Humans

In the near future, the must have accessory for any home is a “Synth”, a robotic servant that is eerily lifelike. However, not everybody is convinced that they are the way forward, and it would appear that their fears are not unfounded.

Why we’re looking forward to this: Robots have always been the source of good science fiction and horror, whether the huge metal tripods that H G Wells used to bring chaos to Victorian England or the various Cyberdyne creations that, depending on which timeline we’re now adhering to, will bring Judgement Day upon us – something which may be closer than you think, given the existence of an actual Japanese robotics company called, yep, Cyberdyne.

In this new eight part Channel 4 drama, which is based on a ten episode Swedish series called Real Humans, the future gets uncomfortably close when incredibly lifelike automatons are brought into homes to perform all manner of tasks, and yes, sex is among them.

Even before Humans hits our screens next month, it has been making waves thanks to its clever promotional ploy of running the trailer as an actual advert which had many viewers hitting up Google to check its authenticity, as well as opening a shop on London’s Regent Street called Persona Synthetics and running a (fake) eBay store where you could purchase your very own ‘Synth’ for a cool £20,000.

We haven’t seen the original Swedish version, which ran for two seasons beginning in 2012, but the trailer for Humans has us thinking that this could be an intelligent, creepy glimpse into the near future that, if handled well, may just put us off androids forever.

With AMC, best known for a mildly successful show called The Walking Dead, partnering with Channel 4, the signs are good for an entertaining future shock that will hopefully be the televisual equivalent of an Apple Mac rather than a Sinclair C5.

Humans begins on Channel 4 in the UK on 14th June, and in the US on 28th June.

RICHARD COSGROVE