In the Loop small roles, Samantha Harrington, Eve Matheson, and Will Smith. The only characters from the show, however, are Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi) and Jamie McDonald (Higgins), with brief appearances by Tucker's secretary Sam Cassidy (Harrington) and journalist Angela Heaney (Lucinda Raikes). The other "Thick of It" actors who appear play new characters, albeit very similar to the ones they portrayed in the series. Likewise, Anna Chlumsky went on to portray a similar but nominally different character in the subsequent American series, "Veep". The writing of "In The Loop" followed the methods developed during "The Thick of It" television series. Co-writer Jesse Armstrong
Spin-off (media) Spin-off (media) In media, a spin-off (or spinoff) is a radio program, television program, video game, film, or any narrative work, derived from already existing works that focus on more details and different aspects from the original work (e.g. particular topics, characters or events). A spin-off may be called a sidequel when it exists in the same chronological frame of time as its predecessor work. One of the earliest spin-offs of the modern media era, if not the first, happened in 1941 when the supporting character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve from the old time radio comedy show "Fibber McGee and Molly"