Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
NPR News

How Armando Iannucci makes satire when the truth is stranger than fiction

Armando Iannucci attends HBO's Official 2015 Emmy After Party at The Plaza at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, California.
Armando Iannucci attends HBO's Official 2015 Emmy After Party at The Plaza at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles, California.

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Listen 34:34

The season finale of “Avenue 5,” the HBO series satirizing space tourism and America’s billionaire class, premiers tonight. The show stars Hugh Laurie, who plays a fake captain of a spaceship with thousands of affluent tourists going mad after they’ve learned they’re stranded in space.

It’s the latest project from Armando Iannucci, the brains behind hit shows like “Veep,” “The Thick of It,” and the film “In the Loop.”

Iannucci enjoys the challenge of making a political comedy when even the headlines these days are unbelievable.

“It both simultaneously excites and depresses me when politics copies what we’ve just done [on Veep],” he told 1A.

We spoke with Iannucci about his work with Laurie on “Avenue 5,” Julia-Louise Dreyfus on “Veep,” and his upcoming project satirizing the world of Hollywood and superhero films.

Copyright 2022 WAMU 88.5. To see more, visit WAMU 88.5.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today