First jobs In 1995, he began to work as a researcher for the
Labour MP
Doug Henderson, initially without payment. At the same time, he acted as a consultant on politics for
Rory Bremner's production company. He subsequently worked as a painter and decorator.
2000–2015: Peep Show and The Thick of It Armstrong met his writing partner
Sam Bain while at the University of Manchester, living with him in his final year. They began writing together after they graduated, when they had both moved to
London. They went on to create and write
Peep Show,
BBC One sitcom
The Old Guys, and Channel 4 comedy dramas
Fresh Meat and
Babylon. They also wrote for the
BBC Radio 4 sketch show
That Mitchell and Webb Sound, starring
Peep Show's two main actors
David Mitchell and
Robert Webb, and its
BBC Two adaptation
That Mitchell and Webb Look.
Peep Show has won several writing awards, including a BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy in 2008. To date, Armstrong and Bain have written two films together – the 2007 comedy
Magicians, and, alongside
Chris Morris, the 2010 terrorism satire
Four Lions. Armstrong and Bain received the
Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award at the
British Comedy Awards 2010. In 2012 both Armstrong and Bain were featured on the TV industry journal
Broadcast's 'Hot 100' list, highlighting the most successful people in UK television. In 2012, Armstrong and Bain wrote the Channel 4 comedy pilot
Bad Sugar, a spoof of
Dynasty-style soap operas, which stars
Olivia Colman,
Julia Davis and
Sharon Horgan, all of whom also co-conceived the show. In 2014, Armstrong, with
Danny Boyle, Robert Jones and Sam Bain, co-created the Channel 4
comedy drama Babylon. Armstrong wrote the first and last of the six initial episodes and co-wrote the pilot with Sam Bain. Alongside
Armando Iannucci,
Simon Blackwell and
Tony Roche, Armstrong wrote for the first three series of the BAFTA-winning BBC Four comedy
The Thick of It, and its 2009 film spin-off
In the Loop.
In The Loop was nominated for the
Academy Award and
BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and won Best British Screenplay at the
2009 Evening Standard British Film Awards. Alongside
The Thick of It's writing team, Armstrong wrote one episode of the first season of
HBO comedy series
Veep, set in the office of the American vice-president. In the run-up to the
2010 UK general election, Armstrong wrote a column in
The Guardian – '
Malcolm Tucker's election briefing – as dictated to Jesse Armstrong'. He previously wrote a similar column for
New Statesman, entitled 'Tactical Briefing'. In 2010, Armstrong's currently-unproduced screenplay
Murdoch, a drama in which
Rupert Murdoch and
his family disagree over who should have control of
his company, received attention after it appeared on
The Black List, a list of unproduced screenplays most liked by Hollywood industry figures. In the wake of the 2011
phone hacking scandal involving newspapers owned by Murdoch it was rumoured that the script was being developed by Channel 4, but Armstrong dismissed these claims. In 2010 it was reported that Armstrong was developing a biopic of the
Republican Party strategist
Lee Atwater, with
Chris Henchy and
Adam McKay. In October 2011 it was reported that Armstrong's film adaptation of
Richard DiLello's book
The Longest Cocktail Party, charting the founding of
The Beatles' record company
Apple Records and the recording of their final album
Let It Be, was to be directed by
Michael Winterbottom. In February 2016 it was reported that Winterbottom had withdrawn from the project and the film's future was uncertain. Armstrong wrote one episode of
Charlie Brooker's
anthology series Black Mirror, entitled "
The Entire History of You".
Robert Downey Jr. has since bought the rights to adapt the script for a forthcoming film. Armstrong's first novel,
Love, Sex and Other Foreign Policy Goals, was released in April 2015.
2017–present: Succession and acclaim In 2017, Armstrong's American drama series
Succession, executive produced by
Adam McKay and
Will Ferrell, was picked up to series by
HBO. The series starred
Jeremy Strong,
Sarah Snook,
Kieran Culkin,
Matthew Macfadyen and
Brian Cox. The series ran from 2018 to 2023 and received
numerous accolades including three
Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. During this time he co-wrote the screenplay for the 2020 comedy-drama film
Downhill with
Jim Rash and
Nat Faxon. The film was based on the 2014
Ruben Östlund film
Force Majeure and starred
Will Ferrell and
Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In 2025, Armstrong worked with HBO again to make his directorial debut, a television film called
Mountainhead which he also wrote. ==Personal life==