Nick Hornby's 'State of the Union' to return with new cast

Nick Hornby's mini TV series State of the Union is heading back for another series with a new star couple cast.

The relationship sitcom of 10-minute episodes previously starred Chris O'Down and Rosamund Pike as a couple in crisis meeting in the pub for debriefs of their relationship therapy sessions.

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It is returning to BBC Two, but this time has moved Stateside for a new US setting with an older couple at the helm, played by Patricia Clarkson and Brendan Gleeson.

Clarkson (Sharp Objects) plays liberal campaigning Ellen, who drags her traditional, self-made husband Scott (Gleeson, Calvary) out of his comfort zone and into a hipster Connecticut coffee shop, where they have 10 minutes before their marriage counselling session to drink a coffee, gather their thoughts and argue.

Topics up for discussion will include their 30-year marriage and its betrayals over the years, parts of their past they are hanging on to, and where they see the future of their marriage heading.

Sue Deeks, head of programme acquisition, BBC, said: "Season Two and another treat for BBC viewers as an impeccable cast bring to life Nick Hornby’s insightful, nuanced and pleasurable dissection of a relationship on the brink."

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Author Hornby is known for his novels About A Boy, Fever Pitch and High Fidelity, which were all adapted for film.

The first series of State of the Union aired in 2019, set in London, and also starred Aisling Bea alongside O'Dowd and Pike.

Other castings for the new series, due out later this year, include Esco Jouley, Gretchen Egolf, Sara Stewart and Hari Dhillon.

Previous star Pike is currently signed up to appear in Rich Flu, a thriller about a strange and deadly virus that infects the super wealthy, while her co-star O'Dowd has recently completed family film Slumberland with Jason Momoa and Kyle Chandler.

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