SKY UNVEILS SLATE OF ACQUIRED DRAMA AND COMEDY, INCLUDING RETURN OF HEATED RIVALRY

Sky reveals slate of newly acquired premium drama and comedy, as it continues commitment to choice, with an unmissable range of attention-grabbing TV from around the world. 

Turning up the heat, the highly anticipated Heated Rivalry is confirmed to return exclusively to Sky and NOW, with Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie continuing the phenomenon with a second season arriving in 2027. Sky also brings new, mystery thriller YAGA, starring Carrie-Anne Moss, Clark Backo, Noah Reid and Hudson Williams, to screens later this year.

Also announced and on the slate is gripping crime drama Superfakes, an A24 production, created by Emmy winner Alice Ju and executive produced by award-winning actress Lucy Liu who also stars alongside Ken Leung.

From UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, The ‘Burbs, starring Keke Palmer and Jack Whitehall will air on 1 April, and new drama PONIES, starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson, is coming in May.

Katie Keenan, Group Director of Acquisitions for Sky UK and Europe, says: “We’re proud to unveil this slate of new premium dramas, each offering bold, distinctive and world-class storytelling for our customers. The return of global hit Heated Rivalry to Sky and NOW in the UK and Ireland will be a must-watch next year, and we cannot wait for audiences to see YAGA, Superfakes, The ‘Burbs and PONIES – all joining an already stellar line-up of unmissable TV.”

YAGA follows Rapp (Noah Reid), a private investigator who arrives in a small coastal town to investigate the disappearance of a young heir to a powerful fishery, Henry Park (Hudson Williams). He finds himself at odds with an apprehensive local detective, Carson (Clark Backo), a charismatic university professor with a taste for younger men, Katherine (Carrie-Anne Moss), and a labyrinth of enigmatic suspects, secret lives, and ancient magic.

Based on the hit play by Kat Sandler, who also serves as writer and showrunner, the series is produced by Front Street Pictures and Blink49 Studios in partnership with Crave. YAGA is co-directed by David Frazee and Rachel Talalay. The series is executive produced by Mackenzie Donaldson, Andrew Miller and Carrie-Anne Moss and produced by Charles Cooper. The series is distributed internationally by Sphere Abacus and was acquired for Sky by Lucy Criddle, Director of Acquisitions and Strategic Projects.

Superfakes is a crime drama that follows a small-time Chinatown luxury counterfeit dealer who enters a dangerous black-market underworld in order to fund a life of suburban respectability for her family.

Series regulars include Ken Leung (Lost, Industry), cross-cultural musician and rapper Bohan Phoenix making his acting debut, Michelle Jones Lee (Dé) and Keith Leung (I, Chinese).

The ‘Burbs is inspired by the 1989 horror-comedy film of the same name and set in present-day suburbia. The series follows a young couple, Samira and Rob Fisher (Palmer and Whitehall), who have reluctantly relocated to Rob’s childhood home. Their world is upended when a new neighbour moves in across the street, bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighbourhood.

The series blends comedy, mystery, horror, and social commentary, capturing the eerie humour of the original film while delivering a modern, character‑driven story.  The series also stars Julia Duffy, Paula Pell, Mark Proksch and Kapil Talwalkar.

Moscow, 1977. Two ‘PONIES’ (‘persons of no interest’ in intelligence speak) work anonymously as secretaries in the American Embassy. That is until their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, and the pair become CIA operatives.

Bea (Emilia Clarke) is an over-educated, Russian-speaking child of Soviet immigrants. Her cohort, Twila (Haley Lu Richardson), is a small-town girl who is as abrasive as she is fearless. Together, they work to uncover a vast Cold War conspiracy and solve the mystery that made them widows in the first place.

PONIES also stars Adrian Lester (Sandman, Day After Tomorrow), Artjom Gilz (Tar, Das Boot), Nicholas Podany (Saturday Night, Hello Tomorrow), Petro Ninovskyi (Shttl, Silence), Vic Michaelis (Very Important People, Upload).

More details will be announced in due course.