''Spy'' is a

British situation comedy 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 ...

created and written by Simeon Goulden. The first series aired on 14 October 2011 on

Sky 1 Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

in the UK, as well as on the online video service Hulu in the United States. A second series began airing on 19 October 2012, ending with a Christmas Special on 26 December 2012. On 1 March 2013, Darren Boyd announced that the show would not be returning for a third series.

Cast and characters

Darren Boyd Darren John Boyd (born 30 January 1971) is a British actor who starred in the Sky 1 series ''Spy'', for which he won a BAFTA Award. His work in television and film spans comedy and drama. Early life Boyd began acting at age 17 in amateur thea ...

as Tim Elliot * Jude Wright as Marcus Elliot: Tim's ten-and-a-half year-old son * Robert Lindsay as The Examiner: Tim's boss *

Dolly Wells Dorothy Perpetua Wells (born Gatacre; 5 December 1971)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, vol. III, 2003, pg 3046 is an English actress and writer. She co-wrote and starred in the Sky Living series '' Doll & Em'' (2014–2015) with Emil ...

as Judith Elliot: Tim's ex-wife *

Tom Goodman-Hill Tom Goodman-Hill is an English actor of film, television, theatre and radio. Early life Brought up near Newcastle upon Tyne, he qualified as a teacher before turning to acting. During his time in Newcastle, he regularly acted in amateur perform ...

(series 1) and

Mark Heap Mark Heap (born 13 May 1957) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles in television comedies, including, '' Brass Eye'', '' Big Train'', ''Spaced'', '' Jam'', ''Green Wing'', ''Friday Night Dinner'', '' Upstart Crow'' and '' ...

(series 2) as Philip Quil: Judith's partner and Marcus's headteacher; the change of casting was addressed by Philip saying that he had changed his hairstyle * Mathew Baynton as Chris Pitt-Goddard: Tim's friend and former colleague who is secretly a lawyer *

Rebekah Staton Rebekah Staton (born 17 June 1981 in Leek, Staffordshire, England) is an English actress and narrator. She is best known for narrating '' Don't Tell The Bride'' and for her roles as Della in '' Raised by Wolves'' and Katy in ''Home''. She has al ...

as Caitlin Banks: Tim's MI5 colleague *

Rosie Cavaliero Rosalind Cecilia Cavaliero (born 27 November 1967) is a Brazilian-born English actress. She has appeared in numerous television roles. Filmography Theatre work * ''Dracula'' at the Everyman, Cheltenham – Florrie (February 1995) * ''Airswi ...

as Paula Abdul: Marcus's first social worker who had a romantic obsession with Tim * Ed Coleman as Moritz Skenk: Tim's hapless coworker * Ellie Hopkins as Justine: Marcus's love interest * Terence Maynard as Marion Portis: Caitlin's long-missing, assumed dead, fiancé *

Miles Jupp Miles Hugh Barrett Jupp (born 8 September 1979) is an English actor, singer, and comedian. He began his career as a stand-up comedian before playing the role of the inventor Archie in the children's television series ''Balamory''. He also played ...

as Owen: Marcus's second social worker * Frank Kauer as Nick Chin: Marcus's rival * David K. S. Tse as David Chin: Nick's father

Episode list

Series 1 (2011)

Series 2 (2012)

Christmas Special (2012)

Reception

Reception of the series has been varied. Olly Grant of ''The Telegraph'' described the new series as "a very promising little comedy, and obertLindsay is particularly good in it." The premiere was described by Ben Arnold (''The Guardian'') as a "hopeful offering", but wrote, "It will need considerably more laughs in future episodes to stand repeat viewing." The series' second episode was termed "mediocre" by Catherine Gee (''Telegraph''), but Jack Seale ('' Radio Times'') wrote "never mind that everyone's crazy and nothing is real, so that – like a lot of US sitcoms – you wouldn't mind missing an episode. When you're in front of it, ''Spy'' keeps doling out quick, cheap, satisfying laughs." In a 2011 year-end wrap-up, Julia Raeside (''Guardian'') wrote: In 2012, Sam Wollaston (''Guardian'') described it as "totally ridiculous, but in a charming way" and having "a lovable silliness."

DVD release

The complete first series of ''Spy'' was released on DVD on 5 November 2012. The complete second series of ''Spy'' was released on DVD on 29 July 2013.

International remakes

An American version was being discussed to broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. ABC released casting info for the show, with

Rob Corddry Robert William Corddry (born February 4, 1971) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a correspondent on ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' (2002–2006) and for his starring role in the film ''Hot Tub Time Machine''. He ...

being cast as Tim,

Mason Cook Mason Cook (born July 25, 2000) is an American actor. He played Cecil Wilson in the 2011 film '' Spy Kids: All the Time in the World''. From 2016 to 2019 he portrayed Ray DiMeo in the ABC sitcom '' Speechless''. Early life Cook is from Oklahom ...

as Marcus,

Paget Brewster Paget Valerie Brewster (, ; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She was first recognized for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of the NBC sitcom ''Friends''. Her breakthrough role came as FBI Supervisory Speci ...

in the new role of Erica as Marcus' mom and Tim's ex-wife, replacing Judith,

Moshe Kasher Mark Moshe Kasher (born July 6, 1979) is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor based in the Los Angeles area. He is the author of the 2012 memoir ''Kasher in the Rye: The True Tale of a White Boy from Oakland Who Became a Drug Addict, C ...

as Chris,

Camille Guaty Camille Guaty (born June 28, 1976) is an American film and television actress. She is known for several roles: as Daisy in '' Gotta Kick It Up!'' (2002), for playing Maricruz Delgado, Sucre's girlfriend, in ''Prison Break'' (2005–2007), and a ...

as Caitlin, and

Ken Jeong Kendrick Kang-Joh Jeong (, ; born July 13, 1969) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, producer, writer and licensed physician. He rose to prominence for playing Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'' film series (2009–2013) and Ben Chang in the ...

as The Examiner.

Nat Faxon Nathaniel Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing '' The Descendants'' (2011) ...

was to guest star in the pilot, and if the series was picked up, would have been a guest star in as many episodes as possible. The show was to be produced by

ABC Studios ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...

and

Hat Trick Productions Hat Trick Productions is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. History Hat Trick Productions was founded in 1986 by Rory McGrath, Jimmy Mulville ...

, with Simeon Goulden,

Jimmy Mulville James Thomas Mulville (born 5 January 1955) is an English comedian, comedy writer, producer and television presenter. He is best known for co-founding (in 1986) the British independent television production company Hat Trick Productions with ...

and Helen Williams as executive producers. The series was to be written by Simeon Goulden as well, with Alex Hardcastle directing the pilot. On 10 May 2013, ''

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...

'' reported that ABC had passed on the pilot.

References

External links

* * * * {{Sky1 2010s British sitcoms 2011 British television series debuts 2012 British television series endings English-language television shows Espionage television series Sky sitcoms Television series by Hat Trick Productions MI5 in fiction