch Bill’s Included?

Viewers in the UK can watch Bill’s Included on BBC iPlayer and BBC One from Friday 20 November.

With Rob Brydon returning to sitcom comedy, an unusual group of housemates and a central character who struggles to distinguish between being a landlord and being everyone’s friend, the series looks set to delivera warm and chaotic comedy about friendship, family and finding your feet after life takes an unexpected turn.

Bill’s Included premieres Friday 20 November on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.

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