Sky Atlantic has debuted a new teaser for This England, an upcoming six-part miniseries starring Kenneth Branagh as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Branagh is practically unrecognizable under the prosthetics.
Now, Fremantle has scored the sales of director Michael Winterbottom’s latest film and has been sold to 88 territories worldwide, such as Movistar+ (Spain), Viaplay (Nordics and Baltics, Poland and the Netherlands), Cosmote (Greece), OSN TV and OSN+ (MENA), M-Net (South Africa), BBC First (Australia) and TVNZ (New Zealand), amongst others. But a U.S. buyer has not yet been announced.
The miniseries is based on the first-hand testimony of people inside 10 Downing Street(The location of the official residence of the British Prime Minister), the Department of Health, and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies how the government’s handling of the pandemic.
Fremantle International CEO Jens Richter called This England a “truly unique drama that combines Michael Winterbottom’s talent for conveying powerful real-world stories with a stunning performance from Kenneth Branagh.”
He added: “This dramatic behind the scenes dramatization of how the government, the scientists, the medical community and ordinary people around England faced these extraordinary events will fascinate and compel viewers. We are honoured to partner with such a fantastic array of buyers to bring this incredible story to audiences around the world.”
Ophelia Lovibond stars as Johnson’s wife, Carrie Symonds, while Simon Paisley Day appears as his former senior advisor Dominic Cummings, who was critical of Johnson’s decision-making during the pandemic after resigning from his post in 2020.
The show will debut on September 21 on Sky in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.