Gugu Mbatha-Raw Leading BBC Series ‘Sutherland’ With Iain De Caestecker

Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki) is leading a BBC sci-fi drama about space travel.

Mbatha-Raw will star alongside Stuart Martin (Army of Thieves, In Flight, Rebel Moon) and Iain De Caestecker (Roadkill, The Winter King, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D) in Sutherland, which is set in a near future in the far north of Scotland.

Mbatha-Raw is Mirren, who works at Paravel Space Hub as flight director for the UK’s first crewed mission to the stars. Everything is going to plan when, just hours after launch, a series of unexplained events engulf Sutherland in mystery and risks destroying everything Mirren’s been striving for.  

The show is timely, coming a few days after the Artemis II rocket returned from the moon. Apple TV, meanwhile, is soon to launch Soviet space drama Star City.

Line of Duty producer World Productions is delving into the sci-fi world by producing Sutherland. It is created by All Her Fault scribe James Smythe.

Sutherland is produced by World Productions in association with ITV Studios, which will distribute the series internationally. The series was commissioned by Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, and Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning for BBC Scotland. It is written by Smythe, Laura Grace, Tom Mair and Helen Kingston, and directed by Chloë Wicks and Patrick Harkins. The producer is Clare Kerr. The executive producers are Jake Lushington, Simon Heath and George Aza-Selinger for World Productions Scotland, Gaynor Holmes for the BBC, Gavin Smith for BBC Scotland, and Smythe. The series is supported by Screen Scotland. 

Filming on the series will take place in Scotland later this year and further casting will be announced in due course.