Intelligence is returning says Nick Mohammed, teasing movie conclusion
- Nick Mohammed has confirmed that spy sitcom Intelligence will return, though perhaps with a feature-length ending
- The comedian has written more scripts for the Sky comedy, in which he co-stars with Friends' David Schwimmer, which he hopes to shoot this year
- "But it might be something a little different to what people are expecting, that's all I'll say" Mohammed told That Gaby Roslin Podcast
Intelligence is returning Nick Mohammed has confirmed, though perhaps not as a series but a more "actiony" film.
The comedian, who writes and has starred in two series of the spy comedy with David Schwimmer on Sky One, has been coy about the show coming back since the second series aired in June.
However, the Ted Lasso star admitted to its return on Gaby Roslin's podcast, with the presenter apparently privvy to news of its recommission.
"It's possibly a secret but I think we're all hoping that that we get to do some more this year" Mohammed admitted.
Series 2 ended with his character, Joseph, jobless after being fired by GCHQ and arrogant NSA agent Jerry (Schwimmer) kidnapped and bundled into the back of a van.
"It ended on the biggest cliffhanger did Season 2, so I think we can't just end on that" Mohammed continued. "But it might be something a little different to what people are expecting, that's all I'll say."
With Mohammed's Ted Lasso character, Nate, having become the main antagonist in the hit Apple TV+ football sitcom ahead of its third series airing, and having recently shot the black comedy film Maggie Moore(s) in New Mexico with Tina Fey and Jon Hamm, the character comic has seen his profile rise in America.
So it's perhaps difficult for him to commit enough time to a full third series of Intelligence, which also stars Sylvestra Le Touzel, Jane Stanness, Gana Bayarsaikhan, Oliver Birch, Eliot Salt, Lucy Ware and Colin Salmon, and is made for Sky by Expectation Entertainment (Alma's Not Normal, The Lateish Show With Mo Gilligan) and Schwimmer's Dark Harbor Stories.
Speaking to the Collider website last summer, Mohammed suggested that Jerry's fate might be resolved in a feature-length installment.
"At the moment, we don't know if we're doing a third season. I think and hope we will, or we'll do something, whether it's a feature length film version of it and it becomes a bit more actiony. Spoiler alert, but the way it ends with Jerry, he's bundled into the back of a van, so we don't know his fate. I have started writing. There are two episodes now written of Season 3 because we had some scripts commission, so I know where it's heading. In some respects, you could end it there, but it would be a bit anti-climactic. It feels like you'd want it to come back, maybe even in 10 years time, to see if Jerry has shown up again.
"I think we wanted to slightly have our cake and eat it too. Obviously, we want to continue with the show, so we have a really fun way of bringing Jerry back in Season 3, if it gets a green light. But equally, it felt like a real surprise. We thought, 'An audience is gonna want to know what happens next, so surely they have to give us a third season. So, let's plunk that in there.' I can't remember the reasons why, but we were gonna have Jerry being bundled into the van, and then the post credits tag be Mary, back in the toilet, having pretended to have been sick and being back on the phone, speaking Chinese rather than speaking Russian.
"I thought it was a really fun running gag as a carry over, but they were like, "No, we're just gonna get so wrapped in knots for a potential Season 3, trying to explain that, that it's probably not worth it."
Reviews for Intelligence's second series were mixed but generally warm, with The Times calling it "likeable if slightly listless". However, the i declared that: "it took around 30 seconds for the second series of Intelligence to make me belly laugh ... The joke rate didn't let up. Every other line was a witty quip or a childish pun."
Despite his film and television commitments, Mohammed is returning to the Edinburgh Fringe in the guise of his most enduring creation, the excitable Mr Swallow. Performing a mix of old and new material in Nick Mohammed Presents The Very Best and Worst of Mr Swallow, he'll be at the Pleasance Courtyard from August 15th.