Sky 1 today reaffirms its commitment to delivering customers top quality drama with the casting announcement of their ambitious new series Apocalypse Slough. Award winning network NBC will broadcast in the US.

The cast includes talent from both sides of the Atlantic with five time Golden Globe® and Emmy® nominee Rob Lowe (West Wing), Emmy® Award nominee Jenna Fischer (The Office), Emmy® Award winner and four time Golden Globe nominee Megan Mullally (Will and Grace), BAFTA® Award nominee Mathew Baynton (Yonderland), BAFTA® Award nominee Pauline Quirke (Birds of a Feather), Paterson Joseph (Peep Show) and Joel Fry (Game of Thrones).

The creator and lead writer for the series is Iain Hollands (Beaver Falls) with two time Emmy® Award nominee Michael Engler (30 Rock) taking up the reins of lead director, directing the first two episodes. Commissioned by Sky 1 Director, Adam MacDonald, Sky’s Head of Drama, Anne Mensah and Commissioning Editor, Cameron Roach the 10 x 60, is from Working Title and Bigballs Films for co-commissioning partners Sky 1 and NBC.

This latest commission adds to Sky’s ambitious slate of original drama this year including Birthday, written by Joe Penhall, The Five, created by number-one international best-selling author Harlan Coben, The Last Panthers, the crime drama written by Jack Thorne and starring Samantha Morton, Tahar Rahim and John Hurt; Critical, the new medical drama from Line of Duty writer Jed Mercurio; Enfield Haunting starring Timothy Spall, Matthew MacFadyen and Juliet Stevenson; and Raymond Briggs’ much-loved classic Fungus the Bogeyman. There are also returning hits including gothic horror Penny Dreadful and action series Strike Back.

Apocalypse Slough is a bold, adrenaline fuelled comedy drama about the last days of mankind. A relentlessly entertaining mix of action, adventure, romance and wit set against a backdrop of apocalyptic chaos, the story follows an eclectic group of seemingly unconnected characters around the world as their lives start to intersect in the most unexpected ways. All triggered by the news that a comet is on an unavoidable collision course towards earth… 

Our characters include a foul-mouthed priest, an unhinged white supremacist, a mild mannered bank manager, a germ-phobic cyber-terrorist, an American 5 star general and a child who (possibly) rose from the dead. Some of them are destined to make it to a bunker deep beneath the suburbs of Slough, and as a result will become the hugely unlikely (and frankly, somewhat unsuitable) future of mankind.

The end is nigh. But who will survive Apocalypse Slough?

Lowe will play Father Jude, the Vatican’s most rebellious priest. But beneath his irreverent exterior he’s a deeply moral man with a profound and passionate faith. His world will be turned upside down by news of the impending apocalypse, and he will find himself facing the greatest challenge of his life. One that will shake his faith, force him to question his vows, and bring him face to face with his past.

Fischer will portray Rhonda, a mild-mannered librarian who finds herself dangerously out of her depth when she is sent to a maximum security prison in New Mexico for a crime she did not commit. Desperate to be re-united with her beloved family, she will find herself inadvertently plunged into a race against time to find them before it’s too late.

Mullally will play Leanne, an unhinged white supremacist who takes a deeply reluctant Rhonda under her wing. Morally dubious but intensely loyal, she’s a woman uniquely suited to surviving the end times and will prove herself to be exactly the streetwise sidekick Rhonda needs.

Baynton will take on the role of humble Slough bank manager Jamie. Hopelessly likable but hopelessly stuck in a rut, he’s still mourning the mysterious disappearance of his wife seven years ago. But news of the apocalypse will finally spur him into action, and he will embark on a perilous quest to find his wife, discovering courage he never knew he possessed along the way.

Quirke will take on the role of Jamie’s loving but tough-as-nails mum Paula. A nurse by profession, she also nurses a dark secret about Jamie, one that will turn his life upside down…

Joseph will play General Gaines who has rapidly risen through the ranks of the army, becoming a 5 Star General with responsibility for briefing the President of the United States on high-level military matters.

Fry plays Dave, Jamie’s hedonistic best friend, who encourages Jamie to grab what’s left of life by the balls.  Blessed with an outrageous sense of humour and a lust for life, he responds to news of the impending apocalypse by writing an utterly shameless bucket list…

Rob Lowe commented: “I've always been a fan of the kind of smart, ambitious and challenging filmmaking that comes from Sky and Working Title. This script and my character in particular, blew me away.”

Mathew Baynton commented: “I've had a great time making Yonderland with Sky 1 and Working Title and from page one of Apocalypse Slough; I knew I wanted to be involved. Iain's produced an epic rollercoaster ride of a story and I can't wait to get started on the end of the world”.

Pauline Quirke commented: "I was intrigued by the title then gripped by the actual scripts and storylines can't wait to get started!"

Adam MacDonald, Director of Sky 1 commented: “Apocalypse Slough is world-class, high- concept new drama for Sky 1. The show has bundles of energy, vibrancy and laughter, as well as delivering an exuberant heart-warming story on an epic scale. We are really excited to have Rob, Mathew, Jenna, Megan, Pauline, Paterson and Joel involved in the show. They are all exceptionally talented actors and their casting represents the vision and ambition we have for the series.” 

Juliette Howell, Head of Television, Working Title commented: “Working Title TV are incredibly proud to have such a stellar cast on board for Apocalypse Slough. I believe it’s a testament to Iain Hollands’ brilliant scripts that we’ve attracted such a rich and talented cast.  Michael Engler is the perfect director to bring Iain's scripts to life and launch what we hope will be an unmissable show.”

The executive producers for the series are Juliette Howell, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Lynn Horsford  for Working Title TV, Andrew Conrad for Bigballs Films, and Cameron Roach and Lizzie Gray for Sky.  The series will be produced by Polly Buckle (Merlin), Nick Pitt (Misfits) and Susie Liggat (Mapp & Lucia).

NBCUniversal International Television Production operates a joint television production venture with Working Title Television. NBCUniversal International Television Distribution will distribute the series worldwide.

For further information please contact:       
Annabel Rudden     
Senior Publicist    
annabel.rudden@bskyb.com     
020 7032 6845 

Nicola Vincent
Publicist
nicola.vincent@bskyb.com  
020 7032 3078

Notes to editors:

About Sky

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