After lengthy negotiations, Hugh Laurie has formally closed a deal to star in HBO’s comedy pilot Avenue 5 (tentative title), from Veep creator Armando Iannucci.

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Created, written and executive produced by Iannucci, Avenue 5 is set in the future, mostly in space. Laurie will play the lead Ryan Clark, the charming and in-control American captain of Avenue 5.

HBO greenlighted the pilot last year, along with ordering backup scripts.

Like with Iannucci’s Veep and star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the top role in Avenue 5 had been earmarked for Laurie; the two worked together on Veep, which Laurie joined for a major recurring role in Season 4, Iannucci’s last before leaving the show. (Laurie’s arc continued through Season 5.) Additionally, Laurie stars in Iannucci’s upcoming movie The Personal History of David Copperfield.

Laurie is known for his roles as Dr. Gregory House on Fox’s hit drama series House, which garnered him two Golden Globe awards, six Emmy nominations and two SAG awards, and as Richard Rope in AMC’s The Night Manager, which earned him his seventh Emmy nomination. He recently starred in the title role of Hulu’s Chance, which ran for two seasons, and just wrapped shooting Hulu’s limited series Catch-22, based on Joseph Heller’s seminal war novel, set for release in 2019.

Laurie is repped by WME and Hamilton Hodell.