Ahead of the launch of the highly-anticipated Sky Atlantic drama, Fortitude, Sky reveals a further two original dramas airing in 2015. Stephen Mangan (Episodes) will appear as you’ve never seen him before in new Sky Arts drama, Birthday, written by Joe Penhall (Sunny Afternoon) – adapted from his sell-out 2012 Royal Court play – and directed by the award-winning Roger Michell (Notting Hill). On Sky Living, number one international best-selling author Harlan Coben (Tell No One) has created a new original story, The Five exclusively for the channel.

These latest commissions add to Sky’s ambitious slate of original drama this year including 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.

In Birthday, Ed (Mangan) is up the duff, on an NHS maternity ward, already induced, waiting for a caesarean and the imminent birth of his daughter. With his high-flying executive wife at his side (Anna Maxwell Martin, Death Comes to Pemberley) doing her best to remain sympathetic and patient, we follow Ed through the agony, the tears, the humiliation, the anxiety and the ecstasy of labour. In Penhall’s hilarious, thoughtful and deeply moving script, viewers are invited on an exceptional journey, through existential questions, gross-out humour and high-drama into the very heart of modern relationships.

Stephen Mangan commented: “We’ve long known that Birthday would make a wonderful TV drama and we’re delighted that Sky Arts shared our vision. Now, for the first time, viewers are able to get right into the delivery room to witness the spectacle of a heavily pregnant man in all his hormonal, bloated, mammary-swollen glory; up close and (maybe a little too) personal.”

Renowned for his addictive storytelling full of twists and turns, Harlan Coben’s The Five is his first original story for television. The roller-coaster thriller follows a group of friends who are united by a terrible incident. Haunted by the disappearance of one of their younger brothers some years earlier, while he was in their care, the group is forced to revisit the past when the missing boy’s DNA turns up at the scene of a murder. The Five is being produced by Red Production Company, filming will commence in the spring to debut on Sky Living later this year.

Harlan Coben commented: “The Five is my first original story for television and I couldn't have found a better home.  I've been a fan of Sky Living and Red’s rich, compelling dramas - and working with them has been a thrill.  We are creating something special here.  I can't wait for you to see it.”

Anne Mensah, Head of Drama, Sky commented: "We are committed to bringing top quality original content to our customers, from the best on and off-screen talent in the industry.  From the a heavily pregnant Stephen Mangan in Joe Penhall’s startingly original play Birthday to Harlan Coben’s first ever original serial for television plus a raft of other ambitious projects, 2015 is shaping up to be a stellar year for drama on Sky.”

For further information, please contact:

Sky
Birthday:
Ffion Williams
PR Manager, Sky Arts
ffion.williams@bskyb.com   
020 7032 3071
 
The Five:
Nicola Vincent
Publicist, Sky Living
nicola.vincent@bskyb.com
020 7032 3078
 
For images, please go to Imagenet or email Stills@bskyb.com

About Sky
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Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of over £4.6 billion. The company employs 31,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).  For more information visit www.sky.com/corporate