Westworld and Borgen star Sidse Babett Knudsen has joined Channel 4 and Hulu drama The Light (w/t).
Babett Knudsen, who plays Theresa Cullen in the HBO sci-fi thriller, is joining Happy Valley star Sarah Lancashire in the four-part series, which is the follow-up to National Treasure and Kiri.
The cast also includes Nabhaan Rizwan (Informer), Mark Lewis Jones (National Treasure), Jade Croot (Casualty), Shaun Parkes (Line of Duty), Ruth Madeley (Years and Years), Joanna Scanlan (No Offence), Adrian Scarborough (Gosford Park), Genevieve Barr (Press) and Eiry Thomas (Rillington Place).
Written by Jack Thorne and produced by The Forge, it is currently in production in Wales with Anne with an E’s Sandra Goldbacher directing and Killing Eve’s Morenike Williams producing. George Ormond and George Faber are Executive Producers.
The Light is set in the fictional town of Glyngolau and explores a forgotten community devastated by disaster. An explosion on the construction site of a much-needed and sought-after regeneration project in this “left-behind” town claims the lives of many children who have broken into the building site to make mischief.
Lancashire plays Polly Bevan the wife of the local politician who championed the project and the person to whom the community turns following the disaster. Councillor Iwan Bevan, her husband, played by Lewis Jones, loves his home town and is a respected figurehead for the community. Behind closed doors Iwan and Polly’s relationship is more complicated than outward appearances suggest, made even more so by the fact that their rebellious teenage daughter Leona, played by Croot, does all she can to aggravate her father. But when Leona suffers life-changing injuries as a result of the accident on her father’s site, the family finds itself tested to the limits.
Babett Knudsen plays Harriet Paulsen, the executive at Kallbridge Developments which has overseen the project in Glyngolau. She’s tough with a ruthless streak but her desire for self-preservation and to protect the business she’s helped build comes into sharp conflict with her compulsion to do the right thing. Her Executive Assistant at Kallbridge is Tim, played by Rizwan.
While the search for the truth behind these events unfolds, the community seeks strength in each other. Polly relies on her oldest friends including Angela Griffiths, played by Scanlan and single parent Greta, played by Thomas. Barr plays Debbie Kethin, who was responsible for site security and lost his life during the disaster.
Martin Harries, played by Parkes, and Philip Walters, played by Scarborough, are outsiders in the community.
All3Media International will handle global sales.
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