After graduating from
Churchill College, Cambridge as a mature student and then working as a sub-editor for magazines, Blackwell started writing TV comedy in 1999 on shows such as
Have I Got News For You,
The Kumars at No. 42, ''
Alastair McGowan's Big Impression and The Armstrong and Miller Show'', for which he created the duo's street-talking RAF pilot characters. He first worked with
Armando Iannucci in 2003 on the topical Channel 4 show
Gash. He went on to write on all four series of Iannucci's political sitcom
The Thick of It and co-wrote its spin-off film
In The Loop, which was nominated for an
Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. Other work with Iannucci includes
2004: The Stupid Version and
Time Trumpet. The two collaborated again on the
HBO comedy
Veep, with Blackwell co-writing the pilot episode and serving as writer and executive producer on the subsequent four seasons, for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards. Blackwell wrote for
Chris Morris's 2010 black comedy film
Four Lions, alongside
Jesse Armstrong and
Sam Bain. He had previously collaborated with them on the Channel 4 sitcom
Peep Show and BBC One's
The Old Guys. In 2016, Blackwell created the sitcom
Back starring
David Mitchell and Robert Webb. It premiered on
Channel 4 on 6 September 2017. In 2020, Blackwell created the
dramedy Breeders, starring
Martin Freeman and
Daisy Haggard. The series premiered on the American cable network
FX on 2 March 2020, and on
Sky One on 12 March 2020. == Filmography ==