US, UK writers join C4, Sony anthology drama

British broadcaster Channel 4 and US studio Sony Pictures Television have pooled together top writing talent from both sides of the pond to write the upcoming TV anthology series Electric Dreams: The World of Philip K. Dick.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas scribe Tony Grisoni, Harry Potter & The Cursed Child and Skins’ writer Jack Thorne, Matthew Graham (Life on Mars, Doctor Who), Kelly Marcel (50 Shades of Grey, Saving Mr. Banks) and David Farr (The Night Manager) have all joined the production.

Electric Dreams was unveiled in May, with prolific sci-fi writer and producer Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander), Michael Dinner (Justified, Masters of Sex) and Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston attached as executive producers. Cranston has also been confirmed to appear in the show.

Each episode will be a standalone thriller that illustrates late sci-fi author Philip K. Dick’s visions and celebrate his work.

Further writers will be announced at a later date, with production expected to begin early next year ahead of a premiere on Channel 4 in the UK. SPT will shop the show internationally.

In an exclusive interview with TBI this morning at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, SPT co-president of programming and production Zack Van Amburg (pictured) talked up the connection between US and UK producers and writing talent, saying: “The conversation has become much more fluid.”

“Andy Harries [who runs SPT-owned UK prodco Left Bank Pictures] now has not only the support of our UK-based production executives, but also has the benefit of the US creative. Left Bank gets to pitch Channel 4 and ABC [for example], or gets to pitch ITV and Netflix, or gets to be in business with Amazon and in the same breath work with Sky,” said Van Amburg.

He noted that SPT also had projects in place with Fay Ward’s Fable, which it recently took a stake in, and that Swedish producer Palladium had new European-UK projects in the works.

Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht now run SPT’s domestic and television businesses, reporting directly to Sony Pictures Entertainment chief Michael Lynton. Their roles were announced in June, after SPT chairman Steve Mosko had exited.