Dame Harriet Walter and Frances O’Connor to star in new Sky original production The End

Dame Harriet Walter (The Crown) and Frances O’Connor (Mr Selfridge) are set to star in The End, a co-production from Sky and Australia’s Foxtel.

Airing on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV next year, The End is about three generations of a family with separate but intersecting obsessions – trying to figure out how to die with dignity, live with none and make it count.

O’Connor plays Dr Kate Brennan, an Australian-based specialist in palliative care. Euthanasia is a hot-button topic in Kate’s field of work and she is passionate in her opposition. On the other side of the world, Kate’s mother Edie Henley (Walter) feels just as strongly about her right to die. Kate has little choice but to ship Edie out from England and deposit her in a nearby retirement village in the Gold Coast - Edie’s worst nightmare. While Kate struggles with her own problems, her children are trying to work out who they are, and who they want to be. What follows is a story about parents and children, ethics and emotion, and mostly how it’s never too late to start again.

Harriet Walter said: “This is a really original project and I can’t wait to get stuck in to the character of Edie who is not quite like any other part I’ve played. Exciting.”

Frances O’Connor said: “It’s thrilling to be returning home to Australia to be part of such an original series and to be playing a character as complex, interesting and conflicted as Dr Kate Brennan.”

Creator and writer Samantha Strauss said: “So often we shy away from death and try to sanitise it, pretend it’s never going to happen. This series aims to do the opposite. As our characters figure out how to die, they’re really grappling with how they’ve lived and what they’re going to do with the time they have left. The series is also fairly mad with things like giant vaginas and lots of bad sex. No one’s perfect in this family but they love each other for their flaws and hopefully audiences will too.”

The 10-part Sky original production, will be produced by See-Saw Films, the Oscar® winning and Emmy® nominated producers of the films Lion and The King’s Speech and the drama series Top of the Lake.

Liz Lewin, Executive Producer for Sky, said: “Thought-provoking, darkly comic and full of heart, the show dives into provocative topics with unflinching honesty. The End’s wonderfully complex characters will make you laugh, cry and question how you want to live… and die.”

Rachel Gardner, Executive Producer for See-Saw, said: “It’s rare to see the complexities of life for middle aged and older women depicted on screen but Sam Strauss has created just that with a group of characters with trials and tribulations that will resonate for all ages - we couldn’t wish for a more wonderful cast to bring these characters and Sam’s startlingly original scripts to life.”

Penny Win, Head of Drama, Foxtel, said: “Commissioning The End was a wonderful opportunity for Foxtel and we’re excited to be collaborating with our colleagues at Sky on this, our joint first co-commission. The End will present a universal story that affects us all, with Sam Strauss’s beautiful storytelling being brought to life by an exceptionally talented cast and crew.”

The End, being filmed in Queensland this year, is created and written by Samantha Strauss (Dance Academy) and directed by Jessica M Thompson (The Light of the Moon) and Jonathan Brough (Rosehaven). Executive Producers for the series are Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, Rachel Gardner, Samantha Strauss, Iain Canning and Emile Sherman. Louise Smith and Carol Hughes are Producers, with Patrick Walters as Associate Producer. Executive Producers for Sky are Liz Lewin and Anne Mensah. Executive Producers for Foxtel are Penny Win and Carly Heaton.

The End will air on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV in the UK and Ireland during 2019. Endeavor are selling the series internationally.

ENDS

Media contact:

Sky – sophie.jones@sky.uk

About Sky

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 23 million customers across seven countries - UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. The company had annual reported revenues of £12.9 billion in 2016/17, and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with an annual programming spend of around £7 billion.

From exclusive partnerships with HBO, Showtime and Warner Bros. to Sky Original Productions, Sky offers the best and broadest range of content along with the best viewing experience to suit each and every customer. Whether that’s through the multi-award winning next generation box, Sky Q, or Sky’s contract-free online streaming service, NOW TV, customers have access to the latest movies, drama, sports and kids entertainment wherever and whenever they like. This is all supported by Sky’s best in class customer service.

Sky’s success is not just based on what the company does but how it does it. Three new major commitments have been launched for Sky’s corporate campaign Sky Ocean Rescue; the reduction of our own single-use plastics by 2020; an investment fund of £25 million over five years in technology solutions; and support of marine protected areas across our markets.

Sky has over 31,000 employees and is listed as one of The Times Top 50 employers for women, as well as being recognised in the Stonewall list of Top 50 LGBT-inclusive employers. Sky is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

About NOW TV

NOW TV is a pick and mix TV streaming service that lets you choose from a range of passes contract free. Available anytime, anywhere, you can watch through a NOW TV Box, on the web or on over 60 devices with the NOW TV app.

Whether you’re into big dramas, blockbuster movies, live sports or even just some extra TV for the kids, NOW TV offers four passes which include the latest and best TV and movies: Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Kids and Sky Sports. This includes Sky Atlantic, over 300 Box Sets on demand, all 10 Sky Sports channels and over 1,000 movies – all available with no contract.

• For more information visit nowtv.com

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About Foxtel

Foxtel is one of Australia’s most innovative and dynamic media companies and home to award winning local drama plus the widest choice in live sport, hit international TV and movies and a host of complete TV seasons to stream On Demand. Foxtel believes in the importance of telling Australian stories, and its ongoing commitment to creating the best in Australian programming has garnered numerous industry awards for its Foxtel Original productions. Foxtel has helped put Australian talent on the world stage with highly acclaimed international exports and it proudly invests in the people who help tell those stories by employing thousands of Australians directly and indirectly across Australia’s creative industry. It has also pioneered advancements in entertainment technology with the upcoming launch of Australia’s first live 4K channel; the iQ4 set top box; the Foxtel GO app for mobile devices; streaming service, Foxtel Now and Foxtel broadband, home phone and entertainment bundles. Foxtel is owned by News Corporation (65%) and Telstra Corporation Limited ACN 051 775 556 (35%).

About See-Saw Films

Academy Award® winning producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman founded See-Saw Films in 2008. See-Saw specialises in international Film and Television production with offices in the UK, Australia and the US. Chief Operating Officer, Hakan Kousetta, co-runs the TV division with its creative Head of TV Jamie Laurenson. Rachel Gardner is Executive Producer across the Australian television slate.

See-Saw’s television division formally started in 2012 and kicked off with the multi-award winning first season of Jane Campion’s ‘Top of the Lake’. Last year Campion returned with ‘Top of The Lake: China Girl’ starring Elisabeth Moss, Nicole Kidman and Gwendoline Christie which premiered at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for a Golden Globe.

‘The New Legends of Monkey’ is See-Saw’s live action television series for Netflix, ABC Australia and TVNZ. See-Saw is currently in pre-production on ‘The North Water’ to be written and directed by Andrew Haigh (45 Years), adapted from the novel by Ian McGuire. The company’s short form comedy series State of the Union directed by Stephen Frears, written by Nick Hornby and starring Rosamund Pike and Chris O’Dowd is currently in post-production.

See-Saw’s recent film projects include six-time Academy Award® nominated Lion, starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara; Mary Magdalene starring Academy Award® nominees Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix; and Academy Award® winner Steve McQueen’s Widows which See-Saw is producing for New Regency to be released by Twentieth Century Fox in 2018.