Anarchic Sky original drama Britannia set to return for a third series

Wednesday 15 January 2020

Critically acclaimed Sky original drama Britannia has been recommissioned for a third series on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV. Starring David Morrissey, Mackenzie Crook, Annabel Scholey and Eleanor Worthington-Cox and created by the multi-award-winning writer Jez Butterworth, Tom Butterworth and James Richardson, Britannia brings a moment of our history to life like never seen before on TV. Produced by Vertigo Films in association with Neal Street Productions, it’s a genre-bending, psychedelic tale of clashing faith systems, torn apart families, mystic men, powerful women, all told with humour, heart and violence.

Britannia series two launched in November to widespread praise with The Guardian calling it “…one of those shows you just have to imbibe, celebrating that it has the sheer cheek even to exist. Praise the capricious TV gods!” Whilst The Times said it’s “… ethereal and wonderfully odd” and “…...few shows embrace their own preposterousness quite as wonderfully as Jez Butterworth’s drama about the Roman conquest of Britain”.

In the first series of Britannia we followed the story of the Roman invasion led by General Aulus (David Morrissey) who sought to crush the Celtic heart of Britannia, a mysterious land led by warrior women and powerful Druids. In series two we joined General Aulus two years on from invading Britannia romanising willing Celt tribes with the help of Celtic Queen Amena (Annabel Scholey), and crushing those who tried to resist. The only form of hope for the Druids and Celts was Cait (Eleanor Worthington-Cox), a young girl being trained by outcast Druid Divis (played by Nikolaj Lie Kaas), to fulfil a prophecy that would save Britannia from the Romans. But an epic battle of wills divided the druids in the form of two Druid brothers – Veran and Harka (Mackenzie Crook) putting the prophecy in jeopardy.

Series three sees a radical transformation in Cait’s journey as the Chosen One with a decision that will tie her to the future of her war-torn people and their ravaged land. Aulus comes under pressure from a new and dark force - otherwise known as his wife, whilst Amena finds herself in a lethal Ménage à trois with both of them. Divis gets a new job which he despises, and Veran goes to the underworld and sees the future.

“We are incredibly proud to be able to continue to grow the Britannia franchise bringing ‘Jez and the team’s unique and distinctive vision to life for a third series”
Cameron Roach

Director of Drama, Sky Studios

Jez Butterworth added: We’re very excited to be continuing our mythic journey through Ancient Britain. This year was a particularly good vintage for mushrooms here in the West Country, so we strongly suggest you hold on to your hats.”

Britannia series three was commissioned by Zai Bennett, Sky’s Managing Director of Content and Cameron Roach, Sky’s Director of Drama. Gabriel Silver is the executive producer for the series for Sky. Series three is written by Jez and Tom Butterworth. Produced by Rupert Ryle-Hodges and executive produced by Vertigo Films’ James Richardson; and Neal Street Production's Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris and Nicolas Brown with Jez and Tom Butterworth

Sky has recently committed to more than double its investment in original drama, comedy and documentary through Sky Studios, the commissioning and production arm of Sky. Sky Studios brings to screen unique stories from the very best talent in Europe and is the creative home of Sky’s award-winning and much-loved Sky originals.

2019 was a record year for Sky originals with Chernobyl winning 10 Emmy Awards making it the most awarded British series of the year. Away from the screen, Sky secured a record BAFTA haul with seven awards.

All episodes of series one and two of Britannia are available to watch on demand on Sky and NOW TV. Britannia VR: Out of Your Mind, Sky VRs brand new experience available now on SteamVR and the Oculus store.

International distribution is being led by NBCUniversal Global Distribution

Notes to editors

More for information please contact skypress@sky.uk.

About Sky

With 24 million customers across seven countries, Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. Our 31,000 employees help connect our customers with the very best of Sports, News, the arts and to our own local, original content. Following the success of Sky originals like Chernobyl, Patrick Melrose, Das Boot and Gomorrah we launched Sky Studios and now plan to more than double our investment in original drama and comedy over the next five years.

Our technology allows customers to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, and as we connect millions of families to content they love, it is our responsibility to do it safely – that’s why we offer services like Sky Broadband Buddy and the Sky Kids app. And our online streaming service, NOW TV, brings viewers all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract-free service.

We also believe that a company of our scale has a responsibility that goes beyond our business, and into the community. Our Sky Ocean Rescue campaign has reached millions across Europe, we’re on track to be free of single-use plastic by 2020, we’re investing £25million over five years in ocean-saving tech and we’re a proud employer – recognised by The Times and Stonewall for our approach to inclusivity.

About NOW TV

NOW TV is a pick and mix TV streaming service that lets you choose from a range of passes contract free. Available anytime, anywhere in the UK, you can watch through a NOW TV Box or NOW TV Smart Stick, or on the web. The NOW TV app is also available on over 60 devices.

Whether you’re into big dramas, blockbuster movies, live sports or even just some extra TV for the kids, NOW TV offers four passes which include the latest and best TV and movies: Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Kids and Sky Sports. This includes Sky Atlantic, over 300 Box Sets on demand, all 10 Sky Sports channels and over 1,000 movies – all available with no contract.

For more information:

• Visit nowtv.com

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About Vertigo

Vertigo Films is a British independent TV and Film company founded in 2002. Having built up one of the most successful feature film businesses in the UK, encompassing production, distribution, sales and post-production, the company is now concentrating on television production. With its focus on original, cinematic and international stories, its unique expertise in marketing have seen its first two shows for Sky – Britannia and Bulletproof - achieve great success.

About Neal Street

Neal Street Productions is run by Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Caro Newling, and Nicolas Brown and has been successfully producing award-winning film, TV and theatre for the past 15 years.

Neal Street’s diverse film and television slate includes the hugely successful Call the Midwife for the BBC, which is currently filming its ninth series; John Logan’s Penny Dreadful and the upcoming Penny Dreadful: City of Angels for Showtime; the award-winning The Hollow Crown for the BBC; two series of Britannia for Sky/Amazon, and the BAFTA nominated, contemporary thriller Informer for BBC/Amazon. Neal Street’s film projects have included Revolutionary Road for Paramount and DreamWorks, Things We Lost in the Fire for DreamWorks, and Jarhead for Universal. Their upcoming First World War epic, 1917, directed by Sam Mendes and co-written by Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns for Amblin and Universal, stars George MacKay, Dean Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch and will be released 25th December in the USA and 10th January 2020 in the UK.

In the theatre, recent productions include The Lehman Trilogy which is currently performing at the Piccadilly Theatre in the West End and Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman, which had sold out runs in both the West End and on Broadway and won 3 Olivier Awards and 4 Tony Awards.

Neal Street Productions is an All3Media company, All3Media is owned jointly between Discovery Communications and Liberty Global.