Sean Gray
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sean Gray (born 15 June 1983) is a British comedy writer, producer and director. He is known for his work on the HBO series ''
Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep' ...
'', the BAFTA-winning BBC series ''
The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...
'' and ''
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' is a British comedy series created by and starring Stewart Lee and broadcast on BBC Two. It features stand-up comedy and sketches united by a theme for each episode. It was script-edited by Chris Morris and was ...
'' and the feature film '' The Day Shall Come''. He is a two-time Emmy-winner and Golden Globe-nominee.


Early life and education

Gray graduated from
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
. During his time at Oxford he wrote for and edited the university magazine ''
Isis Isis (; ''Δ’se''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: π€€π€Ž, romanized: ΚΎs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
'', and has explained that this "was basically just an excuse to write funny stuff for an audience". Gray started writing comedy sketches as a student and has cited
Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...
as the comedian who "opened iseyes to what comedy could be".


Television and Radio

Gray began his career in 2006 writing on the
Armando Iannucci Armando Giovanni Iannucci (; born 28 November 1963) is a Scottish satirist, writer, director, producer, performer, and panellist. Born in Glasgow to Italian parents, Iannucci studied at the University of Glasgow followed by the University of ...
BBC2 comedy series ''
Time Trumpet ''Time Trumpet'' is a six-episode satirical television comedy series which aired on BBC Two in August 2006. The series was written by Armando Iannucci, Roger Drew and Will Smith in a similar manner to Iannucci's earlier one-off programmes, '' 20 ...
''. He worked as Assistant Producer on Series 1 of ''
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' is a British comedy series created by and starring Stewart Lee and broadcast on BBC Two. It features stand-up comedy and sketches united by a theme for each episode. It was script-edited by Chris Morris and was ...
'', and wrote for the red button "Stewart V Armando" interview segments with Iannucci. He worked on 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. ...
...
comedy ''
The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...
'', writing or co-writing 14 episodes. For the launch of Series 4, he and fellow ''The Thick of It'' writer Ian Martin were interviewed by
Kirsty Lang Kirsty Lang (born July 1962) is a British journalist and broadcaster who works for BBC Radio and Television. Earlier in her career, she was on the staff of ''The Sunday Times'' and ''Channel 4 News'', working as a presenter and reporter. Lang w ...
for
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's '' Front Row'', and described how the show's seemingly farcical policies had often been mirrored in real life. Gray also wrote on this subject for the BBC News website. He is a writer and
Co-Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
on HBO's Emmy-winning sitcom ''
Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep' ...
'', starring
Julia Louis-Dreyfus Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus ( ; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and producer who worked on the comedy television series ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985), ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998), ''The New Adventures ...
. The show and Gray won the Outstanding Comedy Series at both the
67th Primetime Emmy Awards The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2014 until May 31, 2015, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 20, 2015 at the M ...
and the
68th Primetime Emmy Awards The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2015 until May 31, 2016, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 18, 2016 at the Mi ...
, two Writers Guild Of America Awards and a 2016 Peabody Award. He is a credited writer on 9 episodes of ''Veep'': "Catherine" and "Chung" (Season 1); "Hostages" and "Running" (Season 2); "Some New Beginnings" and "Alicia" (Season 3); "Convention" and "Testimony" (Season 4); and "Thanksgiving" (Season 5). He is creator and sole writer of ''iGod'', a Radio 4 science fiction comedy series starring
David Soul David Soul (born David Richard Solberg; August 28, 1943) is an American-British actor and singer. He is known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television series ''Starsky & Hutch'' from 1975 to 1979; Joshua Bolt on ' ...
and
Simon Day Simon William Day (born 7 June 1962) is an English comedian and actor known for his roles in the sketch show '' The Fast Show'' and the sitcom ''Grass''. Career Day was born in Blackheath, London, and rose to fame as a stand-up comic, winning ...
about a man who accidentally causes the end of the world. The show was described by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' as "very, very funny", and by the '' Radio Times'' as "hilarious". He has also written for three series of ''
Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive ''Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive'' is a British radio comedy programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2005 with a second series in 2006, a third in 2007 and a fourth in 2008. Series 2, 3 and 4 of the show were broadcast in the p ...
'' and
David Quantick David Quantick (born 14 May 1961) is an English novelist, comedy writer and critic, who has worked as a journalist and screenwriter. A former freelance writer for the music magazine '' NME'', his writing credits have included ''On the Hour'', '' ...
's ''One''.


Film

Gray directed
Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in '' The Thick of It'' (2005–2012), for ...
in the award-winning short film ''Bistro'', which he also wrote and produced. The film co-stars
Alex Macqueen Alexander Tulloch Macqueen (born 30 November 1973) is an English actor. He has appeared on television, film and radio in the UK in productions such as '' Holby City'', '' Doctor Who,'' ''Hut 33'', ''Peep Show'', ''The Thick of It'', ''Keeping ...
and won Soho House's international "Electric Shorts" competition. While working on the Oscar-nominated film '' In The Loop'', he and Iannucci reportedly managed to get into the US State Department using their BBC passes, prompting acting spokesman Robert Wood to later issue a statement, and the State Department to conduct "a complete review of their security procedures". He wrote for the 2019 black comedy thriller '' The Day Shall Come'' alongside director Chris Morris and
Jesse Armstrong Jesse David Armstrong (born 13 December 1970) is a British author, screenwriter, and producer. He is a co-creator of the Channel 4 comedy series ''Peep Show'' (2003–2015) and '' Fresh Meat'' (2011–2016), and the creator of the HBO satirica ...
. He had previously collaborated with Morris on the Season 3 ''Veep'' episode "Alicia". He is currently developing "a comedy about artificial intelligence" for Armando Iannucci to direct. He contributed additional material to the satire ''
Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...
'' for director
Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his filmsβ€”''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland'' and ''24 Hour Party People''β€”h ...
, starring Steve Coogan.


Credits

* '' The Day Shall Come'' (additional material) * ''
Veep ''Veep'' is an American political satire comedy television series that aired on HBO from April 22, 2012, to May 12, 2019. The series was created by Armando Iannucci as an adaptation of his sitcom ''The Thick of It''. The protagonist of ''Veep' ...
'' (Writer, 9 episodes, Co-Executive producer)
The Hollywood Reporter" 16 April 2011 * ''
The Thick of It ''The Thick of It'' is a British comedy television series that satirises the inner workings of British government. Written and directed by Armando Iannucci, it was first broadcast for two short series on BBC Four in 2005, initially with a smal ...
'' (Writer, 14 episodes) * ''
Time Trumpet ''Time Trumpet'' is a six-episode satirical television comedy series which aired on BBC Two in August 2006. The series was written by Armando Iannucci, Roger Drew and Will Smith in a similar manner to Iannucci's earlier one-off programmes, '' 20 ...
'' (Writer) * ''
Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle ''Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle'' is a British comedy series created by and starring Stewart Lee and broadcast on BBC Two. It features stand-up comedy and sketches united by a theme for each episode. It was script-edited by Chris Morris and was ...
'' (writer, additional material Series 2; Assistant Producer, writer 6 episodes of "Comedy Extra" segments on red button Series 1) * ''iGod'' on BBC Radio 4 (creator, writer 2010–2011) * ''Bistro'' (writer, director, producer) * ''
Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive ''Armando Iannucci's Charm Offensive'' is a British radio comedy programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in 2005 with a second series in 2006, a third in 2007 and a fourth in 2008. Series 2, 3 and 4 of the show were broadcast in the p ...
'' on BBC Radio 4 * '' In the Loop (film), In the Loop''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Sean British comedy writers British radio writers British television writers Living people 1983 births Alumni of the University of Oxford