Why Avenue 5 Deserves a Second Look: Space, Comedy, and Chaos
I’d been meaning to watch Avenue 5 since it came out, but didn’t have HBO. Now I do, and so I binged both seasons in a week.
I have been a fan of Iannucci since The Thick of It, and I love funny science fiction. So you can see why I was keen.
I’m now watching Veep, which is more what you’d expect from him, but his humour also works in space.
If there’s one thing Armando Iannucci knows how to do, it’s mine comedy from human incompetence, especially among those in power. And there’s a lot of incompetence on display in Avenue 5.
So what is Avenue 5 about?
Set 40 years in the future aboard the luxurious space-cruise ship Avenue 5, the show opens with a disaster that knocks the vessel off-course, transforming what should have been an eight-week jaunt around Saturn into a years-long ordeal. It’s a premise ripe for skewering corporate hubris, customer service platitudes, and the cult of celebrity leadership. Classic Iannucci fodder! And at the heart of it all is Hugh Laurie as Captain Ryan Clark, a man whose air of reassuring competence is a front…
Laurie’s genius with accents
I’m always a bit shocked when I meet someone who thinks Hugh Laurie is an American. I think it’s largely because of House. I’m from the UK and grew up with him as George in Blackadder, Wooster in Jeeves and Wooster, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and tons more. In all of those, he sounds very, very English. Look up those shows on YouTube, they’re all awesome.
Well, his incredible vocal skills come in handy here as he switches between the two. I can’t really go into it too much as it would be a spoiler for the first episode. This ability to switch isn’t particularly relevant to the plot, but I mainly wanted to highlight Laurie’s talent and bring attention to his older work. He’s the most relatable central character in the show, so it’s crucial to have someone good in the role. And he’s excellent.
A great cast
Joining Laurie is a reliably excellent cast. Josh Gad’s Herman Judd, the tech billionaire owner of the ship, is a blustering idiot whose inability to comprehend basic physics is played for frequent laughs. Zach Woods as Matt Spencer, the head of customer relations, brings a perfect mix of withering disdain and wide-eyed terror as passengers become increasingly unhinged.
Rebecca Front’s Karen Kelly is pitch-perfect as the self-appointed voice of the passengers, wielding grievance as power. And Lenora Crichlow plays Billie McEvoy, the chief engineer who, often quite rightly, thinks most of the people on Avenue 5 are idiots.
With such a great cast, writing, and dialogue, why was it cancelled?
I really enjoyed Avenue 5. But I think it was mostly because I am a fan of Iannucci and his writing, Hugh Laurie, and the great supporting cast. If you like Iannucci’s other shows, you will like this. The sci-fi element is more to get a load of people in one place to have a series of crises. The main difference is that these aren’t political crises.
It’s not perfect, though. Season one felt like it didn’t quite have a cohesive idea as to where it was headed. But it was still great. Season two was better, and the 89% Rotten Tomatoes score (versus 67% for series one) reflects that.
So why was it cancelled?
From what I can gather, it was mostly down to bad timing. Both seasons faced delays due to being made during the pandemic. There was also a fire that destroyed a couple of sets, and this added to the mounting production costs.
Also, the second season was announced during the merger between Discovery and WarnerMedia. This may have resulted in a switch in priorities, leading to the cancellation of the third season.
Whatever the cause, it was cancelled and it looks pretty damn permanent.
Final thoughts
Avenue 5 is a fun, satirical space-comedy from Armando Iannucci, led by superb comedic performances (especially Hugh Laurie’s accent gymnastics) and a writing ensemble steeped in political farce. It struggled slightly in season one (which was still good), but it got better in season two. Unfortunately. bad timing seems to have brought it down.
Underrated? I think so. But it depends on whether you come for the dialogue and acting, or if you hoped for more sci-fi elements. It shines for the former but not, in my opinion anyway, for the sci-fi. I didn’t really expect much on that front, I just wanted more Iannucci banter. And I got that.
Give it a try, you might be surprised.
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