Lifetime is willing to take a chance on “The Lottery.”
The network has given a 10-episode order to the conspiracy thriller, marking the second scripted series that Lifetime has picked up this year, following the series order for “Un-Real.”
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Set in a dystopian future when women have stopped having children, “The Lottery” reveals a world staring down the barrel of impending extinction. Remarkably, 100 embryos are successfully fertilized and a national lottery is held to decide the surrogates. As conflict, control and mystery over this global crisis unfolds, the government’s interests and power begin to dominate, igniting a highly controversial debate over our fundamental and personal freedom to raise a family.
Marley Shelton (“Eleventh Hour”) stars in the series as Dr. Alison Lennon, the brilliant fertility specialist whose scientific breakthrough may have life-and-death consequences, while Michael Graziadei (“American Horror Story”) plays Kyle, a recovering alcoholic and single father of one of the last children born in the country. David Alpay (“The Vampire Diaries”) and Martin Donovan (“Homeland”) have also been cast.
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“‘The Lottery’ is one of the most provocative and original concepts we’ve ever seen,” Lifetime executive vice president and general manager Rob Sharenow said of the series. “Tim Sexton’s unique dystopian thriller represents an exciting new direction for Lifetime and continues cable’s position on the leading edge of bold, high-quality scripted drama.”
The drama was written by Sexton (“Children of Men,” “Walkout”), who is also executive producing with “Prison Break” alum Dawn Olmstead. Danny Cannon (“CSI,” “Nikita”) directed and executive produced the pilot. Grady Girl Productions is producing in association with Warner Horizon Television.