Home TV News Channel 4 Gets ‘Loaded’ With AMC – Nick Helm, Jim Howick, Jonny Sweet, Samuel Anderson To Star

Channel 4 Gets ‘Loaded’ With AMC – Nick Helm, Jim Howick, Jonny Sweet, Samuel Anderson To Star

by Dave Elliott
Channel 4 Gets 'Loaded' With AMC - (l to r) Jim Howick, Samuel Anderson, Jonny Sweet, Nick Helm

Channel 4 Gets ‘Loaded’ With AMC – (l to r) Jim Howick, Samuel Anderson, Jonny Sweet, Nick Helm

Channel 4 has teamed up with US network AMC on new comedy/drama LOADED it was announced today.

Loaded is an adaptation of award winning Israeli series Mesudarim, and tells the story of Josh, Vinny, Ewan and Watto, a group life-long friends and game developers who sell their company ‘Idyl Hands’ for a humongous amount of money, turning them all into multi-millionaires overnight. Amid a raging hurricane of money, excess and ‘millionaire’s guilt’, LOADED is about friendship, ambition, gluttony, the peculiar British distaste for other people’s success and how money can put even life-long friendships to the test. According to AMC’s president of programming Joel Stillerman it’s “a smart and somewhat light-hearted look at all of the things that can go wrong when you’re suddenly very, very rich; and very, very young.” Or as exec producers Kate Norrish and Polly Leys succinctly put it “Like Downton Abbey with nerds…”

Jim Howick (The Aliens, Yonderland, Horrible Histories) plays Josh, a hyper-sensitive character riddled with insecurities, his decisions are driven mostly from a deep sense of worry and anxiety. Eternally cautious, he’s always anticipating a disaster, scared that his money will get taken away from him at any moment. So instead he focuses all his energies on getting his ex-girlfriend Abi back, which causes problems with his best friend Leon, with whom Abi has a hate/hate relationship…

Samuel Anderson (Doctor Who, Trollied) plays Leon, the Business Development Director of their company. He’s in charge of securing investment and is, clearly, very good at it. Deeply charismatic and usually able to get exactly what he wants, Leon believes money will open any door, but is surprised, then disillusioned, when it doesn’t. Massively confident, bordering on cocky, this front masks his own insecurities and a sense of pride that can get him into trouble. He is, however, deeply loyal to his friends and won’t let anyone else take credit for what they have achieved together.

Ewan (Jonny SweetTogether, Babylon, Him & Her) is the introverted Director of the Coding Team and He’s an awkward but delicate soul who suffers from IBS, motion sickness, nosebleeds and feels unrecognised by the wider world after years stuck behind a screen. With his new wealth, and an exciting new relationship, the worm is about to turn – what will the group do when their beta pal makes moves to become the alpha male?

Final member of the team is the eccentric Watto (Nick HelmUncle), the company’s newly sober artist after years of drug and alcohol use. Replacing one compulsive habit with another, he loves the thrill of spending large amounts of cash on flamboyantly useless items but at once suffers a crippling emptiness in the immediate aftermath of a splurge. A flighty character with few roots to keep him grounded, his commitment to his friends and Idyl Hands is the longest of his life and his mates play a big part in his sobriety.

Joining the four boys is Mary McCormack (The West Wing, Deep Impact, K-Pax) who plays Casey, Vice President for Acquisitions at the parent company that has bought Idyl Hands. On the surface she’s a ruthless, immaculate and forthright business executive who refuses to suffer fools gladly. Emotionally distant and with a super tough exterior, she’s prone to sudden bursts of feeling when it suits her which belie a much more vulnerable side.

Jon Brown (Veep, Fresh Meat) is writer and executive producer and Ian Fitzgibbon (Moone Boy, Raised by Wolves) will direct the first three episodes of the series. The show will be a co-production between AMC, Channel 4, Hillbilly Television and Keshet UK. This is Channel 4’s second collaboration with AMC, after a massively successful team up for Humans, which returns to Channel 4 on Sunday at 9pm.

“After such a successful collaboration on ‘Humans’, we’re thrilled to be partnering once again with AMC,” commented Phil Clarke, Head of Scripted at Channel 4. “Jon Brown is one of the most talented young British writers around, demonstrated by his ability to turn the dream of instant riches into the worst nightmare imaginable. We can’t wait to see the brilliant cast bring to life the motley crew at Idyl Hands. We’re so excited to be working alongside AMC, Hillbilly Television and Keshet UK on this hilarious, astute and timely comedy drama”

LOADED will go into production early next month and is slated to premiere on Channel 4 and AMC in 2017.

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