Sky original Upright, starring Tim Minchin and Milly Alcock, set to air on 28th November on Sky Atlantic

On 28th November 2019, Sky Atlantic and NOW TV will take audiences on a wild road trip across the Australian outback with brand new, sharp-tongued and touching Sky original comedy drama, Upright.

Written by and starring critically acclaimed musician, comedian, actor, writer and director Tim Minchin, Upright, follows two misfits thrown together by chance in the middle of the Australian desert, who forge the unlikeliest of bonds in their quest to get a precious piano from one side of the country to the other.

Lucky Flynn, played by Minchin, hasn’t spoken to his family in years. He’s broke, distant and damaged. He’s also a gifted pianist, whose talent for music is matched only by his talent for self-destruction. When he learns that his mother has only days left to live, Lucky sets off in a hire car to drive the 4,000km from Sydney to Perth to say goodbye, taking with him his only cherished possession in the world: a battered and scarred upright piano.

What should have been a straightforward drive across the outback soon becomes a test of Lucky’s emotional fitness when he quite literally runs into Meg, played Milly Alcock, a hilarious, tough-as-nails teenager who we soon discover has plenty of scars and secrets of her own.

All episodes of Upright (8x30) will be available to viewers from 28th November on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW TV in the UK and from 1st December on Foxtel in Australia. 

Tim Minchin said “Making Upright was a complete joy and a massive privilege. After living overseas for more than a decade, I couldn’t have hoped to come home to a more fun and inspiring project: an original Australian outback adventure story, full of heart and laughter, made by some of most talented and dedicated creatives in the country. It’s a unique but universal story about family, resilience, music, forgiveness, and learning how to find a moment to breath out. And it’s full of silliness, action, and wonderful performances, and will make you want to go to the beach and/or ring your mum”.  

Morwenna Gordon, Commissioning Editor, Sky Comedy, said “I’m thrilled to add Upright to Sky’s line-up of original comedy. World-class Tim Minchin has crafted a beautiful and utterly unique show with a powerful central performance alongside the phenomenal Milly Alcock.”

Forthcoming Sky original comedies include Code 404 with Stephen Graham and Daniel Mays; Intelligence fronted by David Schwimmer and Nick Mohammed; Hit Men, Mel and Sue’s first scripted comedy series, Breeders with Martin Freeman and series 2 of In The Long Run with Idris Elba. 

Co-commissioned by Sky and Foxtel and produced by Lingo Pictures, Upright was commissioned by Zai Bennett, Managing Director of Content at Sky UK and Ireland, and Morwenna Gordon, Sky’s Commissioning Editor of Comedy. The series is produced by Jason Stephens for Lingo Pictures and executive produced by Penny Win for Foxtel. Tim Minchin wrote the series with writers, Chris Taylor, Kate Mulvany and Leon Ford.

About Sky 

With 23.7 million customers across seven countries, Sky is Europe’s leading media and entertainment company and is proud to be part of the Comcast group. 

We have 31,000 colleagues and together we want to connect our customers to more of what they love, including our award-winning original productions, like Patrick Melrose and Save Me, and great shows from our partners including HBO, Showtime and Warner Bros. And our ever-improving technology makes it even easier for customers to watch more of the shows they love with personalised recommendations and voice control and, our online streaming service, NOW TV, brings all the enjoyment of Sky with the flexibility of a contract free service. 

We treat our customers better than anyone else in our field, as Ofcom’s complaints data shows, and we look after our staff too. Sky is one of The Times Top 50 employers for women and we’re in Stonewall’s list of Top 50 LGBT-Inclusive employers. 

We also use our position as the leading entertainment business in Europe to do the right thing. As part of Sky Ocean Rescue campaign, we’re committing to be completely single-use plastic free by 2020, we’re investing £25million over five years in ocean-saving tech and we’re supporting the WWF to protect our oceans with designated Marine Protected Areas. 

About Foxtel

Foxtel is one of Australia’s most innovative and dynamic media companies and home to award winning local drama plus the widest choice in live sport, hit international TV and movies and a host of complete TV seasons to stream On Demand. Foxtel believes in the importance of telling Australian stories, and its ongoing commitment to creating the best in Australian programming has garnered numerous industry awards for its Foxtel Original productions. Foxtel has helped put Australian talent on the world stage with highly acclaimed international exports and it proudly invests in the people who help tell those stories by employing thousands of Australians directly and indirectly across Australia’s creative industry.  It has also pioneered advancements in entertainment technology with the upcoming launch of Australia’s first live 4K channel; the iQ4 set top box; the Foxtel GO app for mobile devices; streaming service, Foxtel Now and Foxtel broadband, home phone and entertainment bundles. Foxtel is owned by News Corporation (65%) and Telstra Corporation Limited ACN 051 775 556 (35%).

Lingo Pictures

Launched in mid-2015, Lingo Pictures is owned by Helen Bowden and Jason Stephens, two of Australia’s most prolific and highly awarded television drama producers. 

The company has just completed the four house mini-series Lambs of God, which now ranks as one of Australian TV’s most successful drama exports. It stars Emmy Award-winner Ann Dowd (Handmaids Tale), Essie Davis (The Slap, Miss Phyrne Fisher), Jessica Barden (End of the F**king World) and Sam Reid (Prime Suspect). The series is for Foxtel and had its world premiere in Official Competition in March 2019, at Series Mania in Lille.

Lingo is also currently in post-production on The Secrets She Keeps, a 6 part adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name by award-winning author Michael Robotham.

In late 2018, Lingo delivered On the Ropes (SBS), a boxing drama starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Nicole Chamoun, Igal Naor, and Jack Thompson, and received three Logie nominations including Best Miniseries. In 2017 Lingo produced the mini-series Wake in Fright starring Sean Keenan, David Wenham, Alex Dimitriades and Robyn Malcolm. The series received 7 AACTA nominations (2 wins); 2 Logie nominations and a Silver World Medal at the 2018 New York TV Festival.

About NOW TV 

NOW TV is a pick and mix TV streaming service that lets you choose from a range of passes contract free. 

Available anytime, anywhere in the UK, you can watch through a NOW TV Box or NOW TV Smart Stick, or on the web. The NOW TV app is also available on over 60 devices. 

Whether you’re into big dramas, blockbuster movies, live sports or even just some extra TV for the kids, NOW TV offers four passes which include the latest and best TV and movies: Entertainment, Sky Cinema, Kids and Sky Sports.  

This includes Sky Atlantic, over 300 Box Sets on demand, all 10 Sky Sports channels and over 1,000 movies – all available with no contract.

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