James R | On 11, Sep 2020

BritBox’s revival of Spitting Image is doubling down for the US election, with two new special episodes on the way.

The rebooted satirical puppet sketch show has proven a success since its debut last month, with global social media stats by Episode 2 seeing Spitting Image official content reach over 85 million people, with over 20 million views of content across official social media channels.

The show’s original co-creator Roger Law returned to head up the show’s creative team, while multi-award-winner Jeff Westbrook (The Simpsons, Futurama) is the showrunner, leading the writing team. Targets given the series’ signature puppet treatment include everyone from Adele, Angela Merkel and Baby Yoda to Barack Obama, Beyoncé, Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin.

The series will turn its gaze specifically on the battle for the White House in the run-up to the November vote, with two episodes arriving at the end of this month. Landing exclusively on BritBox first thing on Saturday 31st October, viewers will have a one-off chance to watch Part
1 of the bonus episode on ITV at 10pm that evening, with Part 2 then available only on BritBox.

Reemah Sakaan, Group Director ITV SVOD and Chief Creative & Brand Officer BritBox said: “We’ve been excited about the timing of the US election for this series of Spitting Image for months… and it certainly doesn’t seem to be letting us down in terms of material for satire, so we commissioned a bonus episode that we are excited to share with both ITV and BritBox audiences.”

Kevin Lygo, BritBox Originals Creative Chief and ITV’s Director of TV added: “This is a great chance to celebrate Spitting Image’s noisy return after 18 years and give ITV viewers a taste of the full series, available on BritBox.”

Episodes of Spitting Image arrive on BritBox on Saturdays.

 

Spitting Image set for October release on BritBox

11th September 2020

Spitting Image will officially return to our screens this October, BritBox UK has announced.

The satirical puppet show ran for a total of 18 season between 1984 and 1996, and proved no one was safe from ridicule in puppet form. Next month, BritBox is bringing is back for a new 10-episode season.

Produced by Avalon (Taskmaster, The Russell Howard Hour, Catastrophe, Breeders, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver), the show has lined up more than 100 puppets made by a socially distanced teams of artists, including: Adele, Angela Merkel, Baby Yoda, Barack Obama, Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Boris Johnson, Boris Baby, The Johnson Dog, Brad Pitt, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall, Chrissy Teigen, Covid-19, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dominic Cummings, Dominic Raab, Donald Trump, Dwayne Johnson, Ed Sheeran, Elon Musk, Elton John, Emmanuel Macron, Greta Thunberg, Grimes, Gwyneth Paltrow, Harry Styles, Idris Elba, Ivanka Trump, Jacinda Ardern, James Corden, Jeff Bezos, Joe Biden, Jürgen Klopp, Kanye West, Keir Starmer, Kim Kardashian, Lewis Hamilton, Mark Zuckerberg, Matt Hancock, Meghan Duchess of Sussex, Melania Trump, Michael Gove, Michelle Obama, Narendra Modi, Oprah Winfrey, Piers Morgan, The Pope, Prince Andrew, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Prince William, Priti Patel, The Queen, Richard Branson, Rishi Sunak, RuPaul, Taylor Swift, Tiger Woods, Tyson Fury, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.

A next generation of satirical writers and voice artists are working with established talent to pen the show, including the show’s original co-creator Roger Law and showrunner Jeff Westbrook (The Simpsons, Futurama). Writers on the show include Al Murray, Bert Tyler-Moore & George Jeffrie (The Windsors), Bill Odenkirk (The Simpsons), Brona C. Titley (The Tracey Ullman Show), David X. Cohen (The Simpsons), Gemma Arrowsmith (The Tracey Ullman Show), Jason Hazeley & Nico Tatarowicz (Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe/Murder in Successville), Karl Minns (Russell Howard’s Good News), Keisha Zollar, Laura Major (Famalam), Matt Forde, Patric Verrone (The Simpsons), Phil Wang, Richard Herring, Sophie Duker (Frankie Boyle’s New World Order) and Travis Jay (Dave Chapelle and Friends).

Voice artists include Billy West (Futurama), Debra Stephenson (The Impressions Show), Debra Wilson (Family Guy), Guz Khan (Man Like Mobeen), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Jess Robinson (The Imitation Game) John DiMaggio (Futurama), Lewis MacLeod (Dead Ringers), Lobo Chan (Killing Eve), Matt Forde (Unspun) and Phil LaMarr (Pulp Fiction).

The show is ultra-topical with scripts being written and new puppets made as close to each episode as possible. Episodes will air weekly on BritBox exclusively from Saturday 3rd October, all included with a £5.99 monthly subscription. Until then, here’s a new look at some of the puppets ready for their close-up:

 

BritBox’s Spitting Image unveils first puppets

4th March 2020

Spitting Image returns to our screens later this year and we’ve got our first look at the satirical puppet show’s new caricatures.

Spitting Image ran for a total of 18 season between 1984 and 1996, and proved no one was safe from ridicule in puppet form, as public figures including Margaret Thatcher (who treated her Cabinet, “the vegetables”, with utter contempt), Michael Heseltine (as Tarzan), Ronald Reagan (shown in bed with two red call buttons, one marked “Nurse”, the other “Nuke”) and the Royal Family (The Queen Mother was often seen slugging from a gin bottle while The Queen studied the horse-racing pages). 

The new series will feature puppets based on Dominic Cummings, James Corden, Donald Trump, RuPaul, Boris Johnson, Beyoncé, Elon Musk, Harry & Meghan, Bernie Sanders, Prince Andrew, Adele and Vladimir Putin. Now, we’ve got our first glimpse of what they’ll look like, with Boris Johnson sporting messy blonde hair, Dominic Cumming depicted with a Mr Burns-esque scowl and Prince Andrew with a regretful expression and a paisley neckerchief.

The show is led by Spitting Image co-creator Roger Law and produced by Avalon and will stream on BritBox this autumn, marking the debut of the subscription service’s first original commission.

 

BritBox brings back Spitting Image as first original series

4th March 2020

BritBox UK is bringing back Spitting Image as its first original series.

Spitting Image ran for a total of 18 season between 1984 and 1996, and proved no one was safe from ridicule in puppet form, as public figures including Margaret Thatcher (who treated her Cabinet, “the vegetables”, with utter contempt), Michael Heseltine (as Tarzan), Ronald Reagan (shown in bed with two red call buttons, one marked “Nurse”, the other “Nuke”) and the Royal Family (The Queen Mother was often seen slugging from a gin bottle while The Queen studied the horse-racing pages). 

The revived satirical take on current events will be led by Spitting Image co-creator Roger Law and produced by Avalon (The Russell Howard Hour, Taskmaster, Catastrophe, Breeders, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver). Development of new puppets is already underway with Dominic Cummings, James Corden, Donald Trump, RuPaul, Boris Johnson, Beyoncé, Elon Musk, Harry & Meghan, Bernie Sanders, Prince Andrew, Adele, and Vladimir Putin all falling under the show’s iconic gaze. 

A next generation of satirical writers and voice artists are being assembled to drive a new wave of “public service satire”. In keeping with the 80s and 90s, some scripts will be written and puppets made close to delivery to ensure each week’s episode is as topical as possible.  

Reemah Sakaan, Group Director ITV SVOD and Chief Creative & Brand Officer BritBox, says: “We cannot wait to bring back Spitting Image. BritBox is the natural home for the sharpest satirical wit and craft in the UK industry. The timing couldn’t be better to present a new series on a new service with a uniquely British point of view.”

Kevin Lygo, BritBox Originals Creative Chief and ITV’s Director of TV adds: “We are thrilled that BritBox can provide the opportunity for British creativity to truly run wild, and we are looking forward to enticing new subscribers with the new series and service.”

Law comments: “Public service satire announcement. I’ve refused to resuscitate Spitting Image for years but when my pension ran out and my palm was crossed with silver what could an old man do?   The new Spitting Image will be global through a uniquely British eye, it will be more outrageous, audacious and salacious than the previous incarnation. With scandalous scripts and A-List characters, it will be the people’s programme! When Dominic Cummings gets the boot, Spitting Image will give him a job. We’ve always employed weirdos and are sure Dom will be a great asset, he seems to hate politicians as much as we do. We will take back control from the likes of BoJo, Trump, Harry and Meghan, Elon Musk, and Kim Kardashian. We will be dazzled and amazed by Jurgen Klopp and Beyonce, we will have regular weather updates from our roving reporter Greta Thunberg. The timing is right, the puppets are ready, the people have spoken. And the message for the doomsayers and gloomsters is, this autumn we will get BritBox done!”

BritBox subscribers will be able to enjoy Spitting Image exclusively on the service from Autumn 2020, and a second season will follow in 2021.

 

Photo: Avalon / Mark Harrison

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