Extras series 2 stars announced
Extras, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant (masterminds behind The Office, BBC’s most successful sitcom ever) is a British sitcom (sans the usual canned laughter) that follows Andy and his friend Maggie as they work as movie extras, with each episode being based around a different film.
Andy (Ricky Gervais) tends to spend a lot of his time looking for ways to get a speaking role, while Maggie is more content with looking among the cast and crew for a boyfriend. Darren Lamb (played by Stephen Merchant) is Andy’s agent, who fails to procure Andy substantial roles. Every episode has at least one guest star (a television/movie celebrity) that play “twisted” charicatures of themselves.
With the first run of the show host to such big names as Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, Samuel L. Jackson, Patrick Stewart, Les Dennis, Ross Kemp and Vinnie Jones, it seemed quite a season to beat. Luckily, the new lineup doesn’t disappoint.
Gervais’ international renown has helped him secure a number of high profile actors and celebrities including David Bowie, Orlando Bloom, Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf, Magneto), Stephen Fry, Chris Martin (Coldplay), Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) as well as smaller guest stars Ronnie Corbett, Moira Stewart, Dame Diana Rigg, Richard Briers and Germaine Greer. Gervais has also announced in his eighth video podcast that Robert Lindsay (of My Family) will be appearing in the last episode.
Extras series 2 begins 14 September on BBC2, while the first series is slated to premiere in Australia on ABC TV around the same time. No dates have been announced yet for series 2 on America’s HBO (which aired the first series last year in September).
Exciting news… Obviously.
