Today, in weird comedy pairings that we’re actually totally into, now that we’ve had a second to think about them: HBO announced that Silicon Valley’s Zach Woods will be sticking with the network for his next TV project, signing on to star opposite Hugh Laurie in Veep creator Armando Iannucci’s new space pilot Avenue 5. Per TV Line, Woods will play Matt, the head of Customer Relations for the titular intergalactic cruise liner, with Laurie serving as the ship’s captain.
Woods is a frequent tourist in Iannucci-land: He showed up as Amy’s boyfriend in the second and third seasons of Veep, and played a sort of sniveling proto-Jonah in the director’s earlier In The Loop. And while he’s never worked with Laurie before, it’s easy to imagine his signature awkward earnestness playing well with the House star’s talent for a good, resentful slow-burn.
HBO ordered a pilot for the sci-fi comedy—which also stars Rebecca Front and Suzy Nakamura—last September. Meanwhile, there’s also an open question about how the series’ plans might impact Woods’ commitment to the final season of Silicon Valley; that show has already been delayed a year while showrunner Alec Berg works on new episodes of recent Emmy-winner Barry.