The Thick Of It creator Armando Iannucci is known for satirising contemporary politics but now he is set to largely leave the Earth behind with a new HBO comedy.

The British writer, who also created US series Veep and movie In The Loop, is to make a series set in the future and mostly in space.

His recent endeavours have also seen him take on 1950s Russia with upcoming movie The Death Of Stalin.

He is credited as the creator and the executive producer of the new show with the working title of Avenue 5, which is expected to be filmed next year in London.

Iannucci, 53, tweeted on Monday that “only a fool” would leave behind the US network, which he also worked with on the Emmy-winning Veep.

He recently said he has struggled to find humour in a world where Donald Trump was elected US president and with the uncertainty following the Brexit vote.

“I do find it hard to be funny about it because, having spent a lot of time looking at what happened under Stalin, I’m very much aware of what happens when a democracy becomes dysfunctional,” he told the Press Association.