The Thick of It
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Thick of It | |
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| Genre | Comedy |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Creator(s) | Armando Iannucci |
| Starring | Chris Langham Peter Capaldi Chris Addison |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original channel | BBC Four |
| Original run | 2005–Continuing |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
The Thick of It is a British comedy television series, which satirises the inner workings of modern British government. It was broadcast on BBC Four in 2005, and has so far completed two series of three half-hour episodes each. To date, the series has earned Best New Comedy and Best Comedy Performer for Chris Langham at the 2005 British Comedy Awards, and won Best Situation Comedy and Best Comedy Performance, also for Langham, at the 2006 BAFTAs.
Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it stars Chris Langham and Peter Capaldi. The action centres on the fictitious Department of Social Affairs. Hugh Abbot (Langham) is a blundering minister heading the department, who is continually trying to do his job under the watchful eye of Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi), Number 10's highly aggressive and domineering "enforcer". The programme also features James Smith as Senior Special Advisor Glenn Cullen, Chris Addison as Junior Policy Advisor Oliver "Ollie" Reeder, and Joanna Scanlan as Civil Service Press Secretary Terri Coverley.
The Thick of It can be described as the 21st century's answer to Yes Minister, highlighting the struggles of the media and spin doctors against civil servants. Iannucci himself describes it as "Yes Minister meets Larry Sanders". The former civil servant Martin Sixsmith is an advisor to the writing team, giving some of the storylines an element of realism to them; in particular, the character of Malcolm Tucker bears a distinct resemblance to Alastair Campbell.
The programme is filmed with hand-held cameras to give it a mockumentary look and feel, and has no laugh track. Some of the dialogue was improvised rather than scripted, and includes some very strong language.
The first episode screened on BBC Four on May 19, 2005. A second series of three episodes was transmitted from October 20 until November 3, 2005. The six episodes were repeated on BBC Two in early 2006, and later on BBC America. A further ten episodes are planned for 2007, as well as an hour-long Christmas special in late 2006. However, Chris Langham will not be reprising his role as Hugh Abbot, due to recent legal allegations against him. To fill this void, Iannucci plans to introduce new characters into the next series, focusing on the opposition.
On October 27, 2006, it was announced that The Thick of It would be adapted for American television, with Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz executive producing, along with Armando Iannucci and Richard Day.
