HBO's The Last Cruise is a floating metaphor for the pandemic

Fast Company

"What did Armando Iannucci know and when did he know it?" says Joe Berkowitz. "On January 19, 2020, Iannucci, the creator of Veep, launched a new HBO series called Avenue 5, set on an interplanetary space cruise that ends up holding its passengers against their will for much longer than intended—and with dwindling supplies. One day after the show premiered, the Diamond Princess cruise ship left the port of Yokohama, Japan, and quickly became the first major COVID-19 outbreak site beyond China, keeping its passengers on board for several weeks longer than planned. Just as Iannucci’s Veep seemed to anticipate the chaotic incompetence of the Trump era, his follow-up series appeared to anticipate the tragic event that ushered in the pandemic era. Just over a year later, a new documentary directed by Hannah Olson, The Last Cruise, which premieres on HBO (Tuesday), reveals how everything that happened aboard the Diamond Princess predicted much of what would follow back on shore in America—especially as it pertains to issues of class."