David Tennant comedy show to end after just three seasons

Michael Sheen and David Tennant sitting in front of laptops in Staged season 3
We've seen the last of Staged's at-odds actors. (Image credit: BBC/Staged Films Ltd/Paul Stephenson)

We've got bad news for Staged fans: David Tennant has revealed that the team behind the comedy has 'no plans' to make more episodes. 

Speaking to The Sun, David Tennant said that, whilst he had enjoyed making Staged with his Good Omens season 2 co-star Michael Sheen, the series was borne out of the lockdown period and no longer reflects the real world.

"We've had such a wonderful time filming the series but have no plans to do more", Tennant said. 

"It was a show borne out of a particular period of time - lockdown - when we were all in our house communicating via Zoom, as our characters did in the show. We couldn't get out. Now, as the characters demonstrate in some of the scenes in the new series, we can", he added.

Staged first premiered in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and saw Tennant and his co-star Michael Sheen playing exaggerated, fictionalized versions of themselves as bickering performers who are trying to rehearse a play over video calls, with writer and director Simon Evans (who also co-stars) trying to keep control of the production in the background. 

The series grew more meta as it went on, with series two seeing the pair openly discussing how Staged was itself, staged, and the two were keen to move on from the project... until they learned there was an American remake of the show in the works that they weren't going to be involved with. 

Throughout the show, they were joined by their real-life partners Georgia Tennant and Anna Lundberg, along with a load of guest performances from the likes of Cate Blanchett, Samuel L. Jackson, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Judi Dench, Ewan McGregor, Hugh Bonneville Whoopi Goldberg and many, many more.

The show's third and final season had an even bigger twist in store from the team than the second, but since it's still airing on BBC One right now (after originally premiering on BritBox in November 2022), we won't spoil it here!

Staged season 3 is available to stream on BBC iPlayer and BritBox. If you're looking for more laughs, check out our guide to the best BBC comedies you should be streaming right now.

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Martin Shore
Staff Writer at WhatToWatch.com

Martin was a Staff Writer with WhatToWatch.com, where he produced a variety of articles focused on the latest and greatest films and TV shows. Now he works for our sister site Tom's Guide in the same role.

Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. When he’s not watching TV or at the movies, Martin’s probably still in front of a screen playing the latest video games, reading, or watching the NFL.