Welcome to England, described as “The Great meets Shameless with a touch of Game Of Thrones”, is set in medieval Essex in the 10th century. Surrounded by war and bloodshed, the comedy focuses on a royal family, including Evelyn, whose psychopathic and angry 15-year-old brother Aethelred has just become king.
The Great
The project is in its early stages and has not yet been officially confirmed. No cast has been selected yet.
Sky Studios has recently restructured, bringing together comedy and drama under the leadership of Meghan Lyvers, director of Original Series, UK and Ireland, following the departure of long-serving comedy commissioner Jon Mountague.
Big Talk most recently made Living the Dream (2017) for Sky, a 2017 comedy-drama about a family moving from Yorkshire to Florida, starring Philip Glenister and Lesley Sharp. It was also behind Sky pilot Peacock, about a gym instructor, which ended up as a BBC series helmed by People Just Do Nothing's Allan Mustafa. Big Talk is also currently developing a thriller about a drug smuggling submarine, a genre-bending BBC comedy about a detective starring David Mitchell and a third season of Amazon Prime Video and BBC One's The Outlaws.
Pickett is an emerging British writer who wrote for Hulu and Channel 4's recently canceled The Great and is head writer for Prêt-à-Porter, the BBC TV adaptation of the 1994 Miramax film. Big Talk and Sky Studios declined comment to be given at Welcome to England.
