Hulu to Produce BBC Political Comedy THE THICK OF IT

Hulu today announced its first international co-production with the BBC for the highly anticipated fourth season of Armando Iannucci's political U.K. comedy THE THICK OF IT, through a partnership secured by BBC Worldwide Americas. Beginning July 29, Hulu and Hulu Plus will be the exclusive U.S. destination for fans to watch every episode from the first three seasons of the beloved program, as well as the two specials released between seasons in the UK. "The Thick of It" was initially broadcasted on BBC Four in the U.K. and BBC AMERICA in the U.S. Hulu will also exclusively premiere the fourth season in the U.S., which will air first on Hulu and Hulu Plus day-and-date with the U.K. broadcast before returning to BBC AMERICA early next year.

Created and written by Armando Iannucci, acclaimed writer of HBO's "Veep" and Oscar-nominated film "In the Loop," "The Thick of It" takes a smart, satirical look at the inner workings of British government. Shot in a vérité style with hand-held cameras, Iannucci's distinctive brand of comedy thrusts viewers into a world of political embarrassment, backroom deals, policy U-turns, spin-doctoring, political backstabbing and wild media speculation.

"This series takes 'The Thick of It' into exciting and uncharted territory: a new Coalition Government, and Malcolm and Nicola fretting in the wings. For the first time too a storyline takes us all the way through the series right to the bitter, bitter end, with Government and Opposition convulsed in an incident that questions every political convention imaginable, but in a funny way," said Armando Iannucci.

"I very quickly became obsessed with this show, and it is exactly the kind of show Hulu viewers will love," said Hulu SVP of Content Andy Forssell. "We're really excited to give U.S. audiences a chance to catch up with all previous episodes, and as series co-producers for season four, we are proud to make full seasons of this distinctive and smart show available exclusively to Hulu viewers."

Following buffoonish goings-on in the fictional Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship (DoSAC), the ruthless Director of Communications Malcolm Tucker, played by Peter Capaldi who won a BAFTA for the role, leads the media maelstrom. Tucker manipulates the staff, including Junior Policy Advisor Ollie Reeder (Chris Addison), Senior Advisor Glen Cullen (James Smith), Civil Service Press Secretary Terri Coverley (Joanna Scanlan), with his volatile and profane tirades.

"We are excited to have partnered with Hulu for the co-production of the fourth season of 'The Thick of It' and to make the entire show available to their users. With the hilarious satirical storylines, the series is ideal for Hulu's audience which enjoys cutting-edge comedy television," stated Matt Forde, BBC Worldwide Americas EVP Sales & Co-Productions.

"The Thick of It" is a BBC in-house production in association with Hulu. The series is written by Tony Roche, Simon Blackwell, Ian Martin, Will Smith, Roger Drew and Sean Gray, with additional material written by David Quantick, Dan Gaster, Georgia Pritchett and Rob Colley. Produced by Adam Tandy, executive producers are BBC's Mark Freeland and Hulu's Andy Forssell. "The Thick of It" was directed by Natalie Bailey (episodes 1 & 3), Billy Sneddon (episode 2), Becky Martin (episode 4), Chris Addison (episode 5), Armando Iannucci (episode 6) and Tony Roche (episode 7).

About Hulu

Hulu is an online TV service whose mission is to help people find and enjoy the world's premium content when, where and how they want it. As we pursue this mission, we aspire to create a service that users, advertisers and content owners unabashedly love. Hulu was founded in 2007 and is operated by an independent team. NBCUniversal, News Corporation, The Walt Disney Company, Providence Equity Partners and the Hulu team share in the ownership of the company (www.hulu.com).

About BBC Worldwide Americas

BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). BBC Worldwide Americas brings together all of BBC Worldwide businesses across North and South America. The company exists to maximize the value of the BBC's assets for the benefit of the UK license payer, and invests in public service programming in return for rights. The company has seven core businesses: Channels, Sales and Distribution, Content and Production, Consumer Products, Digital Media, Magazines, and recently formed Brands, Consumers & New Ventures. Under these businesses fall two key brands in the U.S. - digital cable channel BBC America and a bi-coastal production arm responsible for the smash hit Dancing with the Stars for ABC.