Ambassadors, BBC Two, review

David Mitchell and Robert Webb bring to life this new comedy drama about the inner workings of the British embassy in a fictional Central Asian republic.

Great cast but unlikely to earn our lasting affections

No, sorry, it's not as funny as Peep Show, but Ambassadors, the new David Mitchell and Robert Webb collaboration, which began last night, isn't really meant to be.

Mitchell and Webb on Ambassadors

We interview the stars of BBC Two's comedy drama. Why does Robert Webb struggle to visit France? And why did David Mitchell ignore Eamonn Holmes at an airport?

Mitchell & Webb: The funny old world of foreign affairs

David Mitchell and Robert Webb are back on our screens in a new BBC Two series, Ambassadors. Diplomacy is a rich source of such comic material, so it's surprising no one has tried to cover it before, they tell James Rampton.

Being an ambassador's wife is not all luxury compounds

BBC TV's Ambassadors, starring David Mitchell and Robert Webb, tells one side of the story, but any diplomat's wife could tell the other.

It's a double act conundrum, though no-one ever complained that Laurel & Hardy played the same characters every time.

Ambassadors isn't written by Peep Show's Armstrong and Bain, nor by Mitchell and Webb themselves, though. It comes from the team behind Rev., with - surprisingly - assistance from the Foreign Office, but none from controversial former ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray, who's complained it rips off his story.

Mitchell plays the clownish British ambassador to "Tazbekistan", instructed to secure a major business deal from the highly stereotypical locals; Webb is his efficient deputy, sceptical of their hosts' human rights record.

There is something here - a visiting actor is amusingly lampooned, Webb's character is appealing and the setting is interesting - but it doesn't quite work. The Tazbeks are caricatures, Mitchell's acting abilities aren't up to the more serious parts and the FO's involvement clearly blunts the satire to show the Brits as just awfully decent chaps, really. While the presence of such a familiar comedy duo might lead people to expect more of a sitcom feel, this is more story than jokes.

TV Preview: Ambassadors

Ambassadors is genuinely top quality television. Just one thing missing. I guess Olivia Colman was too busy to join in.

Can Mitchell & Webb help the Foreign Office's image?

The Foreign Office is turning to satire to improve its image after assisting David Mitchell and Robert Webb to create a new BBC comedy series which portrays the fraught world of the diplomatic service.

Was our man in Uzbekistan the inspiration for Our Men?

Craig Murray, the UK's former representative in Uzbekistan, whose tenure ended amid lurid headlines, has questioned whether his experiences have been used as source material for the comedy.