Netflix orders Wildseed sci-fi series written by YouTube talent

Paul Neafcy

Netflix has ordered a new sci-fi adventure series from UK prodco Wildseed Studios.

The 10-part The Last Bus is described as an “action-packed, sci-fi road trip adventure” about a group of school children who must band together to face a fearsome new machine intelligence.

The series is being written and created by Paul Neafcy, who was talent-spotted by Wildseed making mobile-phone films on YouTube.

Wildseed subsequently teamed up with Neafcy to develop two series – Phillip Human and PrankMe – for SVOD service Fullscreen, before developing a 10-minute pilot for The Last Bus, which convinced Netflix to order a full series.

Also on-board the project are emerging directors Drew Casson and Nour Wazzi. Casson worked with Wildseed on Hungerford and its sequel The Darkest Dawn, which were both picked up by Netflix. Wazzi, meanwhile, worked with Wildseed on a proof of concept film and will direct two episodes of The Last Bus.

The series will be produced in Bristol and the South West of England and shot in the Bottle Yard Studios, with pre-production starting this summer and shooting beginning in the autumn.

Founded in 2013, by MD Miles Bullough and creative director Jesse Cleverly, Wildseed Studios is scripted entertainment production company specialising in nurturing new talent and creating live action and animation content for young adults, children and family audiences.

Cleverly commented: “Although, at the top level, The Last Bus is a shamelessly entertaining sci-fi romp, 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 which preceded it when it comes to the two big challenges of the age – environmental breakdown and hugely sophisticated artificial intelligence.

“We hope that by producing The Last Bus, and releasing it simultaneously to a global audience, we will have made a small contribution to the pool of courage young people will need to draw upon in the years ahead.”