...with Peep Show's Jesse Armstrong

Charlie Brooker and Peep Show’s Jesse Armstrong have written a Channel 4 mini-series described as ‘a contemporary British re-working of The Twilight Zone’.

They have written three standalone dramas billed as ‘sharp, suspenseful, satirical tales with a techno-paranoia bent’ under the banner Black Mirror.

Brooker wrote two episodes, and Armstrong, who also worked on The Thick Of It and Four Lions, wrote the third.

Armstrong’s script, provisionally titled In Memoriam, is set in an alternate reality where everyone has access to a system which records everything they do, see or hear.

Brooker’s first episode is a political thriller called The National Anthem, which will star Rory Kinnear and Lindsay Duncan.

The plot is based around a dilemma facing the Prime Minister in a difficult landscape for the supposedly powerful where ‘information is disseminated so quickly and public opinion is so loud, powerful and quick to change’.

His second, 15 Million Merits, is set in a ‘sarcastic version of a future reality’ in which everyone is confined to a life of strange physical drudgery, which can only be escaped by appearing on the Hot Shot talent show and impressing the judges.

The cast will include Julia Davis, Rupert Everett, Daniel Kaluuya and Jessica Brown-Findlay.

Black Mirror was announced as Channel 4 officially launched its autumn season this morning.

Also in the pipeline is the return of the Comic Strip, a new show from Jack Whitehall and and a panel show about advertising, featuring team captains Micky Flanagan and Mark Watson – all of which have been previously announced.

The Comic Strip team return for a one off 50s-style film noir spoof called The Hunt For Tony Blair, which will air next month.

The 60-minute film follows Prime Minister Tony Blair (Stephen Mangan), wanted for murder and on the run with Inspector Hutton (Robbie Coltrane) and his sidekick (James Buckley) hot on his trail.

The show also stars Nigel Planer as Lord Mandelson, Ford Kiernan as Gordon Brown, Jennifer Saunders as Margaret Thatcher, Harry Enfield as Alastair Campbell, Rik Mayall as Professor Predictor, Morgana Robinson as Carole Caplin, John Sessions as Thatcher's butler and Ross Noble as an ‘old Labour' tramp.

Meanwhile, Jack Whitehall headlines his first series, which has the working title, Hit The Road Jack. In it, he tours the country meeting celebrities and comedians. The six-part, half-hour series starts in October, too.

And in The Mad Bad Ad Show, Micky Flanagan and Mark Watson try to find out if they've got what it takes to make it in the world of advertising with the help of an industry insider.

Returning series include Alan Carr: Chatty Man, Facejacker, Peter Versus Life and Chris Moyles’ Quiz Night.

And Jonathan Ross will return as host of the British Comedy Awards, to air live one night in December.

Published: 15 Sep 2011