''Curfew'' is a British

dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

action drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

television series created by Matthew Read for

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. Starring an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

led by

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...

, Ike Bennett,

Adam Brody Adam Jared Brody (born December 15, 1979) is an American actor, writer, musician, and producer. He is known for his breakthrough role as Seth Cohen on the Fox television series ''The O.C.'', which premiered in 2003. Subsequently, Brody appeared ...

Aimee-Ffion Edwards Aimee-Ffion Edwards (born 21 November 1987) is a Welsh actress and singer. She is known for playing Sketch in '' Skins'', Esme Shelby in ''Peaky Blinders'', Sophie in '' Detectorists'' and Abi in '' Loaded''. She also had a starring voice role ...

Phoebe Fox Phoebe Fox (born 16 April 1987) is an English actress, who was nominated for Olivier and Evening Standard awards for work in theatre. She has appeared in the ''Black Mirror'' episode " The Entire History of You" (2011), '' The Woman in Black: A ...

, Thaddea Graham,

Guz Khan Ghulam Dustgir "Guz" Khan (born 1986) is a British comedian, impressionist, and actor best known for his work in the TV show '' Man Like Mobeen'' and stand up appearances in '' Live at the Apollo''. Early life Guz has two sisters who are ten ...

Malachi Kirby Malachi Kirby is a British actor and writer. He gained prominence through his roles in the 2016 ''Roots'' remake and the ''Black Mirror'' episode "Men Against Fire". He earned a BAFTA for his performance in '' Small Axe'': ''Mangrove''. Early ...

Adrian Lester Adrian Anthony Lester (born Anthony Harvey; 14 August 1968) is a British actor, director and writer. He is the recipient of a Laurence Olivier Award, an Evening Standard Theatre Award and a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for his work on the Lo ...

Andi Osho Yewande "Andi" Osho (born 27 January 1973) is a British stand-up comedian, actress and television presenter. Life and career Osho was born in Plaistow, East London,In an interview for BBC Radio 4 Extra's ''MacAuley & Co'' in 2011 at the Ed ...

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress. She made her film debut playing Ruth Ellis in '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985) and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for ''Damage'' (1992) and ''Tom & Viv'' (1994). ...

, Jessye Romeo, Elijah Rowen, Jason Thorpe, Rose Williams, and

Billy Zane William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the 1989 Australian film ''Dead Calm'', a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promi ...

, the series premiered on 22 February 2019 on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non-terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In limited areas of the United States, the entire series was released on 24 June 2019 by

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as part of their Spectrum Originals

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branding initiative.

Premise

In the near future, Earth is overwhelmed by an unstoppable virus of unknown origin. To protect the population from the virus sweeping across the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, a totalitarian government impose a curfew in which anyone caught out between 7pm to 7am will be put into quarantine, if not worse. ''Curfew'' focuses on a few lucky groups that are offered the opportunity to compete in an illegal street race where the finish line ends in the ultimate prize: sanctuary.

The Virus

The initial outbreak of a virus in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

is followed by its spread to the rest of the world. Those infected by the virus are mutated into fast, savage and feral creatures (referred to as 'mooks') that attack non-infected humans. Mooks have high endurance and speed, and can only be taken down by heavy arms fire or head shots. They have a severe sensitivity to ultraviolet light; they burn when exposed to it, so they hide during the day and come out to hunt at night. When the virus and the appearance of 'mooks' started to impact everyday life, the curfew was introduced to keep people safe from the infected. In addition to the curfew, major cities, notably

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, have built walls and implemented checkpoints to control the public and limit the spread of the virus. Bridges across the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

are also closed during curfew hours. Because 'mooks' can seemingly respond to certain subsonic frequencies, these are used to lure them away from populated areas. The virus is transmitted by biting alone; being scratched by a 'mook' does not result in infection, nor is the virus airborne. While a scratch is harmless, it does cause discomfort and mild nausea that is known to pass within a few hours. However, once bitten, an individual will quickly and painfully mutate. It is considered a mercy to kill the infected before they fully turn. Unbeknownst to the public, the virus is not a natural phenomenon but, actually, a man-made agent originally designed for medical research into cellular regeneration. Unfortunately, the virus mutated unexpectedly during the first human trials in Scotland, and the outbreak occurred as a result of failed containment measures.

Cast

Main

Guest

Joss Carter, Fionn Cox-Davies and Danny Collins portray the creatures.

Episodes

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Sky One 2019 British television series debuts 2019 British television series endings 2010s British drama television series Sky UK original programming Television series by Tiger Aspect Productions Television series by Endemol English-language television shows Television shows set in Manchester Television shows shot in Liverpool