The BBC have announced that Years and Years, the much anticipated new drama from Russell T Davies, will premiere on BBC One on the 14th of May
Since first seizing the British public’s attention with the groundbreaking Queer as Folk, Russell T Davies has become one of the defining dramatic voices of the age. Across the likes of Bob & Rose, The Second Coming, Casanova, Torchwood: Children of Earth, Cucumber and A Very English Scandal, he’s told an incredibly varied universe of stories. Some deeply personal, others starkly honest about society, sometimes fantastically whimsical and witty, other times looking unflinchingly into the darkness. And often all of the above at the same time. Plus, of course, there’s the little matter of playing Dr. Frankenstein to the resurrected monster hit of Doctor Who. And now Years and Years will soon be added to his impressive resume.
The six episodes of Years and Years are set over fifteen years, from the present day to the mid-2030s. The near future tale, seen through one family’s eyes, marks Davies’ first return to the genre since Doctor Who. As the 2020s progress, the UK falls increasingly under the sway of a hugely charismatic but dangerously authoritarian politician. But can the Lyons family manage to negotiate the new Britain with their lives and souls intact? The series stars Russell Tovey (Voyage of the Damned) as Daniel, Jessica Hynes (Human Nature/The Family of Blood) as Edith, Anne Reid (Smith and Jones) as Muriel, and T’Nia Miller (Hell Bent) as Celeste.
Speaking previously about the project, Davies has said “I’ve wanted to write this for 20 years or so. And as the world accelerates like crazy around us, I realised I’d better get on with it!”
The BBC have also released an official synopsis of Episode One
At the same time, the Lyons family is united, as Rosie (Ruth Madeley) gives birth to a son. Brothers Stephen (Rory Kinnear) and Daniel (Russell Tovey) gather at the bedside, with grandmother Muriel (Anne Reid), and they wonder what life will be like for little Lincoln…
Five years in the future, in the London of 2024, Stephen and Celeste (T’Nia Miller) worry about their daughter, Bethany (Lydia West), who declares herself as transhuman.
Back in Manchester, Daniel’s now married to Ralph (Dino Fetscher), but is falling for Ukrainian refugee Viktor Goraya (Maxim Baldry). When the Lyons gather for Muriel’s birthday they’re interrupted by a call from their missing sister, Edith (Jessica Hynes). But she brings extraordinary news, and life for the Lyons is about to change forever…
Years and Years
Years and Years follows the Lyons, a busy Manchester family. Daniel’s getting married to Ralph. Stephen and Celeste worry about their kids. Rosie’s chasing a new fella. Edith hasn’t been home for years. All presided over by Gran, the imperial Muriel. But when their lives all converge on one crucial night in 2019, the story accelerates into the future, following the lives and loves of the Lyons over the next 15 years.
And what a world! Everything we fear, and everything we hope for, happening around this tight-knit family. Society gets hotter, faster, madder, with the turmoil of politics, technology and distant wars affecting the Lyons in their day-to-day lives. Britain withdraws from Europe, America becomes a lone wolf, China asserts itself, and a new world begins to form. But someone’s taking advantage, as MP Vivienne Rook begins her rise to power – that new breed of politician, an entertainer, a rebel, a trickster and a terror, leading us into an unknown future. Set against this, the Lyons have to navigate their everyday hopes and fears, knowing that one ordinary family could never change the world. Or could they?
Years and Years begins on BBC One on Tuesday the 14th of May at 9pm
