Good news for fans of biting political satire – The Thick of It is returning to British television screens this autumn for a fourth series, with seven new 30-minute episodes scheduled for broadcast on BBC2.
Expect back room deals, ministerial cock-ups and political backstabbing to go into overdrive as Malcolm Tucker and company face their toughest challenge yet – working in a country with a Coalition Government.
Peter Mannion MP (Roger Allam) is now the Secretary of State for The Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DOSAC) and he will need to work closely with Number 10's Director of Communications Stewart Pearson (Vincent Franklin) in order to outwit his new Coalition partner, DOSAC's Junior Minister Fergus Williams MP (Geoffrey Streatfeild).
But never fear, Nicola Murray MP (Rebecca Front) and foul-mouthed spin doctor extraordinaire Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi) are not far away. Although they have now been consigned to Her Majesty's Opposition, the pair and their team are determined to return to power in the near future – whatever it takes.
"This series takes The Thick of It into exciting and uncharted territory: a new Coalition Government, and Malcolm and Nicola fretting in the wings.” said creator and producer Armando Iannucci.
He added: “For the first time too a storyline takes us all the way through the series right to the bitter, bitter end, with Government and Opposition convulsed in an incident that questions every political convention imaginable, but in a funny way."
Chris Addison, Joanna Scanlan, James Smith, Olivia Poulet, Will Smith, Ben Willbond, and Rebecca Gethings are also confirmed for series four of the show.
Described by Iannucci as “Yes Minster meets Larry Sanders”, The Thick of It began life on BBC4 in 2005 and has in its three series earned numerous awards from Bafta, the Royal Television Society and the Broadcasting Press Guild. In 2009, a feature film adaptation of the series starring many of the original cast was released and In the Loop went on to be nominated at the 2010 Oscars for best adapted screenplay.
The Thick of It also inspired Iannucci's HBO political comedy, Veep, which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as hapless Vice President Selina Mayer attempting to suffer the slings and arrows of Capitol Hill with only the help of her equally dysfunctional aides.
The Thick of It: why I can't wait for the new series
1. The coalition government
The new series of The Thick of It will introduce a coalition government, along with all the tensions that go with it. And while that doesn't necessarily mean that we'll get to see Iannucci's take on David Cameron – the prime minister tends to be an entirely off-screen presence – we shouldn't rule out the possibility of seeing a Nick Clegg figure. Veep has already proved how unintentionally clownish deputy leaders can be, and surely the opportunity to show a grey-faced, friendless second-in-command sullenly lurking on the peripheries would be too good to pass.
2. The inquiry
We're promised that the series will climax with a vast Leveson-style public inquiry. So far, Iannucci has dropped hints about this, suggesting that the storyline will "question every political convention imaginable, but in a funny way". This is good news for two reasons – first because the time is absolutely right for Leveson to be lampooned, and second because it promises all the fun of the Leveson inquiry but without any of its tedious length.
3. Off-duty Malcolm Tucker
Some of the most intriguing moments of the last series came when we were presented with a Malcolm Tucker who didn't have the prime minister's ear. Rather than the raging tornado of old, we instead got a neutered circus bear desperately trying to fill his time. This is the Tucker we should expect to see more of this year – and it probably won't be pretty.
4. More Stewart Pearson
So far, The Thick of It's two standout Conservative creations have been Peter Mannion MP and media relations guru Stewart Pearson. Pearson, especially, is a masterpiece of a character, endlessly spouting PR jargon and trying to drag Mannion kicking and screaming into a world of politics that doesn't always have to wear a tie. It's hard to see what sort of role Pearson will have this year, especially now that the "hug a hoodie" rhetoric of old has been replaced by a more brutal reality, but hopefully he'll still have a place.
5. It's not Veep
While there's nothing wrong with Veep itself, it can at times feel like a diet version of The Thick of It. It looks prettier, the characters speak a little less quickly, the plots are spelled out a little more clearly. That's fine in the interim, but it can't stand up to the full-fat original. I can't wait.
source 2