Gugu Mbatha-Raw (“Surface”) will star opposite Jonny Lee Miller (“Covenant”), Sheldon Shepherd (“Bob Marley: One Love”) and Bel Powley (“The Morning Show”) in “Inheritance,” a Sky Original thriller from Karla Crome (“Carnival Row”).
Set in Bristol, U.K. and Jamaica, “Inheritance” is a five-part limited event series tackling the enduring legacy of colonialism. Soon entering production, the mini-series is directed by Storm Saulter (“Sprinter”) and produced by Snowed-In Productions, in association with Sky Studios.
Mbatha-Raw stars as Claudia, an ambitious young bi-racial lawyer who embarks on a journey to Jamaica to challenge an inheritance claim filed by an unknown local resident, Cudjoe East (Sheldon Shepherd), against Oliver Connaught (Jonny Lee-Miller), a wealthy white aristocrat.
Claudia’s “quest takes an unexpected turn when the contested estate reveals the ominous house that has haunted her nightmares: the Connaught family’s Jamaican plantation, Hope Hill. As Claudia and Oliver investigate, they uncover a chilling connection between historical horrors and present-day injustices.”
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Unveiled during Content London, the series will be available on Sky in the UK and Ireland. NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution will handle international sales of “Inheritance.”
Crome, the series’ writer and creator, says it’s privilege to see Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jonny Lee Miller, Sheldon Shepherd and Bel Powley bringing my characters to life under Storm Saulter’s evocative direction and I can’t wait to share our work with audiences.”
Kenley-Letts, executive producer and CEO at Snowed-In Productions, and Jenny van der Lande, executive producer, said in a joint statement that “Karla’s an extraordinary talent who has unleashed her wild imagination to create thrillingly unpredictable and original scripts.”
Meghan Lyvers, Sky UK and Ireland’s executive director of original scripted, said “We are proud to support Karla Crome and the Snowed In team in bringing this bold, original, and provocative story to screen.”
The series also stars Bel Powley as Charlotte, Nadean Rawlins (“Bob Marley: One Love” as Mercy, Sean Gilder (“Mary & George”) as Tom McKenzie, Olunike Adeliyi (“The Fire Inside”) as Patsy Dawkins, Richard Dillane (“The Crown”) as Eugene Desfrienes, Diveen Henry (“The Day of the Jackal”) as Flora, Jack Bandeira (“Happy Valley”) as Kenneth Connaught and Shantol Jackson (“Sprinter”) as Sarah.
“Inheritance” is produced by Snowed-In in association with Sky Studios. Written and created by Karla Crome, the series isbased on an original idea by Jefferson Bannis and directed by Storm Saulter. Executive Producers are Ruth Kenley-Letts, Jenny van der Lande, Neil Blair, Karla Crome, Storm Saulter, Sam Hoyle, Serena Thompson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Jonny Lee Miller. The Development Producer is Roxanne Harvey and the Series Producer is Kate Ogborn.