Season 2
Extras is a British television sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant about extras working on film sets and in theatre, charting the lives of Andy Millman, his friend Maggie Jacobs and Andy's substandard agent and ex-Carphone Warehouse employee Darren Lamb, as Millman rises to fame.
The series is co-produced by the BBC and HBO. It is written and directed by Gervais and Merchant.
Extras has two seasons of six episodes each, as well as a Christmas Special. The first episode aired in the UK on 21 July 2005 on BBC Two and on 25 September 2005 on HBO in the US.
The second season premiered in the UK on BBC Two on 14 September 2006 and began airing in the US on HBO and in Australia on ABC on 14 February 2007. The Christmas Special aired on 27 December 2007 on BBC Two and on 16 December 2007 on HBO.
Extras originally premiered in South Africa on DStv's BBC Prime (now BBC Entertainment) channel on Tuesday 3 April 2007, at 21h00.
Season 2 premiered on BBC Entertainment on Monday 8 September 2008, at 20h00. There are six half-hour episodes in the second season.
Season 2 Repeats
Tuesdays: 01h00
Season 2 Synopsis
The BBC takes an interest in the script and decides to film a pilot with a view to making a series.
However, when the BBC starts production of the show, Andy is forced to wear a black curly wig, stereotypical large framed red glasses and make the show broad and catchphrase-based ("Are you havin' a laugh? Is he havin' a laugh?").
Although Andy loses considerable artistic control and the respect of his peers, he continues writing and performing in the show because his only other alternative is to go back to life as an extra.
The show is broadcast on BBC One, despite Andy's wish that it be broadcast to a BBC Two audience. The show attracts six million viewers but Andy believes them to be "the wrong six million".
Meanwhile, Andy learns the pitfalls of being a national celebrity, including how misunderstandings can blow up into national scandals.