Edgar Wright's 'Spaced' Controversy, Explained
Beloved British television series Spaced has just turned 27-years-old, and its popularity shows no signs of slowing down in the intervening years.
Created by Simon Pegg and Jessica Stevenson, the show about two London-based twenty-somethings who meet by chance and pretend to be a couple so they can live together is still as brilliant, funny and relevant as ever.
There has been talk over the years of a third season, a film, a US reboot or even a special catching up with the gang, but Pegg, Stevenson, and director Edgar Wright have resisted such suggestions. Indeed, the series as it stands is perfect, but there is one thing fans have wanted from the creators and Channel 4, which originally aired the show: a proper Blu-ray release. As things stand, DVD remains the only way to own Spaced.
However, this week, news broke of a brand-new Blu-ray release of the show. The problem is none of the creators knew anything about it.
Spaced is Getting a Surprise 4K Remaster
Announced this week by All3Media, a brand-new, remastered Blu-ray release of the show was revealed, with the collection set to arrive on shelves in February 2027. However, none of Pegg, Stevenson, Wright, or even co-star Nick Frost knew anything about it, despite their collective desire to see the series receive a high-definition release. Needless to say, the announcement came as something of a shock.
All3Media's official statement about the release said:
“This global first Blu-ray collection has been upgraded to a brand new 4K master using a combination of traditional and proprietary tools in a multi-step process of non-commercial and algorithmic corrections that are additionally enhanced frame by frame by a manual operator – guaranteeing the most state-of-the-art upconversion possible.”
So, in addition to the main group of creatives not being made aware of the release or being asked to contribute to it, the company has confirmed that AI will instead be used to upscale the series. Talk about finding the best way to release the show in high-definition while annoying the fanbase all at the same time. Using AI is not the way, and it has made things a hell of a lot worse.
Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg Slam Spaced News
Of course, the creatives were not happy about the announcement, with many finding out about it after being tagged in posts on X. Wright was tagged in the original announcement and took to his own X account to express his shock, saying:
“Finding out about this on for the first time is... disheartening. I had been pushing to do a Blu-ray of Spaced for years, so to find out that someone just went ahead without our involvement is... a bummer. Not authorised by anyone involved in making the show. Finding out what happened as we speak…”
He then responded again, adding: “It’s a Channel 4 show. We were all very involved in the previous editions, but not this one. Don’t know. Finding out.”
Pegg subsequently released a statement to Variety, adding: “I was completely unaware. We had no say in it. Jess, Edgar, and I were heavily involved in all previous releases. I would have rejected the cover art for a start.”
With all previous DVD editions of the show, the creatives had been involved in putting together the best possible package for fans. The Region 1 US release, for example, featured brand-new guest commentaries from fans Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, Matt Stone, Patton Oswalt, and Diablo Cody.
There was also an exclusive feature-length documentary called Skip to the End, which appeared on both the UK and US versions. The UK three-disc edition, which is now out of print, also included commentaries, deleted scenes and plenty more.
It remains to be seen whether these older special features will make their way onto the new Blu-ray set, but one thing is certainly clear: Pegg, Stevenson, Wright, Frost, and the rest of the creative team are unhappy about the new package being released without any of them being consulted, particularly given how long they have spent trying to get a proper Blu-ray release off the ground.
Spaced is currently available for streaming on Roku, Prime Video, and Tubi,
