Channel 4 have released a number of first look images from their upcoming high-octane and darkly comic series, Generation Z.
Written and directed by Ben Wheatley, Generation Z is described as a coming-of-age parable for our very strange times – cut with a heavy dose of outlandish gore.
Generation Z is about intergeneration justice and community breakdown that boldly satirizes a world where truth is stranger than fiction, exploring not just the political fault lines in our society but also the very real issues facing teenagers today.
Set in the fictional town of Dambury, the kind of place with stark opportunities and not much to do. Grey, unassuming, forgotten. It’s the last place you’d expect the apocalypse to begin…
But when an army convoy overturns outside a care home, a chemical leak starts to have an adverse effect on the residents there. The OAPs, led by Cecily and Frank, played by Sue Johnston and Paul Benthall, escape the grasp of the army looking to contain their angry, violent, insatiable hunger for raw flesh.
On the night of the outbreak, teenagers Charlie, Kelly, Steff and Finn, played respectively by Jay Lycurgo, Buket Komur, Lewis Gribben and Viola Prettejohn are living normal teenage lives: tinnies, messy feelings, complex relationships and ignoring their A-Level prep.
But the gang abruptly find themselves at the centre of the virus when Kelly’s nan Janine, played by Anita Dobson becomes infected and attacks her.
Just because it’s the end of the world, it doesn’t mean your home life and relationship problems come to a halt, as the gang come up against the zombie horde, battling with their parents, friendship betrayals and old family secrets rearing their ugly heads. And life is just as complicated for the zombies, with the virus fuelling single-minded desires, bringing a whole new dimension to their zombie rampage.
Meanwhile, Finn worries for grandad-figure Morgan, played by Robert Lindsay, when she comes to the realisation that there might be more behind the chemical spill. Just what exactly was being transported?
The six-part series is currently in production and filming in Wales, with Johnny Vegas, Robert James-Collier, Suzanne Ahmet, T’Nia Miller, Sophie Stone, Chris Reilly, D’Angelou Osei Kissiedu, Ellie-Mae Siame, Robin Hill, Gareth Tunley, John Hollingworth, Maanuv Thiara, Rebecca Humphries, Ellora Torchia, Andrew Kazamia, Garrick Hagon and Mark Monero joining the cast.
Speaking about the series, writer and director Ben Wheatley said "It's been amazing working on Generation Z with The Forge and Channel 4. It’s my first original series and a project very close to my heart. I hope everyone loves it as much as we do."
To which Commissioning Editor at Channel 4, Rebecca Holdsworth added "We are so excited that Ben Wheatley has chosen C4 as the place to make his first original TV drama. Generation Z promises to have all of the unique visual flair and mischievous spirit that characterises Ben’s film work; it is in turn wickedly funny, deftly political, and delivers on the kind of eye-popping shocks and thrills that mean this is shaping up to be a zombie drama like no other.”
Written and directed by Ben Wheatley, Generation Z is produced by The Forge in association with ZDF and All3media International and Alex Kazamia with executive producers Ben Wheatley, Mark Pybus, George Faber and Beth Willis. It has been commissioned by Channel 4’s Head of Drama, Caroline Hollick and Commissioning Editor, Rebecca Holdsworth.
Generation Z will air in 2024 on Channel 4
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