*Idris Elba will take the lead in a comedy series he created for U.K. TV outlet Sky and that is loosely based on his own childhood.
Titled “In the Long Run,” the series is set in 1980s London and will follow the Easmon family, which has settled in England after having arrived from Sierra Leone a decade earlier. Elba will play Walter, the father, who works in the local factory alongside friend and neighbor Bagpipes, played by Bill Bailey.
The Easmons’ son, Akuna, hangs out in the housing project where the family lives, playing soccer and dodging the local thugs. The family’s life is turned upside down when Walter’s brother Valentine arrives in the U.K., bringing chaos in his wake and igniting a passion for music in Akuna.
“I’m really happy to be in comedy, bringing some joy into a world that needs some laughs,” Elba said. “With a great team behind it I look forward to people seeing it. “
Elba’s Green Door Pictures will produce the series with Sprout Pictures, the production company of British actor Stephen Fry and producer Gina Carter. It will go out on the Sky 1 channel in a 10 p.m. slot.
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