There’s more to Jesse Armstrong than Succession

It’s Succession week, as the inaugural episode of season three finally lands (available, in the UK, via Sky’s NOW service). Generally considered to be the sharpest and most scathing comedy on television, the Emmy-winning epic known for its globe-trotting locations is actually the brainchild of a Brit: Shropshire-born Jesse Armstrong.

A former collaborator of both Armando Ianucci and Chris Morris (and, interestingly, a former parliamentary researcher), Armstrong is one of the creative minds behind some of the most successful British comedies: although he’s succeeded, on the whole, at keeping his profile more low key than some of his contemporaries.

Not a bad achievement, you might think, for one of the two men (the other being long-term collaborator, Sam Bain) behind Peep Show: Channel 4’s most successful sitcom ever and the home of the likes of Alan Johnson (not the former MP) and Super Hans. Or who helped Brass Eye’s Chris Morris make his much-anticipated return with the terrorism-themed film, Four Lions.