HBO's Extras Gets Extra Season
By Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/18/2005 6:22:00 AM
HBO has picked up a second season of Ricky Gervais’ entertainment industry spoof Extras, before even premiering the first season of the BBC co-production.
The pay cable network’s move follows a second season nod the received show yesterday from the BBC in England, where its first season has already been airing on BBC2 to glowing reviews.
The show features Gervais, who starred in and co-produced BBC’s The Office, as a wannabe actor who can’t land a big gig after leaving his day job, and features cameos from actors including Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Stiller and Kate Winslet.
Gervais is also a co-producer of Extras, along with comedy partner Stephen Merchant, who appears in the show as the agent for Gervais’ character, Andy Millman.
HBO will debut Extras’ first season Sept. 25 at 10:30 p.m., after the fifth season premiere of fellow entertainment industry parody Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The series is the first joint production on a comedy between HBO and the BBC. The two previously partnered on upcoming period epic Rome, and HBO Films’ Dirty War and The Gathering Storm.
In its first season on BBC2, the show has doubled audience size in its Thursday night time slot, averaging 3 million viewers for its first four episodes.
This is not the first time HBO has renewed a series for a second season before the show even premiered. In 2001, HBO added a second season to Six Feet Under before its pilot aired.
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