Keeley Hawes and Max Beesley are to star in a new TV adaptation of John Wyndham's classic sci-fi novel The Midwich Cuckoos.

David Farr, writer of AMC's award-winning 2016 miniseries The Night Manager, is adapting Wyndham's 1957 novel into an eight-part series for U.K. network Sky. Alice Troughton, whose credits include AMC+'s A Discovery of Witches, will serve as lead director.

The Midwich Cuckoos was previously adapted into the 1960 movie Village of the Damned, which starred George Sanders and Barbara Shelley, and a 1995 movie, also called Village of the Damned, which starred Christopher Reeve and Kirstie Alley.

It takes place in a sleepy English village which is shrouded by a mysterious blackout; once the darkness lifts, the local population realizes that every woman of child-bearing age has suddenly and inexplicably fallen pregnant.

Hawes will play Dr. Susannah Zellaby, a psychotherapist who tries to help the distressed community through its growing turmoil, while Beesley will play local police officer DCI Paul Kirby.

The cast also includes Aisling Loftus (A Discovery of Witches), Ukweli Roach (Blindspot), Synnøve Karlsen (Clique), Lara Rossi (Robin Hood), Lewis Reeves (I May Destroy You), Rebekah Staton (Raised by Wolves), and Anneika Rose (Line of Duty).

Writer-creator Farr said in a Sky press release: "I first read The Midwich Cuckoos when I was twelve. I was living in a small town in 1980s Britain. Everything about the book rang true to me and terrified me. An invasion of a small community by a hostile and ruthless force. Apparently innocent children as a force of huge malevolent power. It got under my skin.

“As I've grown older, the story has never ceased to exert a grip," he added. "The idea that we may birth our own destruction is so simple and frightening. That as a mother or a father, the being we love most in the world may turn on us. It's the stuff of nightmares."

In the meantime, why not check out our recent feature rounding up 10 things you might not know about Keeley Hawes?

Are you intrigued by this new adaptation of The Midwich Cuckoos?