David Costabile, Amy Landecker and Matt Lauria join the cast of new Sky original drama Little Birds

Sky Atlantic has announced that David Costabile, Amy Landecker and Matt Lauria have joined the cast alongside Juno Temple, Hugh Skinner, Yumna Marwan, Nina Sosanya and Rossy De Palma in the gripping new Sky original drama Little Birds from the BAFTA winning Warp Films.

Little Birds is set in Tangier in 1955, in the famous ‘international zone’ - one of the last outposts of colonial decadence, and a culture shock in more ways than one for troubled American debutante Lucy Savage (Juno Temple). Lucy desires an unconventional life free from the societal cage she’s been kept in and, along with Tangier itself, finds herself on the cusp of achieving a painful yet necessary independence.

David Costabile (Billions, Breaking Bad) joins the cast to play Lucy’s larger than life father, Grant Savage, an arms manufacturer who wants to control his daughter, his loquacious wife Vanessa, played by Amy Landecker (Transparent, Doctor Strange), and the world he lives in. Having set Lucy up with an English Lord, Hugo Cavendish-Smythe (Hugh Skinner), Grant thinks he has a malleable, potentially useful son-in-law but unbeknownst to the Savages, Hugo is not what they have taken him for.

Matt Lauria (Shaft, Kingdom, Traitors) takes on the role of the elusive Bill. A bartender and bohemian artist, Bill works in neighbourhood nightclub El Sirocco and soon becomes a confidante of both Lucy and Hugo. Although he is not what he seems and his flirtation and the hand of friendship offered to Lucy and Hugo is very much a cover for some more nefarious motivations.

The vibrant and sensual six-part original series, written by Sophia Al-Maria (The Girl Who Fell to Earth, The Magical State) and directed by Stacie Passon (Billions, House of Cards), also stars Yumna Marwan (Shankaboot), Rossy De Palma (Broken Embraces, Julieta), Nina Sosanya (Killing Eve 2, Marcella, Last Tango in Halifax), Jean-Marc Barr (The Cellar, Cut Off) and Raphael Acloque (Humans, The Secret Agent). The series will air on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV in 2020.

Playfully inspired by Anais Nin’s infamous collection of erotic short stories, Little Birds weaves stories of love and desire together with personal drama and political intrigue, set against a uniquely distinctive backdrop of hedonism and conflict.

Executive producers are Ruth McCance, Peter Carlton and Mark Herbert for Warp Films and Kara Manley for Sky. The new 6x60 minute drama has been commissioned for Sky by director of drama Cameron Roach and director of programmes for Sky Entertainment UK & Ireland Zai Bennett, and is distributed internationally by ITV Studios Global Entertainment. Little Birds will also be available on demand on Sky in Spain.

-ENDS-

For more information please contact:

Sky

Katy Sykes

Katy.sykes@premiercomms.com

T +44 207 292 8351

M +44 7718 236 827

SJ Peyton

SJ.peyton@premiercomms.com

T+44 207 292 7377

M +44 7808 640 175

Notes to editors

About Sky
With 23.7 million customers across seven countries, Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group.

We have 31,000 colleagues and together we want to connect our customers to more of what they love, including our award-winning original productions, like Patrick Melrose and Save Me, and great shows from our partners including HBO, Showtime and Warner Bros. And our ever-improving technology makes it even easier for customers to watch more of the shows they love with personalised recommendations and voice control and, our online streaming service, NOW TV, brings all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract free service.

We treat our customers better than anyone else in our field, as Ofcom’s complaints data shows, and we look after our staff too. Sky is one of The Times Top 50 employers for women and we’re in Stonewall’s list of Top 50 LGBT-Inclusive employers.

We also use our position as the leading entertainment business in Europe to do the right thing. As part of Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, we’re committing to be completely single-use plastic free by 2020, we’re investing £25million over five years in ocean-saving tech and we’re supporting the WWF to protect our oceans with designated Marine Protected Areas.

About Warp Films

Established in 2002, Warp Films is one of the most exciting and respected production companies in the UK today. 

Known for their multi award-winning film and television, Warp Films are committed to collaborating with and supporting top creative talent in the UK and abroad; and launched the feature debuts of directors such as Paul King, Chris Morris, Yann Demange and Paddy Considine. From award-winning feature films Submarine, Four Lions and ’71, to multi BAFTA-winning returning TV series This Is England, international drama The Last Panthers and critically-acclaimed Southcliffe; Warp’s mission is to provide a distinctive window on the world, and tell stories that may be funny or serious, mainstream or controversial, but always with heart.

Recent productions include The Virtues - the highly acclaimed series from Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne, the feature film Ghost Stories by writer-directors Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman; and Idris Elba’s directorial debut Yardie. Warp’s international ambitions are supported by ITV Global, and by friends and collaborators from around the world. 

As well as Little Birds, upcoming productions include Everybody’s Talking About Jamie -  a feature adaptation of the hit musical in collaboration with Film4 and New Regency.

About ITV Studios Global Entertainment 

ITV Studios Global Entertainment (ITVS GE) is one of the world’s leading international TV distribution, home entertainment, publishing, merchandising and licensing businesses. ITVS GE distributes more than 45,000 hours of celebrated content across all genres from both its in-house production business, ITV Studios, and in collaboration with leading producers from around the world.

Part of ITV PLC, which includes the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, ITV Studios Global Entertainment has offices in London, Hong Kong, Paris, Germany, Nordics, Los Angeles and Sydney.