Comedy Sci Fi Coming to HBO
Veep creator Armando Iannucci is bringing comedy and sci fi together for HBO with new series Avenue 5 coming in January. Set 40 years in the future, space travel is now a booming, multibillion-dollar business.
House star Hugh Laurie stars as Ryan Clark, a confident and suave captain of a space cruise ship with luxury amenities like gourmet buffets, a spa, an observation deck and yoga classes. This is no 5 year mission, nor is it a three hour tour. Avenue 5’s mission: an eight week pleasure cruise around Saturn. But when the ship suddenly encounters technical difficulties, it’s up to Ryan and his crew to calm the disgruntled passengers and find a way to deal with unexpected events onboard – though they may or may not be equipped for the task.
Joining Lurie are comedy vets Josh Gad as billionaire Herman Judd, and Zach Woods as head of customer relations Matt Spencer. Rebecca Front plays strong-willed passenger Karen Kelly; Suzy Nakamura will play Judd’s right hand woman; Lenora Crichlow joins as engineer Billie McEvoy.
Big guests are planned for season one including Neil Casey, Matthew Beard, Jessica St. Clair, and Kyle Bornheimer.
Created by Armando Iannucci; teleplay by Armando Iannucci, Simon Blackwell and Tony Roche; story by Armando Iannucci; executive producers, Armando Iannucci, Kevin Loader, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche, Will Smith; co-executive producer, Peter Fellows; produced by Steve Clark-Hall.
