Sky has announced a raft of new programming that will begin to hit screens this year.
Sky will launch over 200 Sky Original shows across all genres this year featuring familiar talent including Kenneth Branagh, Suranne Jones, Keeley Hawes, Sheridan Smith, Colin Farrell, Billie Piper and Russell Crowe.
Amongst the new titles are a major adaptation of Heather Morris’ bestselling novel The Tattooist of Auschwitz, a life affirming and heartrending story of bravery and love in the darkest of places. And the return of the critically acclaimed dramas I Hate Suzie Too starring Billie Piper and COBRA: Rebellion starring Robert Carlyle.
Also announced were three new original comedies featuring some of the UK’s favourite talent, with Sheridan Smith in Rosie Molloy Gives Up Everything, Romesh Ranganathan and Katherine Ryan teaming up for Romantic Getaway, and there’s a new spin on a Christmas classic with Suranne Jones starring in Christmas Carole.
Adding to the line-up are a range of new Sky Original films; Letitia Wright stars in the tender and moving drama Aisha, Colin Farrell dazzles in the beguiling sci-fi drama After Yang, while Brian Cox, Jodie Turner-Smith, John Cena and Ann Dowd star in the political thriller, The Independent, and Russell Crowe directs and stars alongside Liam Hemsworth in the thriller Poker Face.
Sky also announced that one of the first projects to be filmed at Sky Studios Elstree will be Universal Pictures highly anticipated film adaptations of the hit musical Wicked, the untold story of the Witches of Oz. Wicked is based on the bestselling novel by Gregory Maguire and will be directed by filmmaker Jon M. Chu and produced by Marc Platt. When it opens later this year Sky Studios Elstree will house 13 studios and enable £3bn of production investment over the first five years of operation.
Speaking on the new commissions, Zai Bennett, Managing Director, Content Sky UK and Ireland, says “Great stories have the power to help us connect with each other, and at its best entertainment isn’t something we watch, it’s something we feel and experience. That’s why we’re creating and investing in world-class original storytelling to give our customers even more of their favourite shows and films than ever before.
Meanwhile, key acquired shows for 2022 on Sky include Stephen Moffat’s serialised adaptation of The Time Traveler’s Wife, the returning hit The Flight Attendant Season 2 and the highly anticipated House of the Dragon.