Posted in: BBC, TV | Tagged: sutherland

Sutherland: Gugu Mbatha-Raw Set for BBC's New Sci-Fi Thriller Series

The BBC announced that Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Stuart Martin, and Iain De Caestecker are on board for James Smythe's sci-fi thriller, Sutherland.

Published Mon, 20 Apr 2026 09:07:08 -0500

by Gavin Sheehan

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Article Summary

BBC announces Sutherland, a Scottish sci-fi thriller series set for a likely 2027 premiere.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Stuart Martin, and Iain De Caestecker star in this ambitious six-part drama.
The show will be produced by World Productions Scotland and written by James Smythe.
Sutherland continues BBC’s push for more original Scotland-based drama programming.

The BBC has confirmed they're adding a new sci-fi show to their lineup down the road, and that the new series Sutherland is in development. The six-part thriller drama is set in both Scotland and outer space and will star Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Fuze, Loki, The Girl Before), Stuart Martin (Army of Thieves, In Flight, Rebel Moon), and Iain De Caestecker (Roadkill, The Winter King, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D). No other cast has been confirmed at this time, but we do know it will be filmed by World Productions Scotland (Vigil), part of ITV Studios, and written and created by James Smythe (All Her Fault).

Sutherland: New Sci-Fi Thriller Series Announced For BBC — L-R: Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Image: Michael Wharley), Stuart Martin (Image: Lee Malone), and Iain De Caestecker (Image: Joseph Sinclair). Image courtesy of the BBC

A New Sci-Fi Drama To Stack On a Series of Scottish Productions

According to the company's announcement, Sutherland is the latest in the BBC's efforts to produce more dramas from Scotland. The show joins Richard Gadd's Half Man, as well as the new legal drama Counsels, Grams, and The Young Team. It joins several new shows in production from the area, including Shetland, Rebus, Vigil, and Granite Harbour. No date has been set for the show's premiere, as it's just gotten off the ground, but we're going to take a guess that you'll probably see it in the 2027 schedule, as it will appear on BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and BBC Scotland.

Sutherland: So What's It About?

Set in Sutherland, the far north of Scotland, in the near future. Mirren (Mbatha-Raw) works at Paravel Space Hub as flight director for the UK's first crewed mission to the stars. Everything is going to plan when, just hours after launch, a series of unexplained events engulf Sutherland in mystery and risk destroying everything Mirren's been striving for. As a decades-old conspiracy begins to resurface, local detective Logan (Martin) is unexpectedly pulled back into Mirren's orbit. When Logan's investigation and Mirren's mission threaten to unravel, the pair join forces to make an extraordinary discovery that will change their lives forever.

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