British Comedy Guide
British Comedy Guide
The Thick Of It. Image shows from L to R: Oliver Reeder (Chris Addison), Terri Coverley (Joanna Scanlan), Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front), Glenn Cullen (James Smith), Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Copyright: BBC
The Thick Of It

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.

  • JustWatch Streaming rank this week: 223

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All series

The Thick Of It. Hugh Abbot (Chris Langham). Copyright: BBC

Series 1 (2005)

Series 1 introduced Chris Langham as Hugh Abbot, the new Minister for Social Affairs. Bored of spinning his predecessor's departmental line, Hugh wants to launch some new policies - but he soon discovers all ideas are quickly vetoed by Malcolm Tucker.

The Thick Of It. Image shows from L to R: Oliver Reeder (Chris Addison), Hugh Abbot (Chris Langham). Copyright: BBC

Series 2 (2005)

Series 2 followed on just five months after the first series. In this series there's a reshuffle in the offing and the PM's new 'blue skies' advisor is making trouble.

The Thick Of It. Image shows from L to R: Oliver Reeder (Chris Addison), Glenn Cullen (James Smith), Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), Terri Coverley (Joanna Scanlan), Robyn Murdoch (Polly Kemp), Jamie (Paul Higgins). Copyright: BBC

2007 Specials

There were two hour-long specials in 2007. One at the start of the year, and one in the summer. Together they tell the story of a leadership battle within the party, which threatens the political careers of everyone in the department. The opposition department is also introduced for the first time.

The Thick Of It. Image shows from L to R: Glenn Cullen (James Smith), Terri Coverley (Joanna Scanlan), Nicola Murray (Rebecca Front), Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), Oliver Reeder (Chris Addison). Copyright: BBC

Series 3 (2009)

After a long break, the political satire returned for 8 new episodes in the autumn of 2009. This series also saw the show switch from BBC Four to BBC Two. When the job at the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship is turned down by everybody else, there is no option but to promote unknown quantity Nicola Murray to the Cabinet.

The Thick Of It. Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi). Copyright: BBC

Series 4 (2012)

We return to the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship, meeting the new coalition Government.

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