150 years in the future, but the politics aren’t light years away
As brand new sci-fi series Intergalactic lands on Sky One, Danielle de Wolfe speaks to the cast and crew behind the out-of-this world adventure
Fast forward 150 years into the future and the vision of Earth that humans are faced with is in equal parts intriguing and terrifying – or so decrees new sci-fi series Intergalactic.
With police swapping cars for spacecraft as they patrol the skies and prisoners being transported away from Earth to far-flung colonies, the prospect is undeniably bleak.
And yet it’s an intrinsic part of the allure of Sky One’s latest spacebased show.
Black Mirror actress Imogen Daines, who plays convicted cyberhacker Verona says: “You’ve got the Common World – which is the Earth-based government, which is masquerading as a democracy but is, in fact, a dictatorship – and I think anyone living in America would just chime with that immediately. You’ve got these pseudoliberal humanists at the top, which are actually keeping everyone down any way that they can, anyone who is just doing what they need to do to get by.
“And I think there are so many resonances now, all across the world, with governments that behave in exactly that way.”
A tale of conflict, injustice and survival, Intergalactic tells the story of young police officer and galactic pilot Ash Harper, played by A Discovery Of Witches star Savannah Steyn.
Stripped of her career following a wrongful conviction for treason, Ash is separated from her mother, played by Bend It Like Beckham’s Parminder Nagra, and exiled to a distant prison colony.
But with a mutiny afoot on board the spacecraft transporting the convicts, Ash finds herself on an entirely unexpected course. Created by Secret Diary Of A Call Girl writer Julie Gearey, Intergalactic is a project four years in the making.
Executive producer Iona Vrolyk says: “She was very interested in telling a story about a group of misfits who need to find their own way.
“She was increasingly seeing people being polarised politically and she wanted to have a group of characters who, at the beginning, are outlaws and perhaps have done things that are difficult to empathise with.
“But actually through them show that actually there’s another way – if people come together and work together towards an aim then they can achieve great things.
“So [Intergalactic] was definitely a subliminal comment on the polarisation of our politics.”
Starring Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson, alongside Misfits actor Craig Parkinson, Sex Education’s Sharon Duncan Brewster and This Is England star Thomas Turgoose, Intergalactic’s line-up is quite literally out of this world.
“Julie has worked before with Kieron Hawkes, who was the director and executive producer on this show,” says Vrolyk.
“And so they have a very special and unique creative partnership.
“There’s a shorthand there and he knows how to shoot her scripts. He’s a brilliant director, a brilliant visual storyteller.”
It’s a history that extends far beyond the partnership of Gearey and Ripper Street director Hawkes, as Nagra, 45, goes on to explain.
“As soon as I heard [about] Kieron Hawkes – the director I’ve worked with before on Fortitude – I was like, ‘OK, I have a really good feeling about this’,” recalls Nagra.
“And then, of course, I started reading… it’s very rare when you start seeing the words of a charac
ter, you can see yourself doing it. It’s rare when that happens.”
So enthused was Nagra by the project in fact that she deemed the small matter of international travel something of a triviality.
“My commute was not short,” laughs the actor.
“I had to travel from Los Angeles to Manchester. So, every few weeks I was doing that trip.
“It was just written well and I had more to do than just, you know, come in and give some exposition… That’s how hungry I was.”
Setting itself apart from sci-fi dramas of the past, Intergalactic’s character-driven storyline places diversity at the fore.
Unleashing an empowered black female lead in the form of Steyn, the series also boasts a racially diverse and extensively female-led cast.
It’s a fresh take on a tried and tested format, challenging the parameters of traditional dramas, as Steyn goes on to reflect.
“I always prayed on getting a leading sci-fi role,” enthuses Steyn.
“After seeing other black women actually do it, after seeing your Tessa Thompsons, after seeing Lupita in Black Panther, after seeing black women own sci-fi, which I think is just the greatest thing.
“I think it’s really important just to see yourself, so that we can understand ourselves better, so that we feel reflected, so that we can feel validated.
“We can see ourselves existing – and not just always in traumatic situations that are always so con
nected to our race, or our sexuality or whatever it is.
“And I think that’s what’s interesting about this world, is that these characters’ problems aren’t their blackness or, you know, their background, or this, that or the other, but it’s just kind of refreshing to see us have a load of other problems.”
It’s a stance seconded by fellow actress Nagra.
“It’s relatable,” she says.
“Yes, we are diverse women on the show, but it’s also a woman who’s a mother. It’s a young woman like Savannah.
“There are so many other levels and layers to what’s going on, they’re not just your two-dimensional characters that sometimes can pop up on screen.”
What sets Intergalactic apart from other sci-fi adventures is, in part, the series’ casting decisions, according to Steyn.
“I think what was great for me was the casting director, Kharmel [Cochrane],” she explains. “She herself is Asian and black and I’m Asian and black, so she actually saw me and she was like ‘What’s your mix?’
“I’m South African, Indian, Jamaican, and she was like, ‘I actually want to find parents that actually look like you and are of your heritage rather than just getting a black dad or a white mom’, which is what people might just think of when they see me.”
It’s this detail-orientated approach that, according to Steyn, lends itself to the show’s authenticity.
“They asked for pictures of my actual parents, and then, when you see Parminder and you see my mom in real life, they’ve really reflected that – and it’s not something I’ve seen before.
“So, that was really cool for me.”
“My commute was not short - I had to travel
from Los Angeles to Manchester. So,
every few weeks I was doing that trip.”
PARMINDER NAGRA ON HER ‘COMMUTE’
“And I think there are so many resonances
now, all across the world, with
governments that behave in that way”
Intergalactic airs on Sky One on Friday at 9pm and will be streaming on NOW
IMOGEN DAINES ON THE STORY