He wrote and directed the BAFTA-winning shows I’m Alan Partridge (starring Steve Coogan) and The Thick Of It, as well as fronting his own satirical shows The Friday Night Armistice for BBC 2, and The Armando Iannucci Shows for Channel 4. His spoof news show The Day Today (with Chris Morris) led to him winning the unique Special Jury British Comedy Award, in recognition of his distinctive contribution to radio and television comedy. 

His famous British comedy television series, The Thick Of It was bestowed with three awards at the 2010 BAFTAs, including the award for Situation Comedy.

Armando's feature film In the Loop premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah in 2009. Directed by Armando, co-written with Jesse Armstrong and starring Peter Capaldi and James Gadolfini it is a fast-paced film about Britain and America's special relationship in the lead-up to a war no one seems to be able to stop. The film received an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 82nd Academy Awards, March 2010.

Armando often appears on straight political shows like The Daily Politics, This Week, and Question Time. In addition he has been a Guest Director of The Cheltenham Literary Festival, and was Chair of the Judges for the 2006 Costa Book Award. Also an author, Armando’s book, The Audacity of Hype, was published in early September 2009.

Armando's latest television project is the HBO political satire Veep. In March 2012 it was announced that he is working on his first novel, Tongue International, described as 'a satirical fantasy about a privatised language'.