New C4 anthology based on Philip K Dick stories

Julia Davis is to appear in Channel 4’s new sci-fi anthology series Electric Dreams.

The series features ten standalone episodes based on visionary author Philip K Dick’s short stories – and could be seen as a successor to Black Mirror since the broadcaster lost Charlie Brooker’s show to Netflix.

Hunderby creator Davis appears opposite Steve Buscemi in the episode entitled Crazy Diamond.

In it, Buscemi plays  Ed, an average a man who is approached by a synthetic woman with an illegal plan that could change his life completely, with Davis playing his wife, Sally. The Thick Of It’s Joanna Scanlan is also in the cast.

Buscemi said of his character: ‘He works in the corporate world at this place where they make synthetic beings that are very lifelike and have consciousness, emotions and are self-aware…

‘He fancies himself as a creative guy and an adventurer, but I think in the world that he lives in that’s discouraged… So he looks for anything that lets him express his individuality.’

Crazy Diamond is based on Dick’s story Sales Pitch, which was published in June 1954. In 1978, Dick said: ‘When this story first appeared, the fans detested it. I read it over, perplexed by their hostility, and could see why: it is a superdowner story, and relentlessly so.’

Other Dick stories have formed the basis for the Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report movies.

Electric Dreams starts on Channel 4 later this month and will be available worldwide on Amazon Prime. Here is a trailer for the full series:

Published: 6 Sep 2017