Sky

Tim Minchin to star in Sky's new comedy-drama Upright

Tim Minchin and Milly Alcock in Upright (credit: Sky)

Musician and comedian Tim Minchin writes and stars in Upright, a series about the unlikely friendship forged by two misfits in the middle of the Australian Outback.

Upright follows Lucky Flynn (Minchin), a self-destructive yet talented pianist struggling to make ends meet. On discovering that his mother has only days left to live, the estranged son embarks on a 4000km journey across Australia, from Sydney to Perth, armed only with his battered but beloved upright piano.

Cast announced for new Sky Atlantic drama I Hate Suzie

Daniel Ings, Leila Farzad and Nathaniel Martello-White (Credit: Sky)

I Hate Suzie follows Suzie Pickles (Piper), a celebrity whose career is put in jeopardy when she becomes the victim of a hacking scandal that causes a compromising photo of herself to be leaked.

The eight-part series follows Suzie’s excruciating journey to hold her life together alongside her best friend and manager Naomi (Farzad), as she struggles to keep her career afloat and her marriage to her husband, Cob (Ings), begins to hang by a thread.

Rupert Murdoch's secret battle with Downing Street

Simon McBurney as Rupert Murdoch in The Loudest Voice (Credit: Sky)

During these past 12 months Rupert Murdoch has been only half the man in the UK he used to be. But that’s only by one measure – Ofcom’s “share of references”, which calculates which news sources are consumed across different media. It was a year ago, in September 2018, that the then 87-year-old’s long association with Sky came to an end.

Sky commissions series two of Brassic

Brassic cast (Credit: Sky)

Brassic, co-created by Joe Gilgun (Preacher) and Danny Brocklehurst (Shameless), follows a group of working-class friends as they try to navigate life in a Northern suburbia as their teenage years of scamming and bribing finally start to catch up with them.

Vinnie (Joe Gilgun) is a Lancashire lad who suffers with bipolar disorder and is best friends with street smart Dylan (Damien Molony).

Sky Studios acquires a stake in True to Nature

(Credit: BBC)

This is the first investment Sky Studios has made, which is part of Sky’s plan to invest in more than double the original content across a range of genres over the next five years.

Founded in 2016 by Dr Wendy Drake, former head of the BBC natural history unit, TTN has produced a range of natural history series, including Dave’s ten-part series Expedition and BBC’s Undiscovered World with Steve Backshall.

Book review: The Battle for Sky

Agatha Raisin (Ashley Jensen), DCI Bill Wong (Matt McCooey) and Charles Fraith (Jason Merrells) in Sky One's Agatha Raisin (Credit: Sky)

Is it just me, or does this account of the relentless march of Sky feel less like a window into the “future of entertainment” and more the TV equivalent of ancient history?

There are glorious deeds and all-conquering heroes. Step forward Jeremy Darroch, and the man who appointed him CEO of Sky, James Murdoch. Not forgetting the tragic fate of doomed and misguided rivals: hold your heads in shame, Setanta and a host of others.