The Thick of It is a
British comedy television series that
satirises the inner workings of modern
British government. It was first broadcast for two short series on
BBC Four in 2005, initially with a small cast focusing on a government minister, his advisers and their party's spin-doctor. The cast was significantly expanded for two hour-long specials to coincide with Christmas and
Gordon Brown's appointment as
prime minister in 2007, which saw new characters forming the opposition party added to the cast. These characters continued when the show switched channels to
BBC Two for its third series in 2009. A fourth series about a coalition government was broadcast in 2012, with the last episode transmitted on 27 October 2012. In a 2012 interview, series creator
Armando Iannucci said the fourth series of the programme would probably be its last.