Rebecca Front has joined Hugh Laurie in the cast of Avenue 5, Armando Iannucci’s spaceship comedy that is in development at HBO (the home network of Veep).

Front is no stranger to Armando Iannucci’s oeuvre, having appeared in two of his previous creations, The Thick Of It and The Day Today. Her CV also includes Poldark, Grimsby, War & Peace, Humans and Transformers: The Last Knight.

Deadline reported back in September 2017 that HBO had ordered a pilot episode for Avenue 5, which is set to take place in the future (and mostly in space). Armando Iannucci is the creator, writer and executive producer of the show.

Then, in August 2018, Deadline (again) broke the news that Laurie had signed up – “after lengthy negotiations” – to play Ryan Clark, “the charming and in-control American captain of Avenue 5.”

And now, Deadline (yet again) has reported on Rebecca Front’s casting. She will play Karen Kelly, who’s described as “a middle-aged American housewife, who boarded Avenue 5 using her sister’s non-transferable ticket. Strong-willed, articulate, likeable. Karen finds herself becoming the voice of the passengers, enjoying her newfound power.”

As far as we can tell, Armando Iannucci is currently putting the pilot episode together for the show. Further scripts have also been ordered by HBO, but a full broadcast season of Avenue 5 is yet to be officially confirmed.

We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.