This week, the irreverent David Mitchell and Robert Webb return with their first joint BBC offering since That Mitchell and Webb Look. Although most notable for their multiple-award-winning and ingenious POV sitcom, Peep Show, this time round they are taking a different approach to television in a three part series called Ambassadors.
As you can probably guess from the title, Mitchell and Webb respectively play an ambassador and his deputy in the British embassy of the fictional Tazbekistan. Labelled as a ‘comedy drama’, it follows the unmistakeable duo through far more serious situations than they ever had to confront in Peep Show. While their distinct humour will undoubtedly still remain to some extent, fans of their best work will be disappointed to hear that this will not simply be the El Dude Brothers superimposed over a more exotic backdrop. Departing both from that Croydon perpetual-bachelor pad and the utter ridiculousness of that world, they are clearly aiming to create something a little more mature, with a little more depth, but hopefully not devoid of their quirky wit.
Indeed, die-hard fans of Peep Show – and I count myself amongst that demographic – might initially be take aback by the relative highbrow-ness that Ambassadors seems to be offering; but then again we might also discover a different, less absurd side to Mitchell and Webb that we grow to like…
Ambassadors starts Wednesday 23rd October, and will be broadcast on BBC 2 at 9pm.
