Olly Alexander is making a return to acting.
The Years & Years frontman said he “feels like the luckiest boy in the world” to be starring in Channel 4’s new drama Boys, the latest from BAFTA-winning TV mastermind Russel T Davies – the man behind Queer As Folk and Cucumber.
Set in the 1980s, the five-part series will follow three young gay men Ritchie, Roscoe and Colin (Olly Alexander, Omari Douglas, Callum Scott Howells) as well as their best friend Jill (Lydia West) as they start a new life in London at the dawn of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“As the decade passes, and they grow up in the shadow of AIDS, they’re determined to live and love more fiercely than ever,” reads the show’s official synopsis.
Olly will be joined by Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Fry, Tracy Ann Oberman, Nathaniel Curtis, Keeley Hawes, and Shaun Dooley in the cast.
“I feel like the luckiest boy in the world to be a part of this project,” Olly said in a statement.
“I’ve been a fan of Russell T Davies ever since I watched Queer As Folk in secret at 14 years old. His work helped shape my identity as a gay person so I’m absolutely over the moon we’ll be working together.
“The script was amazing to read, I laughed and I cried a lot, it’s a privilege to be helping to tell this story and I’m so excited.”
Neil said: “I’m so pleased, and incredibly proud, to be a part of Russell T Davies’ new series.
“This drama, Boys, is two things: it is an irresistible, funny, jubilant story of young people discovering their true identities and the unalloyed joy of living life to the fullest.
“It is also a deeply resonant exploration of a decade when so many of these lives were cut short by the devastating effects of the nascent AIDS pandemic.
“Russell’s scripts chart the highs and lows of this time so beautifully and deftly, it’s an honour to help tell this story.”
Filming for Boys begins this week and the series will air on Channel 4 in 2020.
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