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Philomena Cunk to take on the big question in new special Cunk's Quest for Meaning

The BBC/Netflix special will once again be written by Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker

Published on Tue Feb 06 2024

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Pack it up, 2024: you’ve peaked already. In what is easily the best news of the year, the BBC has announced that Philomena Funk is returning to our screens for a one-off special episode in which she will take on the biggest question of all: what’s it all about, anyway?

The 75-minute Cunk’s Quest for Meaning is a one-off return for Diane Morgan’s offbeat journalist, who went from UK national phenomenon as part of the BBC’s Screen Wipe and Cunk on Britain to international superstar with Netflix’s release of Cunk on Earth. (Netflix will also handle international distribution of Quest for Meaning.) Morgan will be part of the writing team for the new special, alongside Ben Caudell, Erika Ehler, Charlie George, Eli Goldstone, Jason Hazeley, Lucia Keskin, Joel Morris, and Michael Odewale. As with all previous Cunk projects, the special’s lead writer will be Black Mirror’s Charlie Brooker.

In the official announcement of the new special, Cunk is quoted as saying, “To be honest I thought we could cover the meaning of life in a 30-minute episode, but the producers said we might need a bit longer and that I could probably go to America if we did a special. I’m very excited to be going to America for free.”

The BBC’s somewhat tongue-in-cheek announcement promises that the show will “tackle some of the most complex concepts to have ever been discovered, including Quantum Physics, Existentialism, Nihilism, Hedonism – and at least four other isms,” and adds that Cunk’s promised visit to America is “subject to visa approval but fingers crossed.”

Cunk’s Quest for Meaning will appear “later this year,” according to the BBC. It’s clearly a good day for anyone who enjoys meta media comedy from the British network; in addition to a new Philomena Funk special, it’s also announced a new Alan Partridge series, as well.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.