Sky, Working Title TV Team On End-Of-World Drama ‘Apocalypse Slough’

Marking the beginning of increased investment in drama, Britain’s Sky 1 has ordered 10-part series Apocalypse Slough, described as an adrenaline-fueled witty epic about the end of the world. Hailing from Working Title TV and Bigballs Films, Apocalypse Slough will be directed by Emmy-nominated Michael Engler (30 Rock) and is written by Iain Hollands (Beaver Falls). NBC Universal International Television Distribution is handling international sales with a U.S. broadcast partner expected to board the project. Filming starts in January with an airdate planned later this year.

The story follows an eclectic group of ordinary people in an extraordinary situation: a collision is imminent with an eight-mile wide comet that’s destined to wipe out all life on Earth. The cast of characters is made up of a British bank manager, an Italian nun, a female death row inmate, a Five Star U.S. General, a White House civil servant and a bride with a one-eyed husband 30 years her junior. Together, they hunker beneath the town of Slough, about 20 miles west of London, to watch the end of the world on TV. Cast has yet to be firmed.

Exec producers are Juliette Howell and Andrew Conrad for Working Title and BigBalls, and Cameron Roach and Lizzie Gray for Sky. The series will be produced by Polly Buckle (Merlin) and Nick Pitt (Misfits).