Armando Iannucci might have departed Veep after a successful run at the top of the comedy. He's back – after some time to work on the cinematic likes of The Death Of Stalin and the upcoming The Personal History Of David Copperfield in the halls of HBO (and presumably Sky Atlantic) for a new comedy. Avenue 5 heads our way next year with Hugh Laurie starring, and the trailer has docked online.
While it sounds like an oddly-titled suburban comedy, it's actually a sci-fi satire set on the eponymous huge spaceship roughly 40 years into the future. The Avenue 5 is a luxury liner that takes tourists on trips around the solar system, and something is about to go wrong. Which will cause chaos for captain Ryan Clark (Laurie) and some fellow crew/troublemakers.
Josh Gad plays Herman Judd, the billionaire name behind the ship, who made his fortune in fitness clubs and holiday resorts and thinks he knows how to do anything else. Silicon Valley's Zach Woods is Matt Spencer, head of customer relations, who also happens to be a nihilist who can't wait to finish up his tour cruising so he can get a job on Earth. Nikki Amuka-Bird plays Rav Mulcair, the head of Judd Mission Control on Earth who is frustrated by her lack of control. Then there's Rebecca Front's Karen Kelly, who boarded the ship illicitly using her sister's ticket and becomes the voice of the passengers. Finally, we have Leonora Crichlow as Billie McEvoy, the vessel's smart second engineer and Suzy Nakamura as Iris Kimura, Judd's right-hand woman, whose job it its to figure out what he wants and get it done without hurting anyone.
Avenue 5 will cruise on to screens this January, though HBO has yet to announce a specific date.