
Absolute Power
2003-11-10 · 30 min / episode · ★ 7.6
Stephen Fry and John Bird star as spin doctors Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe as they bring the popular and satirical Radio 4 comedy Absolute Power to BBC Two. Stephen as Prentiss and John as McCabe are an unscrupulous pair who run the blue chip PR agency Prentiss McCabe. Dealing with commercial as well as personal PR, their remit covers everything from political communications to celebrity media relations. Their manipulation skills are tested to the full as they frequently find that their work brings them into conflict with political parties, newspaper editors and celebrities.
Trailers are previews, not full movies.
No authorized playback source configured. Use the legal watch options below.
Production details
- Creators
- Unavailable
- Production companies
- Unavailable
- Countries
- Unavailable
- Status
- Ended
Top Cast
John BirdMartin McCabe
Stephen FryCharles Prentiss
Geoffrey Palmer
Sally BrettonCat Durnford
Nicholas Burns
James Lance
Zoe TelfordTitle information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.
Where to watch
Availability provided by JustWatch via TMDb. Offers can change. Provider links are listed on TMDb; full playback requires a separately authorized source.
Availability not listed for this country.
Seasons & episodes
Recommendations

Claude Casey moved up in the secretarial world of television news, from temp to the anchor's desk. After her boss hires her full time, Claude realizes she may be in over her head in this world of assistants fighting to get ahead. But Claude is determined to prove that though she may not be perfect, she's not going down without a fight.

A sitcom set in the offices of "GlobeLink News" after its acquisition by media mogul Sir Roysten Merchant. Led by editor George Dent, the staff of GlobeLink battle to maintain the company as a serious news organization against Sir Roysten's right-hand man, Gus Hedges, who wants to make the show more sensationalist and suppress stories that might harm Roysten's business empire.

When a Cincinnati radio station switches from sedate music to top-40 rock 'n' roll, its staff of oddball characters is forced to switch gears quickly. New programming director Andy Travis brings in a new DJ named Venus Flytrap to work with the station's burned-out veteran, Dr. Johnny Fever. Neurotic newsman Les Nessman, eager beaver Bailey Quarters, sleazy salesman Herb Tarlek, blonde bombshell Jennifer Marlowe, who serves as the station's ultra-capable receptionist, and station manager Arthur Carlson, whose domineering mother owns WKRP, round out the eccentric bunch.

The series chronicles the personal life (and the wild lifestyle) of Rebecca Wright, a tough-as-nails judge serving on the Los Angeles County Circuit Court, whose time off the bench is spent partying and displaying a reckless behavior. Her reputation is about to be tamed—and judged—by Robby Shoemaker, a eight-year-old boy whose parents Rebecca put behind bars. He might be the one that can turn Rebecca's life around.

The everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.

Set in the corridors of power and spin, the Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.

A retired businessman runs for mayor of Los Angeles to prove he's "still got it." Once he wins, he has to figure out what he stands for, gain the respect of his biggest critic and connect with his teenage daughter, all while trying to get anything right for America's second weirdest city.

The follow-up to 'Twenty Twelve' as Ian Fletcher takes up the position of 'Head of Values' at the BBC. His task is to clarify, define, or re-define the core purpose of the BBC across all its functions and to position it confidently for the future, in particular for Licence Fee Renegotiation and Charter Renewal in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Mock the Week is a British topical celebrity panel game hosted by Dara Ó Briain. The game is influenced by improvised topical stand-up comedy, with several rounds requiring players to deliver answers on unexpected subjects on the spur of the moment.

Sharp knives and even sharper tongues! Meet Britain's finest, most short-fused chef, Gareth Balckstock.

Satirical sitcom set in the office of a UK Cabinet minister, Jim Hacker MP, who struggles with Civil Service bureaucracy and political machinations as he tries to get on with government business.

The Brittas Empire is a British sitcom created and originally written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen. Chris Barrie plays Gordon Brittas, the well-meaning but incompetent manager of Whitbury New Town Leisure Centre. The show ran for seven series and 53 episodes — including two Christmas specials — from 1991 to 1997 on BBC1. Norriss and Fegen wrote the first five series, after which they left the show. The Brittas Empire enjoyed a long and successful run throughout the 1990s, and gained itself large mainstream audiences. In 2004 the show came 47th on the BBC's Britain's Best Sitcom poll, and all series have been released on DVD. The creators Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen often combine farce with either surreal or dramatic elements in episodes. For example in the first series, the leisure centre prepares for a royal visit, only for the doors to seal, the boiler room to flood and a visitor to become electrocuted. Unlike the traditional sitcom, deaths were quite common in The Brittas Empire.

Nightmare boss. Tedious colleagues. Pointless tasks. Welcome to Wernham Hogg.

The free world is in danger, and only one man can help. Jack Decker has sworn to defend America from foreign terrorists regardless of which spineless president is in charge. This is Decker: The Series.

Archie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983. In its first season, the show performed so well that it knocked Mork & Mindy out of its new Sunday night time slot.

A hilarious workplace comedy about a unique family of employees at a super-sized mega store. From the bright-eyed newbies and the seen-it-all veterans to the clueless summer hires and the in-it-for-life managers, together they hilariously tackle the day-to-day grind of rabid bargain hunters, riot-causing sales and nap-worthy training sessions.

Set inside the offices of the “Nation Building Authority”, a federal government organisation responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, Utopia explores that moment when bureaucracy and grand dreams collide.

The Dick Van Dyke Show centers around the work and home life of television comedy writer Rob Petrie. The plots generally revolve around problems at work, where Rob got into various comedic jams with fellow writers Buddy Sorrell, Sally Rogers and producer Mel Cooley.

A New Jersey mom puts her relationship with her daughter to the test when she lands an internship at the same TV station where her daughter works.

Simon Roberts is eccentric, passionate, unpredictable and brilliant. He's also the first "Roberts" in the Lewis, Roberts + Roberts advertising agency. The second is his pragmatic daughter Sydney. As Sydney struggles to rein in her dad, the agency fights to stay at the top of the ad game, charming everyone from McDonald's bigwigs to Victoria's Secret models in the process!
Similar titles

Twenty Good Years is a short-lived American sitcom created by Michael J. Leeson and Marsh McCall, and starring John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor as mismatched friends—impulsive surgeon John Mason and widower judge Jeffrey Pyne—who decide to live life to the fullest after realizing they only have 'twenty good years' left. Thirteen episodes were produced, with an NBC premiere of October 11, 2006; however, due to low ratings, it was canceled after only four episodes and replaced by a block of specials. The unaired episodes have never been released, and only the pilot can be found online.

A family of friendly monsters that have misadventures all while never quite understanding why people react to them so strangely.

Common As Muck is a gritty BBC comedy drama serial focusing on the lives of a crew of bin men and their management staff. It ran for two series. The first series was screened in 1994 and the second in 1997. Both were nominated for a BAFTA for Best Drama.

As a single father of five teenage boys, Nick Savage faces the daunting challenge of trying to control the mayhem. A career firefighter, he finds running into a burning building a relaxing break from his parental duties.

Jim is the typical all-American guy — a macho "everyman" — with a soft spot for his beautiful wife and children. Jim's boyish bravado and humorous antics keep a certain level of turmoil in their home, but there's never a doubt that this "opposites attract" couple are in their marriage for keeps!

Doogie Howser is a doctor. He is also a 16-year-old genius who graduated college at age 10 and finished medical school at age 14. But he is still a teenager, with normal teenage friends and problems. But unlike a normal teenager, he is just learning to drive while also consulting on serious medical cases like heart transplants.

Sketch show exploring the conflict and integration between traditional Indian culture and modern British life. Some sketches reversed the roles to view the British from an Indian perspective, and others poked fun at Indian stereotypes.

Gun Shy is an American western comedy television series that aired from March 15 until April 19, 1983.

Peter Loves Mary is a one-season American situation comedy, starring real-life husband and wife Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, that aired on NBC from October 12, 1960 to May 31, 1961.

This is a story about everyday life follows ex-businessman Sekiguchi, who changes careers to become a host at "Club One" after getting sick. The colorful cast of co-workers includes a younger-brother type host who actually has over 20 years of experience in the field, a former idol, a social-game obsessed rough host, and others.

The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York.

The coming of age events and everyday life-lessons of Cory Matthews, a Philadelphian who grows up from a young boy to a married man.

Pat Hollingsworth fancies the idea of fostering. But can she convert her husband Tom and their three teenage children to her way of thinking?

Julie is an American sitcom starring Julie Andrews which aired on ABC during the summer of 1992. Blake Edwards was the director and executive producer of the short-lived series.

The chronicles of the rocky coexistence of midwestern American Larry Appleton and his distant cousin from eastern Mediterranean Europe, Balki Bartokomous.

A collection of eccentric individuals are in group therapy with a respected therapist—who may quite possibly have more problems than his patients.

The adventures of brilliant but befuddled scientist Wayne Szalinski, whose often-misguided projects wreak havoc on his family and friends.

Mrs. Edna Garrett, housemother and dietitian at the Eastland School, teaches a group of girls in her charge how to solve those problems that every teenager has to face.

In 1988, renegade filmmaker Robert Altman and Pulitzer Prize–winning Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau created a presidential candidate, ran him alongside the other hopefuls during the primary season, and presented their media campaign as a cross between a soap opera and TV news. The result was the groundbreaking Tanner ’88, a piercing satire of media-age American politics.
