The Midwich Cuckoos

The Midwich Cuckoos is a British science fiction television series on Sky Max, created by David Farr. It is based on the 1957 book of the same name by John Wyndham. It stars Keeley Hawes and Max Beesley. It began airing on 2 June 2022, and all episodes became available on Sky On Demand. In Australia, the entire series is available on Stan. Synopsis An unexplained blackout renders all inhabitants of the English village Midwich unconscious for 24 hours, referred to as the "dayout". Upon awakening it soon becomes apparent that all child-bearing aged women are now pregnant. The women all give birth on the same day to healthy babies which grow and develop much faster than "normal" children. The Children bear a resemblance to their mothers, but are both male and female. The government, led by Major Westcott, pays a subsidy to the Children's parents and both educates and monitors them from "The Grange" facility in the village. Dr Zellaby, a villager who was away on the dayout so did not fall pregnant, becomes a primary carer on the staff and suspects that the Children are of alien origin. She shares her concerns with DCI Haynes, the local Police liaison for the village. Several years pass, and the quickly-developing Children become aloof and with the exception of one child - Nathan - have an emotional detachment from the other villagers, including their parents. The Children develop telekinetic abilities, which they use to get their own way, forcing their parents to act against their wills, self-harm and kill themselves in two cases. Major Westcott reveals himself to be an adult Child, the sole survivor from a Russian village 30 years ago that had a dayout, but was bombed by Russian authorities out of fear of the developing Children. Under Westcott's guidance the Children subvert a nearby military base and use the soldiers to organise safe passage out of the village. The Children use their mental powers to force all the villagers to forget the Children exist, but Nathan warns his parents, Zellaby and Haynes who take cover underground and are unaffected by the amnesia wave. The Children remove Nathan from their group mind, leaving him in the village and allowing him and Cassie to run away. They then depart on a bus guarded by the military, and with Zellaby as a willing hostage to ensure safe passage. Unknown to all, Haynes had taken the place of one of the soldiers and overnight hidden an explosive device on the bus.