Sinbad sails to the land of the dead in his final adventure for series one

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Merlin set a high standard for fantasy-adventure TV, but Sinbad has it beaten for dark magic, giant mythical creatures and dramatic suspense. With a very good cast, excellent characterisation and a gritty plot, it’s a definite winner.” – Sunday Times (Culture)

As SINBAD’s final adventure comes to our screens the Providence crew find themselves at the gates to the land of the dead, as this 21st century take on the classic 8th century hero comes to a close.  Described by the TV Times as “Sky 1’s greatest adventure so far” the series has up the ante on fantasy-adventure with 2.5m people tuning in for the first episode.  

The cast, brilliantly led by Elliot Knight who has been described by The Sun (TV Mag) as “the UK’s hottest new talent,” has boasted an array of British acting royalty. Including Dougray Scott (Mission Impossible II, My Week with Marilyn), Evanna Lynch (Harry Potter), Mathew Horne (Gavin & Stacey), Lee Ingleby (Inspector George Gently), Orla Brady (Mistresses, Strike Back), Naveen Andrews (Lost), Oscar® nominee  Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), Timothy Spall (Secrets and Lies, Harry Potter) and Dame Janet Suzman (Nicholas and Alexander) - SINBAD’s all-star cast have made a gritty, high-octane adventure.

The 12 part series has followed the adventures of SINBAD and his intriguing band of travellers. The crew has included taciturn Norwegian sailor Gunnar (Elliot Cowan, Marchlands), the lithe and agile jewel-thief Rina (Marama Corlett, The Devil’s Double), bounty hunter Tiger (Tuppence Middleton, Tormented) and completing the ship’s complement are the Cook (Junix Inocian, The 51st State) and an odd-ball and eccentric character and the ship’s cerebral doctor Anwar (Dimitri Leonidas, Tormented).

The crew of the Providence have contended with monsters, curses and being chased by Lord Akbari’s (Andrews) army. All of these thrills and spills come to a head as their final quest sees them entering the City of Limbo.

Taryn (Brady) joins the crew in a quest to find her daughter Alehna (Lynch) as SINBAD is caught between two worlds trying to find his brother, Jamil (Devon Anderson, Eastenders). Sinbad learns the unsettling truth about his past and the father he never knew forcing him to come face-to-face with his chequered past. The series concludes with a difficult decision - a sacrifice that will save the crew, but change SINBAD’s life forever.  

SINBAD is an Impossible Pictures production for Sky and BBC Worldwide produced with the assistance of Nine Network Australia. BBC Worldwide hold the international distribution rights and have secured sales in Russia, Czech Republic, Balkans and Bulgaria, France, Turkey and Germany. Sales have also included its first ever drama pre-sale to African broadcaster MNET.  ABC in Australia have also licensed SINBAD to Space in Canada and Syfy in the USA. The series is produced by Tim Haines, Sophie Gardiner and Andrew Woodhead for Impossible Pictures and Elwen Rowlands for Sky.

SINBAD is part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years. By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600 million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.  

This investment commitment follows the success of home-grown content such as entertainment hits GOT TO DANCE, AN IDIOT ABROAD and A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, dramas such as STRIKE BACK and MAD DOGS, comedies such as TROLLIED and THIS IS JINSY, and factual shows such as ROSS KEMP EXTREME WORLD and the BAFTA-winning documentary FLYING MONSTERS 3D.

The final episode of SINBAD will air on Sunday 23 September at 7pm on Sky 1 HD and will be available on the move with Sky Go.

For further information please contact

Chris Aylott - Head of PR, Sky 1 HD
T: 020 7032 2893
E: chris.aylott@bskyb.com

Annabel Rudden - Junior Publicist, Sky 1 HD
T:
E: annabel.rudden@bskyb.com

Notes to editor

About Sky

Sky entertains and excites more than 10.4 million homes through the most comprehensive multichannel, multi-platform television service in the UK and Ireland. Sky continues to break new ground with its own portfolio of channels: Sky 1 combines its commitment to UK production with the best of the US; Sky Living pushes ahead with fresh and innovative entertainment formats; Sky Arts is the UK's only dedicated arts channel brand; Sky Atlantic is the home to HBO and other iconic drama and comedy, Sky Sports is still raising the bar in sports broadcasting; Sky News remains a pioneer in television news; and Sky Movies is leading the way in High Definition and on-demand.

 

Sky also works with dozens of other broadcasters on the satellite platform, as well as online and on mobile through the ground-breaking Sky Go service.  Sky has also led the UK into the age of high definition television, launched Europe's first 3DTV channel, Sky 3D, and offers customer even more flexibility and choice through Sky Anytime+, its internet-delivered video on demand service.   Since launching Sky Broadband and Sky Talk in 2006, the company has also been the UK's fastest-growing home communications provider.

 

Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates, not least by increasing participation in, and access to, the arts, supporting grassroots sports, and taking positive action on the environment.

About Sky 1 HD:


Sky 1 HD is the most watched non-terrestrial channel in Sky homes, attracting more than 20m unique viewers every month and, according to the latest tracker results (October – December, 2011), was the third highest valued channel amongst all Sky subscribers behind only BBC1 and ITV1.

Sky 1 HD distinguishes itself from rival networks with original drama and comedy, talked about entertainment formats, distinctive factual programming and award-winning exclusive US drama.

Latest news