With the first season of Sky Atlantic's Veep concluding on Monday night, we take a look at five fictional figures who bring the ballot box to your telly box.

To celebrate next week's launch of Veep, the new HBO comedy from The Thick of It writer Armando Iannucci, we've picked out our five all-time favourite political TV shows.

It’s difficult for a British audience not to try and draw comparisons with The Thick of It, particularly as its visual style is so immediately familiar.

Sky Atlantic has today announced the channel’s start date for The Newsroom, created by The West Wing's Aaron Sorkin.

US drama series Pan Am will not return for a second season, broadcaster ABC has announced.

US TV network NBC has ordered a pilot for a remake of ITV1's prison drama Bad Girls.

Out now to buy on DVD exclusively from HMV, Inflatable sees Australian stand-up king Adam Hills celebrate his 21st year in comedy and his 40th birthday live on stage at Melbourne’s Athenaeum Theatre, with a special performance of his critically acclaimed show.

Inflatable is a raucous, poignant and ultimately uplifting show that received five star reviews from Melbourne to Edinburgh, and played to sold out audiences across the UK. Adam discusses the intricacies of sign language, the politeness of the Dutch, prostate awareness, what it feels like to have an “old man rant” and the joy of seeing the Paralympics live.

> Check out our Christmas gift guide for the Top 20 new stand-up comedy DVDs.

We caught up with Adam to find out what he likes to watch to relax between shows...

Favourite TV show to cheer you up:

"The West Wing. It makes me believe, if only for a moment, that the world is being run by intelligent, charismatic and competent people. Then the show ends and it's back to reality."

TV show that reminds you of your childhood:

"The Benny Hill Show. We used to watch it as a family, then repeat the lines to each other for weeks afterwards. One of my favourite memories is my grandfather clapping his hands together saying 'Everybody crapping'."

TV show that reminds you of being a teenager:

"There was a short-lived British show called Me and My Girl. I had a massive crush on the leading lady, Joanne Ridley, and even wrote her a letter. I can't believe she never wrote back. I thought nerdy desperate Aussies that write letters to TV stars are exactly what women want."

TV show that you find most addictive:

"The Australian version of Masterchef is ridiculously addictive. I tell myself I'm not gonna get caught up in it, then three weeks in I'm visibly shaken when Murray's Bombe Alaska doesn't make the grade."

Favourite TV show to watch hungover:

"I have a baby daughter now, so if I am hungover, I'm gonna be watching something that keeps her happy for a while. Ergo, Charlie and Lola is my go-to hangover viewing. And if it's an all-day hangover, In The Night Garden. Man that Pinky Ponk messes with your head when your hungover."

A well-known face on 8 Out Of 10 Cats, QI and Have I Got News For You, stand-up comedian Reginald D. Hunter releases his first live DVD on Monday 14th November.

> Buy the DVD on Amazon.

Born in Georgia, USA, Reginald won The Writers' Guild Award for Comedy in 2006 for a show which he presented for a season in London's West End and on a national tour of the UK. His comedy career was launched when he took part in an open spot as a dare.

> Check out our Christmas gift guide for the Top 20 new stand-up comedy DVDs.

We caught up with Reg to find out what he likes to watch to relax between shows...

Favourite TV show to cheer you up:

"Star Trek (currently the original series) – I go through periods where I prefer different series from the Star Trek lexicon, but I have currently found the values of the original series more comforting recently. You know, the values of ‘leave people alone, help them when they are in distress – especially if they are your enemy’."

TV show that reminds you of your childhood:

"Anything animated and everything except the news. (The proof that even as a child you have an instinctive reaction to the news.)"

TV show that reminds you of being a teenager:

"I was never a teenager – by the time I was six I had two part time jobs."

TV show that you find most addictive:

"The West Wing. It’s smart. It’s funny. It teaches. Like The Office - a pure and beautiful accident. You have to imagine after the first series of The West Wing that network execs got together and asked each other ‘How did we not fuck this up? Someone here’s not pulling their weight.’"

Axed TV show that you most wish would return:

"The West Wing I suppose, although it wasn’t really axed. It just ended. And as I think about it, the best shows are the ones that know when to go home rather than being told to leave."

BBC Two have secured the rights to broadcast ABC's upcoming Pan Am series, based around the iconic international airline.

Purporting to be a Godfather-style exploration of the highs and lows of one of the most powerful families in American politics, The Kennedys comes to us amid a cavalcade of Stateside controversy.