Extras

Extras
[l-r] Kate Winslet, Ben Stiller, Ashley Jensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Ricky Gervais, Ross Kemp
Genre	Comedy (sitcom)
Running time	28 mins.
Creator(s)	Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant
Writer(s)	Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant
Starring	Ricky Gervais, Ashley Jensen, Stephen Merchant, Shaun Williamson
Country	UK
Network	BBC
Original runs	21 July 2005 – 25 August 2005
No. of episodes	6
	IMDB Profile

Extras is a sitcom about extras working on movie sets and theatre. It is written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. 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. The series is a BBC/HBO co-production which first aired on July 21, 2005 on BBC Two in the UK and premiered on September 25, 2005 on HBO in the U.S.. The first series DVD was released in the UK on October 31, 2005.

The second series began filming in the second week of June 2006; at present David Bowie, Chris Martin, Orlando Bloom, Daniel Radcliffe, Sir Ian McKellen, Germaine Greer, Diana Rigg, Moira Stewart, Richard Briers, Ronnie Corbett, Robert Lindsay and Stephen Fry are confirmed for the second series. While Brad Pitt, Mariah Carey and Madonna were reported to have expressed an interest in guest-starring while at the Live 8 event in London, none of them have been confirmed by Gervais or the BBC. [1]

The first episode of the second series will premiere in the UK on BBC Two at 22:00 on 14 September.

The series has no traditional opening credits theme tune. Each episode usually begins with 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. Each episode does, however, end with the same music over the closing credits: an excerpt of the Cat Stevens song "Tea for the Tillerman", the title track from his 1970 album.

Cast/Characters

Main Cast

Andy Millman: Ricky Gervais
Maggie Jacobs: Ashley Jensen

Recurring Cast

Darren Lamb ("Agent"): Stephen Merchant
Barry ("Himself"): Shaun Williamson
Greg: Shaun Pye

Guest Stars

Ben Stiller
Ross Kemp
Vinnie Jones
Kate Winslet
Les Dennis
Samuel L. Jackson
Patrick Stewart

== Second Series ==

Orlando Bloom

External Links

• BBC - Comedy
• Extras at Ricky Gervais' official website
• British Sitcom Guide
• Extras at the TV IV wiki