Galactica Star Jamie Bamber In New BBC Sci-Fi Series

The BBC has announced an impressive cast for its major new eight-part SF drama, Outcasts

The show, currently filming in South Africa, is being made by production company Kudos, renowned for prestige dramas like Spooks , Life On Mars , Ashes To Ashes and Hustle (and a lot of the cast for the new show seem to be Kudos faves). Written by Ben Richards, this is proper hardcore sci-fi, set on another planet, in the future and everything.

A group of courageous pioneers face a unique opportunity: the chance to build a new and better future on another planet. A diverse group of individuals, they left their old lives behind in extraordinary circumstances, promised a second chance at life they created a society, far away from their home, friends, family…and their pasts. Settled in the town of Forthaven on Carpathia, they forge ahead with their new lives, but come to realise this is no ordinary planet... is there a bigger purpose at work? Mystery lurks around them and threatens to risk the fragile peace of Forthaven.

Here’s the full list of the main cast:

Liam Cunningham ( Clash of the Titans ) is President Richard Tate, who runs Carpathia and is dedicated to keeping the human species alive
Hermione Norris ( Spooks, Cold Feet ) is Stella Isen, Head of Protection and Security (PAS) who sacrificed everything for the chance to save the world
Amy Manson ( Desperate Romantics , Being Human ) is Fleur Morgan, PAS Officer – young, bright and idealistic
Daniel Mays ( Ashes To Ashes ) is Cass Cromwell, PAS Officer – unpredictable and fiercely loyal to Tate
Jamie Bamber ( Battlestar Galactica ) is Mitchell Hoban, Head of the Expeditionaries – progressive and ambitious
Ashley Walters ( Small Island ) is Jack, Mitchell's second in command - tough, armed and dangerous
Eric Mabius ( Ugly Betty ) is Julius Berger – vice president of the Evacuation Programme on Earth. Berger is en route to Carpathia on board transporter CT9, expecting the power and status he enjoyed on Earth
Michael Legge ( Shameless ) is Irish charmer Tipper Malone; a rebel who speaks out against the authorities representing the voice of the displaced youth
Langley Kirkwood ( Generation Kill ) is leader of the AC’s, a group of cloned human beings and one of Carpathia’s darkest secrets
Patrick Lyster ( Invictus ) is the dignified and brave commander of transporter CT9
Jeanne Kietzmann is Lily – lost, troubled and seeking answers

Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning reckons: “ Outcasts is a richly intelligent, character-led drama full of big ideas about what it is to be human told through thrilling and surprising stories that could only appear in this show. Ben Richards has created a remarkable world peopled with compelling characters, and it is hugely exciting that this amazing cast is going to bring it to life.”

But will it have big space ships, that’s what we want to know?