Armando Iannucci space comedy Avenue 5 gets full series

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Iannucci, who previously worked with HBO on satirical comedy Veep during the show’s first four series, is now penning a new sci-fi comedy set 40 years in the future.

Avenue 5 will follow the journey of a cruise ship of the same name as it travels through the solar system. Hugh Laurie is set to star as captain Ryan Clark.

The news of a full series comes after Avenue 5 was picked up for pilot by HBO last September, according to reports from The Hollywood Reporter.

Laurie has previously worked with Iannucci on Veep. Laurie played charming senator Tom James in the series, a character that was developed by both Laurie and Iannucci after Laurie told the writer he was a fan of the show.

The cast will also feature The Thick of It’s Rebecca Front as Karen Kelly, a housewife who boards the ship using her sister’s ticket and becomes the “voice of the passengers.”

Avenue 5 will see a mixture of British and American actors, with Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Lenora Crichlow, Suzy Nakamura and Ethan Phillips rounding up the cast.