A Bristol-made sci-fi series is to debut on TV next month – the latest project by a city-based production company that specialises in bringing new talent to the screen.
Netflix Original series The Last Bus has been created and written by Paul Neafcy, who was spotted by Wildseed Studios making mobile phone films on YouTube from his bedroom. 
It is the third series Wildseed has worked on with Paul, pictured below, following the success of Philip Human and PrankMe for a US-based SVoD (subscription video on demand) service.
Wildseed was founded in 2013 by former Aardman Animations head of broadcast Miles Bullough and ex-BBC head of children’s co-production and acquisition Jesse Cleverly as a development and production studio for live action and animation, focused on working with new talent on scripted entertainment for kids, family and young adults.
It has since produced movies, series and shorts for Netflix, BBC3, Disney, Sky and channels all around the world.
The Last Bus – described by Wildseed as an eco-fable for the whole family to watch together – is the latest to benefit from its unique approach nurturing exciting new talent by identifying promising creatives, working intensively with them in development, piloting their ideas and pitching the resulting work into premium platforms.
Packed with comedy, heart, adventure and mystery, the 10-episide series, which starts on subscription streaming service Netflix Original on April 1, features Tom Basden (After Life, Plebs), Robert Sheehan (Umbrella Academy, Misfits) and an ensemble cast of young actors, including complete newcomers Marlie Morrelle and Bristol-based Phoebe De Silva, who were discovered from a school search of thousands of young people for their first acting roles.
It follows a group of mismatched students on a school trip who become unlikely heroes when a robot apocalypse zaps away the rest of humanity.
The series was filmed at Bristol’s Bottle Yard Studios and locations around the city, including Redcliffe Caves and The Downs, as well as Cheddar Gorge, Brean Leisure Park and Wookey Hole in Somerset and the Eden Project in Cornwall.
In keeping with Wildseed’s core mission to discover and nurture new talent, alongside experienced directors Lawrence Gough and Steve Hughes the series features burgeoning directors Drew Casson and Nour Wazzi.
Twenty-five year old Drewn pictured below, first worked with Wildseed when he was just 18 to produce horror film Hungerford and its sequel The Darkest Dawn, which were both picked up by Netflix.
The Last Bus is the first series for rising young director Nour Wazzi, one of the first Arabs to direct high-end TV in the UK following her work with Wildseed on proof-of-concept film The Moderators. The series is also produced by first-time premium drama producer Andy Mosse and cast by Isabella Odoffin in her first TV job as sole casting director.
Wildseed creative director Jesse Cleverly said: “Although at the top level The Last Bus is a shamelessly entertaining sci-fi romp that will entertain the whole family, at another level it is a powerful eco-fable about how the younger generation must be empowered to make very different choices from the generation that preceded it when it comes to the two big challenges of the age – environmental breakdown and hugely sophisticated artificial intelligence.”
Wildseed managing director Miles Bullough added that when the pair established Wildseed, their vision was to become the leading destination for promising talent looking to get their break into scripted prime time.
“The Last Bus truly validates what we set out to do,” he said.
“We’re hugely excited to be launching a Netflix Original series with such a wealth of new and upcoming talent discovered and developed by our team.”
The Last Bus series was commissioned by Dominique Bazay, Alexi Wheeler and Will Cartright-Harwood at Netflix in Europe. Jesse Cleverly and fellow Wildseed executive Sarah Mattingley were show runners for the series.
To watch a trailer for the series, click here
