Christina Hendricks and Paddy Considine star in Chris O’Dowd’s ‘Small Town, Big Story’, a new Sky Original series

Christina Hendricks (Good Girls, Mad Men) and Paddy Considine (House of the Dragon) will star in Small Town, Big Story, a warm and witty, very dramatic comedy created and directed by Chris O’Dowd (Moone Boy). The new Sky Original series from Playground and FilmNation Entertainment has started filming on location in Ireland and is expected to debut on Sky and streaming service NOW in the UK & Ireland during 2024.

The six-part series is about the fictional town of Drumbán, a rural village of rattled misfits on the border of Ireland and another world, and what happens when a Hollywood production rolls into town and throws the spotlight on a secret that’s been kept hidden since the eve of the Millennium.

Christina Hendricks stars as Wendy Patterson, a local girl done good as a hot-shot television producer, who returns to her hometown from LA with a Hollywood production in tow. Paddy Considine stars as Drumbán’s local doctor and pillar of the community Seamus Proctor.  Eileen Walsh (Catastrophe) stars as Catherine Proctor, Seamus’ wife and local schoolteacher. Leia Murphy (Fair City) and David Rawle (Moone Boy) star as siblings Joanne and Sonny Proctor. Patrick Martins (The Confessions of Frannie Langton) stars as Jules O’Brien, Evanne Kilgallon (Obituary) stars as Shelly McGoldrick, Andrew Bennett (The Quiet Girl) stars as Barry Battles, Ruth McCabe (Aisha) stars as Betty Battles, David Wilmot (Station Eleven, The Alienist) stars as Keith McCurdle, with further casting to be announced.

Small Town, Big Story was commissioned by Sky Studios for Sky. The comedy drama is a Playground / FilmNation Entertainment production in association with Sky Studios. Executive producers are Colin Callender and Scott Huff for Playground, Stefanie Berk and Milan Popelka for FilmNation Entertainment, and Alex Moody for Sky Studios. Christina Hendricks and Chris O’Dowd are executive producers, Liz Gill is series producer and Directors include Chris O’Dowd, Catherine Morshead as well as Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. NBCUniversal Global Distribution handle international sales of the series on behalf of Sky Studios.

As an Equity production, filmed in Sky’s home market of the UK & Ireland, all cast agreements are compliant with SAG-AFTRA rules and conditions, and were contracted pre-strike.

About Sky

Sky is one of Europe’s leading media and entertainment companies and is part of Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments and experiences that matter. At Sky we Believe in Better. It’s in our DNA. 

We’re famous for innovation. We offer streaming services NOW and WOW; the world’s smartest TV, Sky Glass; and the best aggregation platform, Sky Q. We provide connectivity you can count on in mobile, and fast, secure, reliable residential and business broadband.

We’re Europe’s premium content producer. We create award-winning original content, produce the biggest live sporting events, and we provide free access to news and the arts.We believe that we can have a positive impact on society, by supporting and creating tens of thousands of jobs, addressing digital inequality, being a diverse and inclusive employer, and becoming net zero carbon by 2030.

About Sky Studios

Sky Studios is the home of Sky Original Drama and Comedy.

We develop, commission and produce unmissable programming for Sky’s customers across Europe.

Our teams partner with the best indies and talent globally, to drive creative excellence and tell original stories that are loved by audiences the world over.

Our Sky Originals include Emmy-nominated hit, Gangs of London, BAFTA-winning comedy, Brassic, Mary & George, starring Julianne Moore, The Day of the Jackal, with Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch, M. Son of the Century, directed by Joe Wright and Small Town, Big Story, created by Chris O’Dowd.

Alongside Sky Original Comedy and Drama, Sky Studios is home to an in-house Factual development and production team, and some of the world’s most exciting production companies including Blast! Films, True North and Love Productions.

We also operate Sky Studios Elstree, the UK’s newest film and TV studio with 13 sound stages, representing a significant investment in the UK and European creative economy.

About Playground

Playground is a New York and London-based television, film and theatre production company that has produced over 100 hours of primetime television drama garnering 16 Emmy nominations, 26 BAFTA nominations, and 12 Golden Globe nominations, including winning a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for Best Miniseries.

Past productions include Wolf Hall starring Mark Rylance, Damian Lewis and Claire Foy for the BBC and Masterpiece on PBS, The Dresser starring Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins for the BBC and Starz, The White Princess starring Rebecca Ferguson for Starz, Howards End, Academy Award-winner Kenneth Lonergan’s adaptation for the BBC and Starz, Little Women for the BBC and Masterpiece on PBS, King Lear starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson for the BBC and Amazon, Chimerica for Channel 4 and The White Princess starring Jodi Comer for Starz.

Current returning series include smash hit All Creatures Great and Small based on the iconic bestselling novels by James Herriot for Channel 5 and Masterpiece on PBS and Peter Kosminsky’s The Undeclared War for Channel 4 and Peacock, starring Simon Pegg and Mark Rylance.

Playground’s stage productions include Nora Ephron’s Lucky Guy starring Tom Hanks making his Broadway debut ,and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child currently in its record breaking run in the West End and Broadway where it won a record-breaking 9 Olivier Awards, and 6 Tony Awards including Best Play.

About FilmNation Entertainment

The independent studio behind the award winning PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, ARRIVAL and THE BIG SICK, FilmNation Entertainment is a leading distributor, financier and producer of film, television, theater and audio. The studio’s first television series I Know This Much Is True for HBO garnered Mark Ruffalo an Emmy Award for his lead role. The studio has a number of high-profile television projects lined up and is developing projects at networks including Amazon, Hulu, Peacock, and Sky.

Coming soon are Sundance 2023 selection FLORA AND SON directed by John Carney and starring Eve Hewson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Christos Nikou’s FINGERNAILS starring Jessie Buckley and Riz Ahmed for Apple Original Films. Currently in post-production is Edward Berger’s CONCLAVE starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci and Isabella Rossellini. Other commercial and critical hits released include SPENCER, MADRES PARALELAS, RED ROCKET, THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD, THE COURIER, THE KING’S SPEECH, ROOM, and THE IMITATION GAME.

FilmNation was a producer on the Tony and Olivier award winning Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer and the Tony award winning The Band’s Visit.