Christina Hendricks and “House of the Dragon’s” Paddy Considine have been tapped to lead “Small Town, Big Story,” a new Sky Studios drama from Chris O’Dowd
O’Dowd (“State of the Union”) created and will direct the six-part dramatic comedy, which tells the story of the effect on a small Irish village when a Hollywood production begins shooting on its doorstep and rattled residents struggle to keep a long-buried secret under wraps.
The series is an Equity production, which is being shot in the U.K. and Ireland, but Sky has emphasized that all cast agreements comply with SAG-AFTRA rules in light of the ongoing actors strike. The cast were contracted before the strike.
In the series, “Mad Men” star Hendricks is set to play Wendy Patterson, a hot-shot L.A. producer who grew up in the fictional Irish village of Drumbán while Considine stars as local doctor and community stalwart Seamus Proctor.
The cast is rounded out by Eileen Walsh (“Catastrophe”), who plays Proctor’s wife Catherine, Leia Murphy (“Fair City”) and David Rawle (“Moone Boy”) as siblings Joanne and Sonny, Patrick Martins (“The Confessions of Frannie Langton”) as Jules O’Brien, Evanne Kilgallon (“Obituary”) as Shelly McGoldrick, Andrew Bennett (“The Quiet Girl”) as Barry Battles, Ruth McCabe (“Aisha”) as Betty Battles and David Wilmot (“Station Eleven”) as Keith McCurdle.
More casting will be announced in due course. O’Dowd will direct alongside Catherine Morshead, Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman
“Small Town, Big Story” has already started shooting in Ireland and is set to premiere in the U.K. and Ireland on Sky (and Sky’s streaming platform Now) in 2024.
The series was commissioned by Sky Studios for Sky and is a Playground / FilmNation Entertainment production in association with Sky Studios.
Colin Callender and Scott Huff executive produce for Playground, Stefanie Berk and Milan Popelka executive produce for FilmNation Entertainment and Alex Moody executive produces for Sky Studios. Hendricks and O’Dowd are executive producers, Liz Gill is series producer.
NBCUniversal Global Distribution are handling international sales on behalf of Sky Studios.
