Coming To America

Romesh Ranganathan takes his family to Los Angeles to crack the American comedy scene

For stand-up comic Romesh Ranganathan, 2018 was a busy year, what with a BBC travelogue series, new Sky One sitcom The Reluctant Landlord, his Judge Romesh show for Dave and becoming a regular panellist on Sky One’s A League of Their Own.

Somehow the 40-year-old has also managed to squeeze in a six-part documentary series, Just Another Immigrant, which starts with a double bill this week and follows Ranganathan as he transplants his family – wife Leesa and three children, plus his Sri Lankan mother and eccentric uncle – from Crawley to Los Angeles in a bid to crack the US comedy scene.

Besides settling himself and his loved ones into a new lifestyle, he has just three months to sell out a gig at a famed outdoor venue, the 6,000-seat Greek Theatre.

Here, the comedian sets the scene for his stateside adventure…

What was the inspiration for this series?