Where You've Seen The Cast Of Avenue 5 Before

After a few decades of relative quiet on the space exploration front, it's exciting to see how many missions NASA has on the horizon, from a renewed push for lunar exploration to the long-term Mars missions. Although the idea of space tourism once seemed like a fantasy, with the advent of private space companies like SpaceX, the idea that humans could one day take an interplanetary journey doesn't seem quite so far-fetched anymore. But don't start saving up for mai tais on Mars just yet. if we learned nothing else from the pandemic, it's that getting trapped on a cruise ship is the next closest thing to hell on Earth — or in the case of "Avenue 5," hell in space.

Not unlike the HBO documentary "The Last Cruise," "Avenue 5" imagines a world where the maiden voyage of an interplanetary cruise ship goes terribly awry, leaving its passengers trapped in a purgatory of organized entertainment, continental breakfasts, and bad vacation fashion. Seamlessly weaving the looming existential dread of floating badly off-course through space and a comedy style that falls somewhere in between "Doctor Who" and "The Office," the series is one of the best shows in its genre and features a cast that will look familiar to fans of sci-fi and comedy. Settle in with a Judder Juice and let's take a closer look at where you've seen the cast of "Avenue 5."

Suzy Nakamura plays Iris Kimura on "Avenue 5," the very serious and focused personal assistant and fixer for nightmare billionaire Herman Judd (Josh Gad). With her flat, serious demeanor and neat business look, Kimura is often the unsung hero working behind the scenes to keep everyone on board the vessel alive. Chicago native Nakamura got her start acting in grade school. She joined a Chicago Asian-American theater company called MinaSama-No in the 1980s and went on to become the first Asian-American woman in The Second City, joining the Second City Touring Company and The Second City Detroit, which she co-founded. Nakamura's film credits include "Deep Impact," "Malibu's Most Wanted," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," and "Evan Almighty," just to name a few. Her many television appearances through the years include the recurring role of Beverly Andolini in the short-lived Tom Selleck sitcom "The Closer," Sam Seaborn's assistant Cathy on "The West Wing," Principal Holland in "10 Things I Hate About You," and the wife of Dr. Ken (played by real doctor-turned-comedian Ken Jeong) in "Dr. Ken."

Josh Gad plays Herman Judd, the super-wealthy face behind the Judd travel empire. After his luxury liner gets kicked off course on its maiden voyage, the privileged, eccentric Judd finds himself having to make significant unexpected adjustments to his lifestyle while working with the ship's crew to keep everyone calm so his brand doesn't tank. Josh Gad's recognizable timbre will be familiar to fans of Disney's "Frozen" franchise as the actor provided the voice for lovable snowman Olaf, but the actor has been acting professionally since he was in college in the early '00s. Gad's first television appearance was in a 2005 episode of "ER." In 2007, he became a main cast member on the sitcom "Back to You," playing a young Pittsburgh news director.

He went to work as a regular correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" in 2009 before portraying Elder Cunningham in the Broadway production of "The Book of Mormon" in 2011. Gad's extensive voice acting resume includes "Bob's Burgers," "South Park," "Star Wars Rebels," and "Sofia the First," just to name a few. He has also starred in a number of TV shows including "The Comedians," where he portrayed a fictionalized version of himself alongside Billy Crystal and Larry Charles, and "Wolf Like Me," a romantic dark dramedy in which he plays a widower dad who falls for a quirky werewolf named Mary (Isla Fisher).

Zach Woods has built his acting career on playing awkward or neurotic corporate types like Avenue 5 Head of Customer Relations Matt Spencer. The New Jersey-born actor has acted in a number of web series and videos including the "Awkward Boy" series and a couple of CollegeHumor videos. Beginning in Season 6 of "The Office," Woods played awkward corporate plant Gabe Lewis. From 2014 through 2019, the actor was a main cast member on HBO's Emmy-nominated Mike Judge comedy "Silicon Valley," appearing as Pied Piper tech executive Jared Dunn. He voiced characters for "The LEGO Ninjago Movie," "The Simpsons," and "The Angry Birds Movie 2" and appeared in the 2016 "Ghostbusters." He also played Hollywood animal trainer Lee Duncan on "Drunk History," giving a pep talk to famous canine Rin Tin Tin, and had guest appearances on shows like "Veep," "The Good Wife" "Better Things," "Kroll Show," and "The League."

Heading up Judd Mission Control is no small feat, especially when it means balancing corporate policies and government bureaucracy along with the scientific complexities of space tourism. Fortunately, Avenue 5 is in the mostly capable hands of Rav Mulcair, played by Nigerian-born British actor Nikki Amuka-Bird. Originally a stage actor, Amuka-Bird has worked extensively in theater, performing with the Oxford Stage Company, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Royal National Theatre, among others. She has been acting on screen since 1999, appearing in a few roles on the British medical drama "Holby City" through the early '00s.

Amuka-Bird has performed in a number of British TV shows and films including the medical drama "Casualty" and the "Doctor Who" spinoff series "Torchwood." In 2008, she played Alice Busang on "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency," a series about a woman-owned detective agency in Botswana. She went on to play Detective Chief Inspector Erin Gray on the Idris Elba-starring "Luther" from 2011 through 2013. Amuka-Bird returned to the Whoniverse in the 2017 "Doctor Who" Christmas episode "Twice Upon a Time," appearing as "Glass woman" Helen Clay.

No good Karen would be complete without a put-upon husband who invariably ends up doing damage control. For Karen Kelly, that hero is the good-natured Frank, played by Andy Buckley. Like his character Frank, who loves nothing more than hosting a cooking show from his ship cabin, Buckley also has a secret skill — one that earned him a place on the Stanford Men's Golf Team, according to an interview with Boston Magazine. According to the Wall Street Journal, Buckley majored in political science but decided to pursue acting after college. Throughout the 1990s, he had small roles on a handful of TV shows including "China Beach," "Silk Stalkings," and "Melrose Place."

While he was working full-time as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch, Buckley landed the role of Dunder Mifflin CFO David Wallace on "The Office," revealing on the podcast "Office Ladies" that he continued to work full-time as a financial advisor while acting on the series. Since then, Buckley has landed regular roles on a few shows including the teen drama "The Lying Game," the CBS spy-fi "Scorpion," the Hulu series "Casual," and "Shameless." He has also guest starred on a number of TV dramas and comedies including "9-1-1," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and "Dirty John."

If we learned nothing else from "The Love Boat," it's that cruise ships have the potential to generate some serious drama, especially with passengers like Mia and Doug, who booked the trip to work on their marriage, which appears even more damaged after they realize that her pregnancy timeline doesn't fit with Doug's paternity. Doug is played by comedian Kyle Bornheimer, who got his start on television as a fairly ubiquitous commercial actor, appearing in ads for everything from AOL to Imodium. After years of minor roles on shows like "Monk," "Weeds," and "The O.C.," Bornheimer was cast in the lead role as Sam Briggs in the short-lived CBS sitcom "Worst Week," a U.S. adaptation of the British series "The Worst Week of My Life." From 2014 through 2021, the actor played Sgt. Teddy Ramos on "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." He would also play Jack Briggs in the Hulu series "Casual." Bornheimer has also had brief appearances on a number of shows through the years including "Arrested Development," "Better Call Saul," "Modern Family," and "Jericho."