Good Show! PBS Will Air British Comedy Series Vicious, Starring Ian McKellen & Derek Jacobi, in the U.S.

Sir Ian McKellen is taking over the world. Evidence? He's starring on Broadway in Waiting For Godot and No Man's Land, and he'll be back on the silver screen as Gandalf in December with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and again in May 2014 as Magneto in X-Men: Days of Future Past. He will also play a retired Sherlock Holmes in Bill Condon's A Slight Trick of the Mind, while his British sitcom Vicious will air in the U.S., thanks to PBS.

According to Deadline.com, PBS, which wisely imported Downton Abbey from across the pond, has inked a deal with Shine International to air Vicious in 2014. The comedy series stars McKellen and Sir Derek Jacobi (The King's Speech, Gladiator) as a constantly bickering old gay couple who’ve lived together for almost 50 years. The six-part first season was a British hit when it aired on ITV this past spring. The show was created by playwright Mark Ravenhill (Shopping and F*ing, Mother Clap’s Molly House).

As previously reported, Vicious, which was the highest-rated comedy launch on any U.K. channel in 2013, was given a second-season order by ITV back in August. We have our fingers crossed that the show performs well enough in the good ol' U.S. of A. to bring the second season over this way, as well. Right now, you can see McKellen, along with Patrick Stewart, Billy Crudup and Shuler Hensley, in No Man's Land and Waiting For Godot, playing in rep, at the Cort Theatre.

Watch the video below to get a sneak peek at the first season of Vicious!