Creepy new Sky drama The Midwich Cuckoos looks set to send a chill through the nation when it arrives this June, retelling the classic John Wyndham novel with a modern twist and plenty of seriously unsettling child actors.
And now series star Keeley Hawes has opened up about the new adaptation alongside her castmates and series creator David Farr, laying out the world of the series in a new featurette exclusive to RadioTimes.com.
“Our version of the Midwich Cuckoos is set in the picture-perfect town of Midwich, where nothing very much happens,” Hawes explains in the new footage.
However, a mysterious blackout renders everyone in the village unconscious, and leaves outsiders unable to get in. And when they do wake up, something very strange has happened.
“Something very odd happens to the women in particular,” Hawes continues. “They have all fallen pregnant… mysteriously.”
To say much more might be falling into spoiler territory, though it’s safe to say that the children that eventually emerge from these pregnancies are a little out of the ordinary as well.
Creepy, bowl-cutted and with an intense stare, they’re more than the usual handful – and they might have some dark designs for their parents, as stars Hawes, Aisling Loftus and Max Beesley lay out in the new featurette.
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“The phrase ‘Community horror’ has been used,” writer/creator David Farr says. “I’m not convinced it’s completely a horror.
“But it does have elements, certainly. And it certainly portrays a community under intense pressure. Will that community crack and destroy itself?”
“The experience that these characters have… some of them think, ‘actually all my dreams have come true, and this is what I’ve wanted all my life’,” Hawes adds.
“And it becomes apparent quite quickly that you should be careful what you wish for.”
Unless of course, you did wish for an army of terrifying children to stare at you menacingly. In which case, congratulations – all your Christmases are coming at once this June.
The Midwich Cuckoos comes to Sky Max and NOW on 2nd June – sign up for Sky TV here.. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi page or our full TV Guide.
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