Avenue 5 – Armando Iannucci 'space comedy' gets greenlit at HBO

[pfm]

Starring Hugh Laurie, and Rebecca Front’s in it, for crying out loud, as well as the brilliant Lenora Crichlow. Of great interest, indeed….!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/armando-iannuccis-space-comedy-avenue-5-ordered-series-at-hbo-1203748?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

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[pfm]

Definite Dwarfian vibe, whether deliberate or not. Armando has rarely let us down, and IMO this is no exception. Looking forward to seeing things develop…

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I am trying very hard this year to become more passive as a viewer – less critical, engaged in things in a less intense way – to get my enjoyment of TV back which I think has been ruined by overanalysis, overinteraction, too much personal investment, hyper-criticism, entitlement (the end product of me using TV for three decades in quite a toxic way, as a self-medicating salve against a traumatic and stressy life – the reason I’m still sometimes a bit explosive and hairsore on here at times). Contrary to my posts about show 1, and in light of my pleasure at show 2 and Quinn’s post above, I think Avenue 5 might actually be doing the trick…

[(deleted)]

Okay, I’m balls deep in this now, it’s got me. I didn’t expect the central plot to be so forward moving and engaging.

(The ref to the “Huawei wars” took me by surprise, mind. Surprised that wasn’t cut in light of current events.)

[Dave]

Yeah, I think it’s getting better every episode. I laughed out loud a few times in this one. Great to see Laurie getting to be so silly again.

Seems like there’s some political allegory going on too, with all the actors in positions of authority.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Laurie is definitely my favourite bit of the show. His character unravelling a bit as thing go on is quite fun.

But equally I’m loving all the performances, and the ridiculousness of the situation getting more absurd each week is fun to watch.

[Dave]

I’m getting on pretty well with this now that it’s settled into its groove. I still wish the laughs were a little more frequent, but I think the characters have developed well and I like the edge-of-madness tone that permeates everything.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I’ve not watched this weeks episode yet, but I’ve been liking how each week things spiral further out of control, coupled with the growing realisation that absolutely no-one has a clue what their doing is nice.

Edge-of-madness is great way to describe it.

Ditto would liek a few more laughs in there, but everything is silly enough to just enjoy what’s going on.

I also like how very little time, if any, passes between each episode. Each episode has a story, but we’re really also caught up in the much bigger plot of just how screwed they are and how there stuck in space.

It would have been so easy to just do a lost in space affair with the first episode, and then have the ship stranded and each episode be about a different thing, days or weeks apart from each other. But there’s really focus on everything here tying back to the question of “how do we get out of this mess and back home”.

[Pete Part Three]

I thought the first episode was pretty flat, but the twist with Hugh Laurie’s accent got me interested. And then episode 2 killed off that interest, and I haven’t been back. I may give it another whirl but I’m having a bit of a hard time getting into shows at the moment, and this is only getting consideration due to its pedigree.

[Dave]

I think it’s true of most shows, and particularly comedies, that they come into their own once the characters and concept have been established and everyone involved (including the audience) has got comfortable with it all. I feel like this show is starting to get to that point now.

[si]

Just watched the final episode. I’ve really enjoyed the series, I’ve enjoyed watching the chaos every week. Assuming we all live long enough to see it, a second season would be great.

[Dave]

I also just finished the first season, which sticks with yo-yo-ing between desperate hope and chaotic madness until the very end.

It’s good but I feel like it’s in a position to get even better in the next series now that the cast is fully established.

Plus John Finnemore has been in the last couple of episodes, so there’s that.

I’m really pleased with how very different it ended up being to Red Dwarf anyway. It’s natural that we’ll look for parallels, but really aside from one or two very superficial aspects they’re nothing alike.

[NoFro]

Yeah I enjoyed this a lot. It’s not peak Iannucci but it is pretty good.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I’ve not seen the last episode yet but I’ve been really happy with the progression of the series, and its continued to make me laugh throughout. Particularly laughed at the pigeon in a library thing from ep 9 as a recent example.

As you say Dave, hopefully series 2 gets better now character and and everything is established. It would be nice to see a bit of a move away from each episode being a desperate attempt to solve the problem and get home. Keep that as a background thing that is ongoing and allow for more random, day to day stuff happening on the ship as these people being to realise they could well be stuck with each other for years now.

Equally pleased it hasn’t turned out like Red Dwarf (or other similar types of stuck in space shows). It’s really very different, has Iannuci all over it, though equally as different to a lot of his material which is nice.

[Dave]

Episode 9 *is* the final episode of the first season I think.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

What? Who are these people commissioning 9 episode seasons of shows. Just finished Mythic Quest today and that was the same.

[evilmorwen]

Well, this reads differently now.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Are your computer language settings suddenly in Russian or something?

[evilmorwen]

I mean, a show about a population that has suddenly become isolated with very little to no control over the timescale that might end, and ensuing panic and mania (that scene with the airlock!) has suddenly become urgent.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Oh, THAT!

[Dave]

Yeah it was weirdly prescient in a lot of ways. Season two is going to be interesting.

[Dave]

https://youtube.com/watch?v=re7vMjHDang

I know not everyone liked season 1, but I thought it was pretty good by the end. Looking forward to more.

[Warbodog]

I enjoyed it, was looking forward to more eventually. Though I found the episode with the hysterical airlock suicides a bit too disturbing, as someone who doesn’t routinely watch horror.

I don’t watch many new shows, but Severance was a really good recent workplace sci-fi comedy, even if it wasn’t on a spaceship.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Severance was brilliant. 

And I also really enjoyed Avenue 5. So very much looking forward to s02

[si]

I enjoyed Avenue 5 as well. Was worried Season 2 might have fallen victim to the old ‘rona.

[Warbodog]

Anyone watching this? I’ve been catching up this week, but not hugely enjoying it.

The sense of mortal danger and survivalism they built up dissipated in episode three when it turns out they can just stop the ship (can’t they turn around and continue in the right direction then? I don’t really get it) and characters are taking shuttles back and forth from Earth willy nilly (can’t the civilians all go one by one then? I don’t really get it).

Naturally, I’m mainly interested in jumping on coincidentally similar Red Dwarf scenes/gags. There was almost one with them being embarrassed about their low-brow cultural offerings in front of strangers (toddler cage fighting vs. the pointy stick game), but they seem to be managing to avoid it.

[Dave]

Is season 2 available in the UK yet? I’ve been waiting for it to come on NowTV.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

[Warbodog]

[Dave]

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

I honestly keep forgetting its out.  Has the full series finished airing yet?

[RunawayTrain]

Where is series 1 available over here?  I’m sure I’ll be able to, ahem, source series 2 but do prefer not to sail the seven seas unless I have to.  I haven’t watched any yet but heard that John Finnemore appears this time round, which ought to be the kick I need to actually get on and try to watch it.  I don’t quite know how I’ve not had the motivation so far, considering the people involved, but there we are.  Weird few years.

[Unrumble]

Where is series 1 available over here? 

NOW TV

I watched the first season, back during Lockdown season 1. Remember it being a bit patchy, certainly, nowhere near anything else Iannucci has been involved in. But it had enough moments, and yes, some good people involved, to mean I’ll check out Season 2 now I’ve just been alerted to it’s existence. 

Unlike Space Force, which given the people involved in that is incredibly underwhelming. Slogged through the first season, had just enough investment in some of the characters to check out the first ep of season 2… then gave up. 

[Unrumble]

I honestly keep forgetting its out.  Has the full series finished airing yet?

10 Oct-28 Nov 2022

8 episodes

Good timing 

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

[Dave]

I just finished watching season 2. I think it was better than season 1, which I already liked. But this season is more consistently funny, faster-moving, and more willing to push things into the realms of the absurd. And it works really well, with some great big ideas and lots of very funny small moments.

I hope there’s a third season.

[Warbodog]

The performances and wisecracks saw it through, then it got more exciting by the end, so I watched it all, which happens less these days. I might not have bothered if it was an old-school 13 or 22 episode season with all the desperate filler.

nowhere near anything else Iannucci has been involved in.

I used to think this about The Thick of It tbh, which I watched for the wit and the useful satire, but would leave me feeling worse than if I hadn’t (at the start of one season, I remember actually dreading seeing Malcolm Tucker again). At least Avenue 5 is good old escapism.

[Jonsmad]

Micheal Fenton Steven’s in the hamster ball was a treat had me in stitches.

[Dave]

Cancelled.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/avenue-5-canceled-hbo-1235519818/

A shame. I did wonder whether it was the kind of thing that might struggle to build a wider audience, but still sad to see it go.

[Quinn: Clochebusters World Champion]

Well now it’s hardly worth me pirating series 2

[Warbodog]

It had that two-seasons-and-cancelled vibe all along, would have been more surprising if it had gone on and on.

[Future Producer of Series IX – aaaaany day now]

  

[Jonsmad]

I look forward to “The Franchise” being Armando’s next HBO series then. 

[Author]

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