The Thick Of It
- TV sitcom
- BBC Two / BBC Four
- 2005 - 2012
- 23 episodes (4 series)
Satirical political sitcom. Number 10's foul-mouthed policy enforcer Malcolm Tucker rules the Government's PR team with an iron fist. Stars Peter Capaldi, Chris Addison, James Smith, Joanna Scanlan, Rebecca Front and more.
Press clippings Page 3
The last laugh: is the television sitcom really dead?
From Friends to The Thick Of It, the TV sitcom has evolved - but it's no longer in rude health. Enter offbeat shows like Stath Lets Flats, bringing joy and potential redemption.
Rachel Aroesti, The Guardian, 26th October 2021BBC reveal poll of 100 greatest TV shows 21st century
BBC Culture polled 206 TV experts from 43 countries in order to find the greatest TV of the 21st century. The top comedy in the poll was British sitcom Fleabag at 4th. Also in the top 100 are The Office (9th, with the US version at 39th), The Thick Of It (20th), Black Mirror (22nd), Peep Show (42nd), Inside No. 9 (48th), Detectorists (64th) and Catastrophe (96th).
BBC, 19th October 2021Armando Iannucci thinks people liking Tucker "sad"
Speaking exclusively at last week's RadioTimes.com Script to Screen event, writer Armando Iannucci admits it actually saddens him that the rude director of communications became such a beloved figure in British comedy.
Emma Bullimore, Radio Times, 7th July 2021Malcolm Tucker made Dominic Cummings possible
As the volcanic spin doctor from the BBC series The Thick Of It, Malcolm Tucker has become a short-hand for the chaotic fire-fighting, ruthless enforcement and mendacious scheming of party politics. Even so, Peter Capaldi has said that his character - who first appeared in 2005 in the dog days of New Labour - is small fry compared to the PM's former consigliere, Dominic Cummings.
The Hound, Reaction, 21st June 2021All of life can be found in a good sitcom
Highbrow dramas and earnest documentaries are often held up as mirrors but shrewd historians know to look at comedy.
Libby Purves, The Times, 31st May 2021Beyond Spitting Image - more BritBox comedies available
Classic satirical comedy Spitting Image has just been revived for a new generation on BritBox. This is BritBox's first original commission, but there are also plenty of classic comedies available on the streaming service, which also features some of the best shows that have aired on the BBC, C4 and ITV over the years.
Bruce Dessau, Beyond The Joke, 4th October 2020The best of British satire: 7 vintage shows
Spitting Image is returning. Some are expecting the new series to represent the welcome, and long overdue, rehabilitation of British satire. Others fear a toothless, joyless effort. Either way, it will face some tough comparisons - most notably with itself. The satire boom of the 60s precipitated a long line of insightful, scabrous, satirical shows. So here, in no particular order, are seven of the best.
Tim Dawson, The Spectator, 27th August 202013 best British comedy shows on Netflix right now
The beauty of British comedy is how fleeting it is. The US version of The Office dragged on into nine interminable seasons. The British original? Fourteen episodes and done.
Esquire, 22nd August 2020How The Thick Of It said goodbye
'It ended with Fanta and Twixes'.
Anna Conrad, GQ, 8th July 2020The Thick of It cast & creators look back at the sitcom
The comedy that gave us Malcolm Tucker was funny because it was true, but for politicians it was harrowing, says Ed Cumming. He speaks to Armando Iannucci, Peter Capaldi, Rebecca Front, Chris Addison and others about marzipan dildos, loudmouth spads, and ministers with no status or power as the show turns 15-years-old.
Ed Cumming, The Independent, 16th May 2020