Humans cast announced

An all-star cast has been announced for sci-fi drama, Humans – a co-production between Channel 4, AMC and Kudos.

Based on the award-winning Swedish sci-fi drama Real Humans, the eight-part series, written by Spooks (series 9 and 10) writers Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley stars, William Hurt (Damages), Katherine Parkinson (The Honourable Woman), Tom Goodman-Hill (Mr Selfridge), Colin Morgan (Merlin), Rebecca Front (The Thick Of It), Neil Maskell (Utopia) and Gemma Chan (Dates).

Humans is set in a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a ‘Synth’ – a highly-developed robotic servant eerily similar to its live counterpart. In the hope of transforming the way they live, one strained suburban family purchases a refurbished synth only to discover that sharing life with a machine has far-reaching and chilling consequences.

William Hurt plays George Millican, a widower who has formed a close relationship with his out-of-date synth Odi, who he treats more like a son than a piece of machinery.

BAFTA award-winning Katherine Parkinson plays Laura, a woman who seems to have it all – a great career as a lawyer, a loving husband, three children. But inside she’s struggling with her own unresolved demons. In a misguided attempt to help the situation her husband Joe, played by Olivier award-winning Tom Goodman Hill, buys a Synth. Played by Gemma Chan, Anita is the pliant, servile automaton that all Synths are supposed to be – but every now and then, she does something inexplicable. Something…almost human

Colin Morgan is cast as Leo, who’s desperately trying to track down someone from his past; BAFTA award-winning Rebecca Front plays the NHS funded overbearing carer synth, Vera; and Neil Maskell takes on the role of police officer D.S Peter Drummond, who works for the Special Technologies Task Force.

Humans has started filming and will air on Channel 4 and AMC in 2015.