Extras (TV series)

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''Extras'' is a

British sitcom A British sitcom or a Britcom is a situational comedy programme produced for British television. Most British sitcoms are recorded on studio sets, while some have an element of location filming. A handful are made almost exclusively on location ...

about extras working in television, film, and theatre. The series was co-produced by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

and HBO and was written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

, both of whom starred in it. ''Extras'' follows the lives of Andy Millman (Gervais), his platonic friend Maggie Jacobs (

Ashley Jensen Ashley Jensen (born 11 August 1969) is a Scottish actress and narrator. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on the television series '' Extras'', in which she appeared from 2005 to 2007. She was a cast member of the ABC series '' Ugly ...

) and Andy's substandard agent and part-time retail employee Darren Lamb (Merchant) as Millman muddles through life as an anonymous "background performer" who eventually finds success as a B-list sitcom star. ''Extras'' has two series of six episodes each as well as a Christmas Special. The first episode aired in the UK on 21 July 2005 on BBC Two and on 25 September 2005 on HBO in the US. The second series premiered in the UK on BBC Two on 14 September 2006 and began airing in the US on HBO and in Australia on ABC on 14 February 2007. The Christmas Special aired on 27 December 2007 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

and on 16 December 2007 on HBO. Both series are available on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and, at various times, through streaming services in the UK and the US. The series is filmed in a more traditional sitcom style than the

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

style used by Gervais and Merchant in their previous series '' The Office''. Each episode has at least one guest star: a television or film celebrity, who play what Gervais and Merchant have referred to as "twisted" versions of themselves; an exaggerated or inverted parody of their public personas. The show has been critically acclaimed, and has a

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

score of 81/100.

Cast and characters

* Ricky Gervais as Andy Millman *

as Maggie Jacobs *

as Darren Lamb (credited as "Agent") * Shaun Williamson as Barry from ''EastEnders'' (himself) * Shaun Pye as Greg Lindley-Jones

Plot

Andy Millman ( Ricky Gervais) is an aspiring actor who can only find work as an extra, which he calls being a "background artist" as a means of making the work seem more dignified. Andy is accompanied on his various projects by his platonic best friend and fellow extra, Maggie Jacobs (

). Maggie is well-meaning but ditzy, often missing obvious social cues and failing to exhibit appropriate tact and subtlety in conversations. Unlike Andy, Maggie has no aspirations toward being anything more than an extra. Andy's agent, Darren Lamb (

), has no real experience in the field of entertainment. He is incompetent, often taking no steps at all to find work for Andy, and even discouraging potential employers from hiring his client due to his flabby physique, age, and lack of acting experience. Darren is assisted by former soap opera star Shaun Williamson, who plays himself. Lamb frequently tries to undermine Andy by suggesting Williamson (who Lamb refers to by his former '' EastEnders'' character name, "Barry") is better suited for various acting roles that are offered to Andy. Fed up with life as an extra who is always being cut out of scenes just as he manages to get his face on camera, Andy shamelessly kisses up to celebrities and producers in an effort to try to get screen time or a line of dialogue. Although often successful in these endeavours, circumstances always arise that prevent Andy from advancing his career. Reasons include celebrities confessing that they have no real power to help, or (more often) Andy inadvertently offending the star which results in his immediate dismissal from the set. In the conclusion of season one, Andy delivers a sitcom script he has written to

Patrick Stewart Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor who has a career spanning seven decades in various stage productions, television, film and video games. He has been nominated for Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, and Screen Actors ...

, who, in turn, passes it along to the BBC through his production company. Andy gets a meeting with BBC comedy producers who greenlight his project and agree to allow him to play the starring role in the show. Series Two largely chronicles Andy's frustrations with his sitcom—''When the Whistle Blows''—which is heavily rewritten by BBC producers, resulting in it being a lowest-common-denominator comedy that relies on a multitude of catchphrases, offensive stereotypes and silly costumes for cheap laughs. Although the sitcom is commercially successful, pulling six million weekly viewers, it is a flop with critics who mercilessly bash both it and Andy. Andy periodically gets a chance to expand his repertoire in film and on stage but manages to ruin every opportunity that comes his way by either refusing to take direction, or by once again offending bigger stars than himself. In the series' 90-minute finale, the sitcom has made Andy financially successful and recognisable to many but he is increasingly frustrated with the show's quality and with his career not moving forward. Andy is convinced to fire Darren as his agent and become a client of a larger, more professional firm which he believes will accelerate his path upward. After taping a Christmas Special for ''When the Whistle Blows'', he announces to the live studio audience that he is quitting the series effective immediately. His career falls into total stagnation and Andy is forced to take bit parts on various long-running British television series such as '' Doctor Who'' and '' Hotel Babylon''. Eventually, his agent ceases to take his calls. Andy's relationship with Maggie sours as he frequently ignores her and spends all of the time they spend together complaining about not getting the opportunities he feels he deserves. When he crashes his agent's lunch meeting at a posh restaurant, he is bluntly told that he will never realise his dreams of having fame, fortune, prestige and respect. Crushed, Andy reluctantly agrees to lower his expectations for the sake of remaining modestly famous and successful and is cast in ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguest ...

''. While staying in the ''Celebrity Big Brother'' house, Andy openly reflects upon the price of fame and grows increasingly disenchanted with the culture of celebrity worship that has manifested itself throughout Western society. His despondency culminates in an emotional breakdown during a conversation with the other housemates. He tearfully turns to the camera and apologises to Maggie, who is watching the broadcast from her flat, for ignoring her and not heeding her advice to be grateful for the things he has managed to achieve. He voluntarily departs the house, ending his tenure on the show. Moved by the unexpected outpouring of emotion, a group of journalists eagerly awaits Andy's appearance at a press conference. Andy's agent returns and tells him that his emotional turn has instantly skyrocketed Andy's profile and that a number of A-list stars are requesting to meet him. As his agent prepares to introduce him to the throng of waiting press, Andy quietly slips out the back door of the studio where Maggie is waiting for him in her car. They drive off together with Andy seemingly turning his back on show business and accepting a life of anonymity.

Episodes

There are twelve regular episodes and a 90-minute Christmas special. When the first series was originally broadcast in the UK, the episode featuring

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known ...

was broadcast first, followed by the

Ross Kemp Ross James Kemp (born 21 July 1964) is an English actor, author, and television presenter. He rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. He is also known for his other roles as Graham Lodsworth in ' ...

and

Vinnie Jones Vincent Peter Jones (born 5 January 1965) is a British actor, presenter, and former professional footballer. Jones played professionally as a defensive midfielder from 1984 to 1999, notably for Wimbledon, Leeds United, Sheffield United, Chels ...

episode the following week. When the first series was shown in North America, another order was used: # Kate Winslet #

Les Dennis Leslie Dennis Heseltine (born 12 October 1953) is an English television presenter, actor, and comedian. He presented ''Family Fortunes'' from 1987 until 2002. Early life Dennis was born Leslie Dennis Heseltine on 12 October 1953 in the Liverpoo ...

Samuel L. Jackson Samuel Leroy Jackson (born December 21, 1948) is an American actor and producer. One of the most widely recognized actors of his generation, the films in which he has appeared have collectively grossed over $27 billion worldwide, making him ...

''When the Whistle Blows''

''When the Whistle Blows'' is the

show-within-a-show A story within a story, also referred to as an embedded narrative, is a literary device in which a character within a story becomes the narrator of a second story (within the first one). Multiple layers of stories within stories are sometimes ...

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

created, co-written by and starring Andy Millman. It was first mentioned in episode 1.3, as a script that Millman had written and given to Darren, who neglected to read it (in a recurring joke, he would frequently forget the name of the show, often calling it '' When the Wind Blows'' and even confusing it with '' The Wind in the Willows''). The script was turned into a sitcom on

in the first-season finale, after Millman gave the script to Patrick Stewart. Excerpts from the sitcom are featured in the second season, and many of the ''Extras'' second season plotlines revolve around Millman's experiences on and around the show. ''When the Whistle Blows'' is set in a Wigan factory canteen. The humour is broad and lowbrow in the manner of many catchphrase-based sitcoms. The main catchphrase of the show, "Are you 'avin' a laugh?" is spoken by Millman. The show is unpopular with critics but popular with the public. It does receive a BAFTA nomination, although Millman suspects it is there simply to make up the numbers, and in the end it loses to an unspecified programme by

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

. Millman is deeply unhappy with the show, feeling that too many people have interfered with his original ideas in the hunt for ratings. It appears that Millman originally set out to do a comedy similar to '' The Office'', with true-to-life characters in a realistic work environment, without a studio audience or canned laughter. After being forced to collaborate and compromise many of his ideas with producers at the BBC, the show is transformed into lowest common denominator fare with each character having his/her own catchphrase which are repeated ad nauseam to the delight of its 6 million viewers. The show is further debased by the unexplained guest appearance of Coldplay's Chris Martin, in episode 2.4, which bears no relation to the plot and which Millman openly opposes, going so far as to utter the on-camera line, "Chris Martin, what are you doing in a factory in Wigan? It's mental!" The presence of studio audiences, canned laughter, and the reliance on funny wigs, costumes and

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s for humour is a comment on British comedy hits such as '' Little Britain'' and ''

The League of Gentlemen ''The League of Gentlemen'' is a surreal British comedy horror sitcom that premiered on BBC Two in 1999. The programme is set in Royston Vasey, a fictional town in northern England, originally based on Alston, Cumbria, and follows the live ...

''. Many people that Millman sees at the recording of the pilot wear T-shirts displaying comedy catchphrases, such as " Wassup", "

It's Chico Time "It's Chico Time" is the debut single of former ''The X Factor'' contestant Chico Slimani. The single was released on 27 February 2006. The song was written and composed by Mark Hudson. Background Chico first performed the song on ''The X Fact ...

", " I'm a lady!", " Am I bovvered?" and " Garlic bread?." (These shirts are not shown in the US version of ''Extras''.) Some of the reviews that the show gets refer to it as a "time warp comedy", and Millman's character talks about 1970s catchphrases such as Mr Humphreys' "I'm Free" (from ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British sitcom created and written by executive producer David Croft (Croft also directed some episodes) and Jeremy Lloyd, with contributions from Michael Knowles and John Chapman, for the BBC. Set in London ...

'') and Frank Spencer's "Ooh Betty" (from ''

Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em ''Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1, created and written by Raymond Allen and starring Michael Crawford and Michele Dotrice. It was first broadcast in 1973 and ran for two series, including two Christmas special ...

''), suggesting that it is also partly sending up 1970s British comedy. In episode 2.5,

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...

suggests that ''When the Whistle Blows'' is "sub '' Carry On''". In recent years, the spoof has been compared to real life sitcom '' Mrs Brown's Boys'', in respect to its animated opening and the way it was critically panned yet a ratings winner.

Music

The closing title track is "Tea for the Tillerman", which is written and performed by Cat Stevens and is the title track of his album '' Tea for the Tillerman''. The fourth episode of the second series of the show features a cover of the song performed by Chris Martin of Coldplay. The same episode also uses the song " Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison. The song in the Christmas Special highlighting Maggie's depression after she hits bottom and quits acting is " This Woman's Work" by

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

. When Andy is having a bad time at The Ivy restaurant and leaves Maggie on her own,

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to eme ...

' song " Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" can be heard.

Guest star cancellations and replacements

According to a segment in the extras section of the Series 1 DVD, Jude Law was scheduled to appear in one of the episodes, after meeting Gervais backstage on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'', but had to pull out due to film commitments. This resulted in Gervais and Merchant having to scramble to find a replacement actor at the last minute, with Leonardo DiCaprio being considered and doggedly pursued. A featurette on the first series DVD release, "Finding Leo", consists of late-night video camera footage (shot mostly by Merchant) chronicling Gervais' desperate but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to contact DiCaprio's representatives. Law was ultimately replaced by Patrick Stewart in the series 1 finale, although a poster for the Jude Law film ''

Alfie Alfie may refer to: Theatre and film * ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton * ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine * ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film * ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...

'' appeared at the end. Other actors who did not appear in ''Extras'' despite initial reports from Gervais that they would appear include Madonna, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise. Keith Harris turned down the part eventually given to Keith Chegwin having read the script, telling ''The Independent'' "This isn't clever writing, it's pure filth".

Awards and nominations

Overall, ''Extras'' has been received very well by critics in the UK. The show received 3

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

nominations in 2006 including Best Comedy Performance for Ashley Jensen, Best Writer for Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and Best Situation Comedy. In 2007, both Gervais and Merchant were nominated, separately, for Best Comedy Performance, with Gervais ultimately winning the award. The show has also received accolades in the US. In 2006, the show received four nominations at the

58th Primetime Emmy Awards The 58th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, August 27, 2006, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California on NBC at 8:00 p.m. ET (00:00 UTC) with Conan O'Brien hosting the show. The ceremony attracted 16.2 million viewers, 2. ...

. Ben Stiller and Patrick Stewart received nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series and both lost to

Leslie Jordan Leslie Allen Jordan (April 29, 1955 – October 24, 2022) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and singer. His television roles include Supporting characters on Will & Grace, Beverley Leslie on ''Will & Grace'' (2001–2006 and 2017–2020) ...

on ''

Will & Grace ''Will & Grace'' is an American television sitcom created by Max Mutchnick and David Kohan. Set in New York City, the show focuses on the friendship between best friends Will Truman ( Eric McCormack), a gay lawyer, and Grace Adler ( Debra Messi ...

''. Kate Winslet received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series and lost to

Cloris Leachman Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926 – January 27, 2021) was an American actress and comedian whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nomina ...

for '' Malcolm in the Middle''. Gervais and Merchant were also nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the episode with Kate Winslet. They lost to Greg Garcia for writing the pilot episode of ''

My Name Is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Ja ...

''. In 2007, the show received four nominations at the

59th Primetime Emmy Awards The 59th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 16, 2007, honoring the best in U.S. prime time television programming at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was televised live on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ...

. Gervais was nominated for and won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Ian McKellen was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Gervais and Merchant were also nominated for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series for Daniel Radcliffe and Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series for Orlando Bloom. ''Extras'' made the Top 10 list of Outstanding Comedy Series but was not nominated in the Top 5. In 2008, the finale earned five nominations at the

60th Primetime Emmy Awards The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 21, 2008, at the newly opened Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California to honor the best in U.S. prime time television. The ceremony was hosted by Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Ma ...

. The special was nominated for Outstanding Made for Television Movie, losing out to '' Recount''. On the acting side, Gervais was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie, losing to Paul Giamatti in ''

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

'', while Jensen received her first Emmy nomination with a nod in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie category. She lost out to

Eileen Atkins Dame Eileen June Atkins, (born 16 June 1934), is an English actress and occasional screenwriter. She has worked in the theatre, film, and television consistently since 1953. In 2008, she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress and the Emmy Aw ...

in '' Cranford''. Gervais and Merchant received nominations for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special, as well as in the Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special category, but lost the former to Jay Roach for ''Recount'' and the latter to Kirk Ellis for ''John Adams''.

References

External links

* * {{HBONetwork Shows 2005 British television series debuts 2007 British television series endings 2000s British satirical television series 2000s British sitcoms 2000s British workplace comedy television series BBC television sitcoms Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners English-language television shows HBO original programming Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series Television series about actors Television series about show business Television series about television Television series produced at Pinewood Studios Television series created by Ricky Gervais Television series created by Stephen Merchant Television shows filmed at Pinewood Studios