The Thick of It Cabinet Office. This concept enables different political themes to be dealt with in the programme, similar to the Department of Administrative Affairs in "Yes Minister". Hugh Abbot, played by Chris Langham, is a blundering minister heading the department, who is continually trying to do his job under the watchful eye of Malcolm Tucker (Peter Capaldi), Number 10's highly aggressive and domineering "enforcer". The programme also features James Smith as senior special adviser Glenn Cullen, Chris Addison as junior policy adviser Ollie Reeder, and Joanna Scanlan as civil service press secretary Terri Coverley. The series was revamped for the third series
Pilot (Malcolm in the Middle) was nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series in 2001. Pilot (Malcolm in the Middle) "Pilot" is the first episode of the first season of the television series "Malcolm in the Middle", which originally aired on the Fox Network on Sunday, January 9, 2000. It was the first episode written by Linwood Boomer and was directed by Todd Holland. In the episode, the six primary characters are introduced, Malcolm, Lois, Hal, Reese, Dewey, and Francis (who is at military school), and Malcolm's struggles and fears to be placed in the accelerated learning class