Casting News: Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham to Star in Coronavirus TV Movie

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Killing Eve's Jodie Comer has signed up to star opposite Line of Duty's Stephen Graham in Help, a new TV drama from Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials, National Treasure).

Help – the one-off drama's working title – will center on a friendship that develops between a patient (Graham) and a young worker (Comer) who meet at a fictional Liverpool care home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Comer will play Sarah, something of an outsider who has a "special talent for connecting with the residents," while Graham will portray Tony, a 47-year-old man grappling with all the confusion and frustration of Young Onset Alzheimer's. They bond as the care home – like so many in the U.K. – struggles to cope with the fast-spreading virus.

It marks the first time that Comer and Graham, who both hail from Liverpool, will get to work together. Comer revealed in July that Graham gave her some vital advice at the start of her career: don't lose your native "Scouse" accent.

U.K. network Channel 4 has commissioned the 120-minute drama, with Marc Munden (The Third Day, Utopia) set to direct.

Comer said in a Channel 4 press release: “I am, of course, thrilled to finally be working alongside Stephen and the supremely talented Jack, Marc and those at Channel 4. For us to be able to explore such a relevant and emotive story through the eyes of such beautifully real characters, and in our home city of Liverpool, is a real honor.

"We’re determined to do justice to so many of the untold stories and heroes that have been affected as a result of this crisis and to handle them with care.”

Graham added: “Jack is one of the greatest and most truthful writers of our generation and in Help he has crafted a profoundly important piece of social realism. I’ve wanted to work with Jodie for ages, and together we’re hugely passionate about shining a light on one of the biggest tragedies of our time and the people at the heart of it."

In the meantime, you can catch Comer in BBC America's multi-award-winning Killing Eve.

Are you looking forward to seeing Jodie Comer and Stephen Graham in Help?