The Dream Lands, a brand-new six-part coming-of-age drama for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, is the latest title to wrap production at The Bottle Yard Studios. Filming has been underway since February at the Studios and on location in Bristol, with assistance from the city’s Film Office.
Based on Rosa Rankin-Gee’s enthralling novel Dreamland, the upcoming series is brought to life for TV by BAFTA award-winning writer Kayleigh Llewellyn (In My Skin, Killing Eve), delivering a gripping and intense journey driven by love, hope, and an unyielding will to survive.
The Dream Lands cast (clockwise from top left): Pascale Kann, Anna Friel, Connor Swindells, Clara Rugaard, Katherine Parkinson, Golda Rosheuve. Image courtesy BBC
Set in a near-future Margate, against a backdrop of soaring inequality, The Dream Lands tells the story of Chance and her family, a young woman who discovers life and love, while being forced to fight for her family ad friends’ survival in a world that’s crumbling around her.
It’s 2039 and temperatures are soaring, seas are rising, and the political climate is equally as menacing. Chance is living a life of crime just to get by, when her community is singled out for a government rejuvenation scheme, promising to bring her coastal town back to life. But when Chance falls in love with Franky, a girl with ties to the establishment, she and those closest to her begin to realise that all may not be as it seems.
Alongside newcomer Pascale Kann (September Says) who stars in the lead role as Chance, the cast includes Emmy award-winner Anna Friel (Marcella, Broken) as Jas, Connor Swindells (SAS Rogue Heroes, Sex Education, Barbie) as Kole, Clara Rugaard (I Am Mother, Black Mirror) as Franky, BAFTA award-winner Katherine Parkinson (Rivals, Significant Other) as Antonia, Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton, Dune: Part One) as Iona, Jacob Greenway (The Watchers, Father Brown) as JD, Tareq Al-Jeddal (Ridley, Maternal) as Nye, Scarlett Rayner (Trying, Silverpoint) as Stevie, Ruby Bridle (Gates, Casualty) as Nugget, and Raphael Sowole (The Crow Girl, Apartment 7A) as Trevor.
The series is directed by Erika Calmeyer (Tore, Young Royals) and Myriam Raja (Top Boy, Tehzeeb) and is produced by Jon Jennings (Sex Education, Renegade Nell). It is co-produced by SISTER (The Split, This Is Going to Hurt, Black Doves) and Universal International Studios (The Undeclared War, Everyone Else Burns) for BBC iPlayer and BBC One.