'Twenty Twelve' Follow Up 'Twenty Twenty Six' Confirmed for 2026

One of the best aspects of the U.K.'s primary export being entertainment is that whenever something historically significant happens, it often inspires a BBC-produced TV series. Such was the case with the London 2012 Olympics, which not only was a ratings hit in sporting programs, but also begat the first three parts of the Henriad known as The Hollow Crown and the satirical series Twenty-Twelve, in which Hugh Bonneville lampooned the BBC's efforts to televise the games. Both were aimed at enticing PBS to pick them up for American audiences to promote the event, which it promptly did.

Both were big enough hits to spawn follow-ups; the Henriad was completed in 2016 with The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses, and Bonneville reprised his hapless BBC executive character, Ian Fletcher, in three seasons of W1A. PBS picked up both in turn. However, the last few months of political upheaval have caused a trans-Atlantic co-production freeze, which may explain why the BBC's newest series from the W1A team, Twenty Twenty Six, does not have American distribution, despite being about the 2026 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held across the North American continent, primarily in the U.S.

Announced with a BBC statement that vacillates between being an actual announcement and an in-world satire of a press release, Auntie Beeb has revealed Ian Fletcher is leaving his post at the British Broadcaster. His next post will be joining the Twenty Twenty Six Oversight Team, located in Miami Florida, as its Director of Integrity.