From small beginnings on BBC3, Touchpaper TV’;s supernatural comedy drama Being Human is turning into something of a phenomenon. In the UK, the show has just been commissioned for a fourth series. In the US, a local version of the show has just debuted to great acclaim on leading cable channel Syfy. As a result of that strong early showing, it has now secured an order for a second season.

The show, created and written by Toby Whithouse, has been a hit on both TV and the internet. On TV, the series sustained an average of 1.4m viewers across the run and had an additional 0.4m requests per episode on iPlayer. There was also an online extension drama which has achieved over 1.5 million views via the red button and online to date.

Commenting on the UK recommission, Harry Lansdown, Acting Controller, BBC Three, says: “Being Human’;s brilliant mixture of fantasy and everyday life continues to provide must-see, ground breaking drama for BBC Three, and I’;m delighted to announce a fourth series for 2012.”

Rob Pursey, executive producer, Touchpaper Television, added: “Being Human feels like it’;s taken on a life of its own now, and we are delighted. I’;ve never known a drama develop such a strong relationship with its audience.”

There’;s no question that BBC3 has become a valuable launchpad for innovative drama and comedy. But the big question for the BBC now is whether to shift Being Human up to BBC2 to secure higher ratings. A similar approach with Torchwood tripled the audience. That show then went on to BBC1 and doubled its audience again (circa 7 million).