Rumors have recently circulated that legendary British comedy series Blackadder is set to make a return, but star Tony Robinson has shot down the reports. Set during the Middle Ages, the original series The Black Adder first debuted on the BBC in 1982, starring comedy legend Rowan Atkinson as a sniveling duke scheming to take the crown away from his father King Richard IV (Brian Blessed). Though season 1 had its moments, and certainly established the show’s basic formula for creating historical tomfoolery, it was during the second season that most believe the series truly took off and became a classic of British television comedy.
For season 2, the retitled Blackadder shifted time periods to the court of Queen Elizabeth, and featured Atkinson at the head of a brilliant ensemble that included Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, Tony Robinson, Miranda Richardson and Patsy Byrne. Blackadder would move to the Regency period for season 3, with Hugh Laurie added to the cast, then to the trenches of WWI for season 4. Thus far, that fourth season, which aired in 1989, has been the last for Blackadder, though a few one-off specials have appeared over the years, keeping hope alive that one day a full season 5 will materialize.
Over the weekend, fan hopes were stoked anew when a report surfaced in The Sun claiming that Blackadder was coming back, with Atkinson once again at the head of the cast. The report claimed that the new season of Blackadder would take place in contemporary times and feature Atkinson as an aging university lecturer. It was also reported that Tom Hardy (who's always game for a cameo) and Russell Brand would be approached about making appearances on the show. However, The Sun report was quickly shot down by Blackadder star Tony Robinson, who took to Twitter to insist that nothing is in the offing concerning the classic comedy series. See Robinson’s tweet in the space below:
The UK tabloid The Sun of course has a track record of putting out questionable reports, so the original rumor had to be taken with a grain of salt, even though it contained a lot of alleged specifics. After Robinson’s tweet, it seems the report was entirely rubbish after all. This comes as terrible news to fans of Blackadder who have long hoped for season 5.
British TV comedy of course has a long and glorious history going back to the days of Monty Python, and continuing on through today. Blackadder may not be as well known as Python, Fawlty Towers or The Office, but it has a strong cult following, including in America where like Python it used to run after hours on PBS. Even though the latest rumor has been shot down, hopefully there is still a chance that Blackadder will ride again. Most of the cast may be getting on in years, but if a 78-year-old Patrick Stewart can return as Jean-Luc Picard, certainly a 64-year-old Atkinson can return as the ever-cunning Blackadder.
Source: The Sun, Tony Robinson