The Horne Section TV Show: Channel 4 release date, trailer, and cast with Alex Horne and Greg Davies

The Horne Section, a new sitcom that sees Taskmaster’s Alex Horne playing a fictionalised version of himself, is coming to All4 and Channel 4 this November.

The series, which follows Horne and his band The Horne Section after they’re accidentally given a talk show by a Channel 4 executive, sees the Taskmaster co-host try and convince people he’s more than just Greg Davies’ assistant.

Here’s everything you need to know about The Horne Section.

What is it about?

The official Channel 4 synopsis for The Horne Section explains that “tired of being the little assistant, Alex Horne finally has the chance to be the star of his very own late night music chat show, which he insists on filming live from his family home. With the help of his loyal, and much more talented, band The Horne Section, Alex is ready to pull out all the stops to impress the big bosses at Channel 4.”

Who stars in The Horne Section?

As you might’ve guessed, Alex Horne stars as… Alex Horne. You’ll recognise Alex Horne from Taskmaster, of course, but he’s also appeared on other shows like Richard Osman’s House of Games and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. (He also appeared on actual Countdown as a contestant in the early 2000s). Currently, he plays No More Jockeys with Tim Key an Mark Watson on YouTube.

The Horne Section band is comprised of Horne Section, comprised of Joe Auckland (trumpet and banjo), Mark Brown (saxophone and guitar), Will Collier (bass), Ben Reynolds (drums and percussion), Ed Sheldrake (keyboards). Together, they hosted The Horne Section Television Programme for Dave, a kind of musical variety show including special guests like Sara Pascoe and performances of their various songs.

For The Horne Section sitcom on Channel 4, they’re joined by actors and comedians like Desiree Burch (Taskmaster, The Sandman), Georgia Tennant (Staged, Doctor Who), and John Oliver (Community, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver). Greg Davies, Tim Key, Imogen Heap, and Dr Ranj Singh all also appear as themselves.

Who writes and directs The Horne Section?

The series was created and written by Alex Horne and The Horne Section. Barbara Wiltshire, previously of anthology series Inside No. 9, directs all six episodes.

Is there a trailer for The Horne Section?

Not quite yet! When Channel 4 shares a trailer, though, we’ll be sure to update this piece with that information.

When and how can I watch The Horne Section?

The Horne Section will be made available as a boxset on All4 on Thursday 3 November. It’s also going to get a standard Channel 4 release later in the month, though we don’t yet have an official date for that yet.

Looking at previous shows that have followed that All4 then Channel 4 release model, however, like Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared or I Hate You, it seems typical for the Channel 4 broadcast to follow a week later. Perhaps it’s worth tentatively pencilling in Thursday 10 November as the date of the Channel 4 release?

How many episodes of The Horne Section are there?

There are going to be six episodes of The Horne Section, each a typical sitcom length of 25ish minutes long.

Will there be a second series of The Horne Section?

As ever, it’s a little bit early to say, though we’ll update this piece with all the relevant information as soon as it becomes available.

Why should I watch The Horne Section?

It’s one to check out if you tend to enjoy this kind of meta-comedy where people play themselves -think shows like Episodes with Matt LeBlanc or Staged with David Tennant and Michael Sheen.