Will Avenue 5 Return For Season 3?
The HBO series "Avenue 5" is one of the funniest shows on television. The story, which comes to us from "Veep" creator Armando Iannucci, is set in the near future on a luxury spaceliner that gets knocked off course. Their weeks-long cruise through space has now turned into an eight-year journey. The ship is owned by a billionaire named Herman Judd (Josh Gad), who is ... well, let's say that Elon Musk might recognize himself in this character. Judd wanted the passengers to see only good-looking people in the crew, so he hired a bunch of actors to fake it while the real crew is shoved below deck in a bit of a hovel.
Hugh Laurie plays Captain Ryan Clark, one of the actors who knows nothing about running the ship. The two seasons we have so far have given us a look at a future with extinct camels, no more fruit, the biggest yoga class in space, and ... wait for it ... a giant cloud of floating poop lit up with colorful lights and glitter that actually has a base in science.
The cast is one of the best out there, including Zach Woods, Rebecca Front, Suzy Nakamura, Lenora Crichlow, Nikki Amuka-Bird, and Ethan Phillips. Very few shows have the ability to make me laugh so hard that Gatorade comes out of my nose, but this one does it multiple times an episode. So, will "Avenue 5" return for a third season of hilarity?
Say it ain't so
I am sadder than Ethan Phillips' sex-starved astronaut Spike Martin is after being turned down when I tell you this; Variety reports that two seasons is all we're getting. An HBO spokesperson told the outlet:
"Going to space with Armando Iannucci has been an incredible journey. While we will not be moving forward with a third season of 'Avenue 5,' we look forward to many more adventures together."
There have been many shows and movies that have either been canceled or pulled from HBO Max in the past few months, but this one hurts the most. In a way, it makes sense, though. "Avenue 5" premiered in January 2020, right before the world shut down because of Covid. I'll be honest and tell you that it was initially off of my radar, like everything else during that time. Production on the second season was delayed until late 2021 and didn't premiere until October 2022. That's a huge gap between seasons, which is never going to help anything. Variety points out that it only received "modest ratings," but having watched each season several times, I truly believe that was due to circumstances and not content.
Hugh Laurie is a comic genius
While I pray to the TV gods that someone will pick up this absolute gem of comedy, I want to tell you why I love it. The cast is incredible. Josh Gad and Hugh Laurie in the same scene guarantee a good watch, and Laurie constantly switching back and forth between his real British and fake American accents (because an American accent reassures the passengers) is astonishing. Rebecca Front is a Karen character (literally named Karen) but gives so much nuance to the role that you fall in love with her despite yourself. Zach Woods' customer relations head is quietly weird in a way that is both terrifying and makes me want to wrap him in a blanket and give him a cookie.
It is the goofiest show I've ever seen, yet absolutely grounded in reality. The science is there (human waste can actually shield a ship from radiation), and the absurd situations aren't really that different from what is happening in our world. Take, for instance, the glittery poop cloud. Some of the passengers think they see a vision of Pope John Paul II in it and begin worshiping. You know that would happen. One of the passengers is a visual effects artist who keeps insisting that all the safety precautions and things that are happening are being faked, and she knows it because she's an expert. Sound like any Twitter conversations you've read lately? A government run by the children of tech giants really sounds like something we'll be reading about on news sites in a few years. If you ground something this well, the silly bits can go much further and not seem too out there.
Please go watch and maybe someone else will pick it up
Every single thing that happens makes sense. A shy man (Andy Buckley) finds his niche in doing a cooking show for passengers who are mostly eating eels. (One is called Eel Patrick Harris. RIP.) The twin sister of one of the crew members (Daisy May Cooper, who has the best dry delivery in comedy) back on Earth does a tell-all on a web show full of awful live commenters, then cashes in by playing her own sister on a TV series about the beleaguered ship. A stand-up comedian (Himesh Patel) realizes that comedy is a really rough gig when everything is bleak, despite how much we want and need to laugh.
My only hope is that all of you reading this do a rewatch and tell your friends to do the same. I'm realistic about the chances of that meaning anything with what is going on over at Warner Bros. Discovery these days, where they're looking to axe $2 billion in costs, but there is a tiny part of me that still has hope. Armando Iannucci is executive producing a pilot called "The Franchise" for HBO in the meantime, and that's great, but I want to see the end of "Avenue 5!" I want to know if and how they get home. I want to know how it all works out for every single character. Sigh. I guess there's always fan fiction.
"Avenue 5" is currently streaming on HBO Max, so please, go watch. I assure you, I will be doing the same.