Armando Iannucci has added more talent for his upcoming HBO series as Himesh Patel (‘EastEnders’,’The Aeronauts’) has just joined the cast of ‘Avenue 5.’ The description for the series is that “‘Avenue 5’ is a space tourism comedy set forty years in the future when the solar system is everyone’s oyster. With Hugh Laurie as the Captain, nothing can go wrong.” Patel will be in one of the leading roles and working across from Laurie on the series. HBO has already ordered the series, but an episode count and a release date haven’t been officially confirmed by the network.
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As to Patel’s character, we’re given a pretty extensive description:
Patel will play Jordan Hatwal, a young stand-up who is just starting out. When he’s offered an eight-week-long residency on Judd Galaxy’s inaugural luxury cruise around Saturn, he jumps at the chance to declare himself, ‘The Funniest Man in the Universe.’ Unfortunately for him, comedy clubs in space famously have no atmosphere. And he doesn’t quite have enough material to last the journey. And his fragile self-confidence means it might not be long before he’s heckling himself. He’s had a few bad gigs in his time, but nothing that could possibly prepare him for this.
As the show is a satire on space, having Patel as a comedian likely means that he’ll play a more central role to the series. It also feels as if we’ll see his character evolve throughout the first season to try and adapt to an environment where he lacks the material to keep himself relevant.
Patel is joining a cast which also already consists of Josh Gad, Zach Woods, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Rebecca Front, Lenora Crichlow, Suzy Nakamura and, Ethan Phillips.
Are you looking forward to checking out ‘Avenue 5’ on HBO? Do you feel that Himesh Patel will be a great compliment to Hugh Laurie on the small screen when the series is released? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Deadline
