You, Me and the Apocalypse, review: 'enjoyably chaotic'

Ambition, scope and an eclectic transatlantic cast hints at great promise for Sky One's new comedy, says Gabriel Tate.

To the universe, it's a galactic wing-ding; to the inhabitants of Earth, it's a comet strike which will obliterate all known life forms. All that's left for humanity is 34 days of panicking. Or digging a very, very, very, very deep bunker.

Which is where this begins, a disparate group of survivors from all parts of the world trapped in an underground facility, and it's not immediately obvious if this is the best place to be. Better than on the exact spot where the comet's due to hit, but not perhaps by much.

There's an international cast to depict how the pretty bad news is taken, with Rob Lowe playing a Vatican priest, Jenna Fischer a librarian trapped in a New Mexico prison for hacking, and Mathew Baynton a Slough bank manager who might also be an international cyber-anarchist when he's not arranging mortgages. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll start stockpiling tins.

You, Me And The Apocalypse preview

If the world was about to end, would you rather spend it with your nearest and dearest, or in an underground bunker in Slough with a group of 13 strangers?

The end of the world proves very funny

Pauline Quirke has some of the best lines in the comedy which also cleverly interweaves stories from across the world.

Rob Lowe makes fun of the end of the world... in Slough

The one-time Hollywood hellraiser plays a rakish priest in Sky1's new comedy-drama. He tells Sarah Hughes that the show's typically British mix of 'seriousness and cheek' proved irresistible.

Pauline Quirke on her new comedy co-star Rob Lowe

Birds Of A Feather actress Pauline Quirke admits she was in heaven working alongside Hollywood star Rob Lowe in their new Sky1 comedy drama You, Me and The Apocalypse.

Scenes for Apocalypse Slough to be filmed in Northleach

Filming for comedy-drama series, Apocalypse Slough, will take place in Northleach on Friday.