Increasing output by 50% on last year, the broadcaster will be releasing 30 new Sky Original documentaries alongside a host of new drama, comedy, entertainment and arts series.

The new Sky Original TV shows announced are:

Original Drama

Wolfe

Written by Paul Abbott (Shameless), the drama will see Babou Ceesay (Rogue One) star as a lauded forensic pathologist. The series will air in autumn 2021.

The Midwich Cuckoos

David Farr (The Night Manager) gives John Wyndham’s classic science fiction novel a modern adaptation, which will be released in 2022.

Extinction

From Giri/Haji writer Joe Barton, this action thriller follows a man who joins an organisation tasked with saving the planet from catastrophe through time travel. Paappa Essiedu (I May Destroy You) leads, with Tom Burke (Strike), Anjli Mohindra (Bodyguard) and Caroline Quentin (Men Behaving Badly) also starring. Extinction will be released in 2022.

This Sceptred Isle

Kenneth Branagh will star as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in this five-part drama charting the government’s response to the first wave of the global pandemic. Written by Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour Party People), the series is expected in autumn 2022.

These new dramas join the original series already announced for 2021, including Landscapers starring Olivia Colman (The Crown), prison break drama Intergalactic and returning favourites Britannia and Temple.  

Original Documentaries

Liverpool Narcos

The story of the 1980s drugs boom, with its epicentre in Liverpool, which turned dealing into a multi-billion pound business. With access to some of the biggest criminal players, the documentary will reveal how drugs went mainstream.

The Bambers: Murder at the Farm

From executive producers Louis Theroux and Arron Fellows, this documentary will re-examine the disturbing events at White House Farm. Using first-hand testimony and unseen archive footage, the film will explore new evidence that has been uncovered since the original trial of Jeremy Bamber.

Positive

Positive will mark Britain’s 40-year battle with HIV/AIDS, with interviews from some of the earliest HIV patients.

Gangs of Macaque Island

A joyful docusoap following the rivalry between black-crested macaque troops in the forests of Sulawesi’s Tangkoko National Park in Indonesia.

Chernobyl 86

With newly discovered archive footage and original interviews from those who experienced the disaster first-hand, Chernobyl 86 will tell the story of the devastating nuclear accident.

2021 will also see the release of previously announced documentaries including Murder at the Cottage, Bruno v Tyson, and Shark with Steve Backshall.

Original Entertainment and Comedy

Safe Space

Created by and starring comedian Greg Davies, Safe Space will follow a psychotherapist in a small market town whose desperate need to control his clients leads to him dispensing questionable advice.

Russell Howard’s Back To The Future Stand Up Show (w/t)

A stand-up comedy travelogue, following Russell Howard on his tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Other comedy and entertainment series set to return in 2021 include second series of Breeders, Code 404, Intelligence, Brassic and A League of Their Own.

Sky has also announced 30 new Sky Original films to add to their roster, including A Boy Called Christmas starring Maggie Smith, Jim Broadbent and Kristen Wiig, and the psychological thriller Kindred starring Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve) and Tamara Lawrence (The Long Song).