Irish 'Small Town Big Story' to Star Paddy Considine & Christina Hendricks

Sky Studios has commissioned a new comedy-drama from Chris O’Dowd (State of the Union) called Small Town, Big Story. The Irish-set series is currently in production from Playground and FilmNation Entertainment and brings House of the Dragon’s Paddy Considine back to the small screen after his one-season wonder on the HBO hit. He’ll be paired up against American actress Christina Hendricks, who has been lately finding success on British TV and costume dramas. (The Mad Men star will next be part of Apple TV+’s highly anticipated remake of The Buccaneers.) in a tale of Hollywood meeting small-town Ireland.

With the SAG-AFTRA strike still on, Sky stressed this is a U.K. Equity production, and everyone aboard the production is signed as such; therefore, no rules are currently being broken. Like several of the British shows that have been able to continue production during the last few months, the Tory anti-union laws passed in the U.K. over the last decade have been instrumental in allowing the British production studios to keep churning even as the American ones remain mainly at a standstill. (Sky is also filming other series expected to come to American streaming, including Julianne Moore-starrer Mary & George and Eddie Redmayne’s Day of the Jackal remake.)

The irony, of course, is that this comedy is all about when Hollywood comes to town and how the glare of the spotlight and the lure of fame can upend the sleepiest of small towns, even as it ruins lives by undercovering long-held secrets.