The First Team: The Inbetweeners creators reunite for BBC comedy about off-the-pitch footballing misadventures

Hit Play above to watch the creators of The First Team reveal secrets from the set and surprise Raheem Sterling meeting

The creators of The Inbetweeners have reunited for a brand new comedy series called The First Team.

Written and directed by Iain Morris and Damon Beesley, the six-part series premieres on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in the UK.

It follows the off-the-pitch misadventures of three young footballers at a fictional Premier League club.

Here’s what we know so far about the The First Team on the BBC.

When is The First Team on TV and how can I watch it in the UK?

Co-creator Iain Morris confirmed on Twitter that the show starts Thursday, May 28 on BBC Two. 

It will consist of six 30-minute episodes. You’ll also be able to catch up on BBC iPlayer.

What is The First Team about?

The First Team follows the off-the-pitch misadventures of three young footballers Mattie, Jack and Benji, as they find themselves struggling with their mercurial Italian manager Cesare, the team’s eccentric American Chairman Mark, resident hard-man Petey and ineffectual coach Chris.

The footballers are “far less proficient with women, money and social media than they are at scoring goals”.

Who’s in the cast of The First Team?

The actors who play the three young footballers are Shaquille Ali-Yebuah (The Feed, The Children Act) as Benji Achebe, Jack McMullen (The Souvenir, Ford v Ferrari/Le Mans '66) as Jack Turner, and Jake Short (SuperCool, This Is the Year) as Mattie Sullivan.

Theo Barklem-Biggs (Sliced, White Gold) plays hard-man Petey Brooks, Chris Geere (You’re The Worst, Modern Family) plays football coach Chris Booth, and six-time Emmy nominee Will Arnett (Arrested Development, BoJack Horseman) plays Chairman Mark Crane, below.

The cast also features Tamla Kari (Cuckoo, The Musketeers) as the team’s PR expert Olivia Talbot, Vadhir Derbez (How To Be A Latin Lover) as Carlos Velez, Phil Wang (8 Out of 10 Cats, Taskmaster) as Brian, and Neil Fitzmaurice (Peep Show, Mount Pleasant) as Darren.

Theo Barklem-Biggs and Tamla Kari have both appeared in The Inbetweeners films. Barkem Biggs played Richard, who the four friends bumped into in Malia, and Kari played Lucy, the love interest of Simon (Joe Thomas).

Will there be a season 2 of The First Team?

It’s not yet known whether there will be a second series of The First Team on BBC Two.

What have Iain Morris and Damon Beesley written?

The writing duo previously created The Inbetweeners, the coming-of-age TV series about four hapless sixth-form pupils and their often cringeworthy capers. It ran from 2008 to 2010 and was E4’s highest rating series.

The Bafta award-winning show starring Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, James Buckley and Blake Harrison spawned two spin-off films, The Inbetweeners Movie (2011) and The Inbetweeners 2 (2014).

Since then, Morris and Beesley have worked on TV shows including What We Do in the Shadows, White Gold, Ill Behaviour, Siblings and Drifters.

They also worked together on the feature film The Festival starring The Inbetweeners' Joe Thomas.

But The First Team is the first time the pair have co-written a film or TV series together since The Inbetweeners.

The First Team starts Thursday, May 28 on BBC Two.

Catch up on The First Team with the BBC iPlayer app on BT TV.