Humans

Innocent 

Monday: ITV, 9pm

The innovative campaign for the first series in 2015, which displayed no Channel 4 logos, was designed to hoodwink the public into thinking that “synthetic humans” were available to purchase.

As part of a teaser campaign for the series, the 4Creative team – including senior digital producer Savvides – created a fictional brand, “Persona Synthetics”, which manufactures the “synths” –artificial humans – in the programme.

Anya Taylor-Joy, who recently starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, takes on the role of eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman, who leaves her home in the country to begin her new life as the wife of a wealthy merchant Johannes Brandt (Alex Hassell – Anonymous, Cold Mountain) in Amsterdam.

However she is met by the commanding and cold Marin (Romola Garai – Atonement), Johannes sister, and she rapidly realises that things are not as they seem in the Brandt household.

Set in a parallel present, the show blurs the lines between human and machine, and focuses on the social impact of the creation of robot servants called Synths.

Filming begins in Autumn 2017 for the eight-part series, which is again being written by Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley (Humans S1, Spooks: The Greater Good) and sees the return of key cast members.

Series two aired in 2016 to critical acclaim, with the first episode becoming Channel 4’s highest rating returning drama launch since Homeland S2 in 2012.

BBC Two's Wolf Hall is up against Doctor Foster and Humans in TV Drama this year, whilst RTS Programme Award winner Michaela Cole has been nominated for her show Chewing Gum both in the Comedy category and for The Times Outstanding Achievement Award. 

Schwimmer appears alongside British film star Jim Sturgess for the thriller about two friends who open a restaurant together, only to have their plans interfered with by the mafia. 

The show, translated from Danish programme Bankerot, follows a long tradition of Scandinavian crime dramas adapted for English-speaking audiences. These include hits The Killing, which aired to international acclaim in 2011, and Channel 4’s android thriller Humans, which has received a nod at this year's BAFTAs. 

The actor will play Yvonne Carmichael, a contented, conventional suburban woman, married with two children and entirely happy with her life.

However a chance encounter with a charismatic and impulsive stranger, played by Ben Chaplin (Cinderella, Mad Dogs) leads to a passionate affair which brings her world crashing down.

As Carmichael struggles to keep her home life and career unaffected by her affair, the fantasy soon overcomes her, bringing about a life-changing act of violence and a Crown Court trial.

Supposed to be writing an episode of season 2 of Humans at the moment, but worrying instead about writing a diary for Television. I feel I should be giving some sort of insight into my process – only I’m not sure that I have one.

Does just sitting down and having a go count?

Now worried about sounding glib.

But that’s really what it feels like most of the time. Think a lot, write a bit, worry a lot, think a bit, rewrite a lot, worry a bit more.

It seems that every successful television show needs a degree of serendipity. As we discovered during the latest RTS “Anatomy of a hit” session, Channel 4’s surprise summer hit, Humans, was no exception. 

The British producer, Kudos, famous for Spooks, Life on Mars and Broadchurch, got lucky when it got into bed with AMC, the US cable channel equally famous for Mad Men and Breaking Bad.