Jessica Hynes’ new sitcom Up the Women, which follows a group of suffragettes in 20th century Britain, premiered last night in the U.K. on BBC Four.

Looking for something to watch over the summer? How about this exciting new and very different sitcom from comedian and actress Jessica Hynes?

Up the Women is a historical sitcom, filmed in front of a live audience. It is set in 1910, and explores the political movements of women in this period through comedy.

“We’re in Banbury church hall at the Banbury Intricate Craft Circle,” the description reads. “Margaret has been to London and discovered the Women’s Suffrage movement so she decides they need to set up their own movement and The Banbury Intricate Craft Circle becomes the hilariously ineffectual Banbury Intricate Craft Circle Politely Request Women’s Suffrage.”

‘Suffragette’ is the term for a woman who was a member of the women’s suffrage (right to vote) movement in this time period. These women made the world what it is today, and it is interesting that Hynes and the BBC choose to tell their story in a sitcom – but we can imagine that there are ample sources of comedy!

The first episode out of three aired last night on BBC Four, and British audiences who missed it can catch up on the BBC iPlayer.

While there is definitely room for improvement, the pilot proved that there is indeed strength in this particular off-beat genre.

The humour is clever and subtle, mainly to be found in the characters’ words as opposed to their actions.

Check out this preview clip from the first episode, where the character Margaret (Hynes) becomes a Suffragette:

Up the Women stars Jessica Hynes, Rebecca Front, Judy Parfitt, Vicki Pepperdine, Adrian Scarborough, Georgia Groome, Ryan Sampson, and Emma Pierson.

The second episode airs Thursday, June 6 at 11.10 PM GMT on BBC Four.