Extras - Information
Overview
Extras is a British television sitcom about extras working on film sets and in theatre. The series is a BBC/HBO co-production and is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, both of whom also star in the series.Extras has two series of six episodes each. 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 is scheduled to begin airing in the US on HBO on 14 January 2007.
The series is filmed in a more traditional sitcom style than the mockumentary style used by Gervais and Merchant's previous award-winning 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[1]; an exaggerated or inverted parody of their famous public personas.
Gervais has stated that he can't see himself doing a third series, as he and Merchant have this "thing" about doing only two series (like The Office).[2] However, after the second series had finished, he was quoted in the Mirror as saying that there was "some mileage in it" and suggesting there could be a third series,[3], suggesting in a recent interview with The Onion that it could take the form of a Christmas special, as with The Office.
Background
Most episodes are based around a different production in which Andy and Maggie are appearing, with the celebrity guest star usually playing the star of the show. Andy tends to spend a lot of his time looking for ways to get a speaking role, while Maggie is more content with looking among the cast and crew for a boyfriend. At the end of the first series Andy successfully pitches his sitcom, When the Whistle Blows to the BBC.
The second series focuses on Andy's continuing attempts to be taken more seriously as an actor starring in his sitcom, while struggling with having sold out his vision for the show.
Most episodes begin with a cold open on a short segment from the production on which Andy and Maggie are working, followed by a fade into the white Extras logo on a black background without an opening credits theme tune. Each episode ends with Cat Stevens's "Tea for the Tillerman" over the closing credits, a track from his 1970 album of the same name.
Influences
The HBO series The Larry Sanders Show is a big influence[4]: It also had celebrities guest star as exaggerated versions of themselves, mocking their public images. In addition, TLSS showed what happens behind-the-scenes of producing a talk show; Extras does the same for film and drama.Gervais cites the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm as one of his favourite shows, but seems to stop short of describing it as an influence on Extras, despite their similar style.[5] Curb Your Enthusiasm follows the everyday life of Seinfeld co-creator Larry David - the comedy often coming from friction that develops between David and others. These others often include celebrity guests like Ted Danson, David Schwimmer and Ben Stiller (who has appeared as himself in The Larry Sanders Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Extras).
Andy seems to hold similar views on comedy to Ricky's own, his lament in the second series that he wanted to produce something "people can relate to" mirroring the commercial and critical success of The Office.