Humans

From writing about what happens in a fictional five star luxury hotel to artificial intelligence, Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley have had a successful career in British television writing.

In 2009 the pair received their first drama credit for BBC One's Hotel Babylon. 

A year later they began writing episodes for BAFTA winning Spooks (MI-5) and soon became the programme’s leading writers.

Now they are the writers of sci-fi Channel 4 show Humans, which explores the presence of synths (human-like-robots) in people’s homes. 

The team behind Humans, Channel 4’s most successful drama series for 20 years, has explained why audiences were so captivated by the show.

In the latest of the RTS’s Anatomy of a Hit strand, an eight-strong panel, chaired by journalist Stephen Armstrong, agreed that it was Human’s domestic dimension which set it apart from other fantasy drama.

“The domestic element is probably the key to the show’s popularity,” said Humans co-writer Jonathan Brackley.

In Humans, the Channel 4 hit drama, the latest must-have gadget is a synth, a life-like humanoid who undertakes a range of tasks around the home.

From companionship to carrying out domestic duties, we asked members of the public what they would like their synth to do.

The dystopian Channel 4 drama Humans has been recommissioned for a second series.

The show is set in an alternative present where Synths – robotic servants who eerily resemble humans – are a must-have household gadget. Over eight episodes, the science fiction drama has explored the consequences of artificial intelligence.

Humans has been the highest rated Channel 4 original drama in over 20 years with its debut launch in June garnering an audience total of 6.1 million.

Sci-fi series Humans was recently announced as Channel 4’s most successful original drama after securing 4 million viewers for its Sunday night pilot. The genre has continued to shock, excite and amaze in equal measures but which shows have gone down in UK history as the most watched? Take a look at our selection…