How do you watch Origin? What's it about? Who's in the cast?
Everything you need to know about YouTube Premium’s new original series starring Tom Felton and Natalia Tena
The release of sci-fi thriller Origin marks a monumental moment for YouTube’s subscription service YouTube Premium.
The 10-part series is the online video giant’s first high-end European scripted show fresh from the mind of Mika Watkins, who previously worked at a development assistant at production company Left Bank Pictures – who also made Netflix's The Crown.
Pitched as a hybrid between ‘Lost’ and ‘Alien’, YouTube jumped at the idea of the show thanks to its young, international cast – including Harry Potter favourites Tom Felton (who played Draco Malfoy) and Natalia Tena (Nympahadora Tonks).
Discussing the new series, Left Bank’s CEO Andy Harries told Variety, “Within a week of receiving the script, [YouTube executives] said they loved it. It’s a great series for YouTube because Mika’s idea was very global. Origin has an international cast: French, German, Japanese, American, and British — all young, so perfect for YouTube.”
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Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about starring in a YouTube drama, Tom Felton explained, “Honestly, it was like a bunch of kids being let loose and being able to do whatever we liked. There was no army of suits waggling their fingers and telling us what they thought we should do. It was not just Mika, it was Mika and all of us, the writing staff, all the editors, script editors.
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“They were all very young, very fresh, it felt like we weren't trying to copy anything that had been done before and we didn't have to stick to any kind of formula.
“It felt like a very collaborative process which sometimes is not always the way when there's big names on set. It was probably one of the highlights of the whole thing, getting the chance to shape the script.”
So how do you go about watching this thrilling new drama? Here’s everything you need to know.
How do you watch Origin?
The first two episodes of Origin are available to watch for free on YouTube, but to see the remaining eight episodes, fans will have to sign up to YouTube’s new streaming service, YouTube Premium.
Formerly known as YouTube Red, the service, which costs £11.99 a month, allows subscribers to access content ad-free and offline, as well as their YouTube Music Premium services and their rapidly expanding YouTube Original content.
If £11.99 seems a little steep for you (what with Sky and Netflix subscriptions), you can sign up for a one-month free trial, or join a family subscription which allows up to six members (age 13+) in the same household to watch for £17.99.
What’s Origin about?
The series follows a group of strangers on a spaceship heading for a faraway planet under the promise each of them will have a fresh start.
After an incident, the strangers all wake up and realise that their fellow passengers have disappeared, but they aren’t totally alone on the ship – with a monstrous presence now on board.
Each episode then explores why each character is on the ship, with flashback sequences filmed in the characters’ own languages and subtitled.
Playing an American, British actor Felton had to make sure he nailed the accent.
“It’s alright!” he said coyly. “I live in California now, so it's not too much a stretch for me to do it. It's fun. I can get away with it!
“When I first read the script for my character, I knew he was for me. I thought it was a really unique story that hadn't really been told in this sort of format before.”
Who’s in the cast of Origin?
As stated before, Origin sees a Harry Potter reunion for Felton and Tena, playing Logan and Lana respectively.
“Ironically, we never actually worked together on Harry Potter,” he said. “But we know each other really well from all the press that we've done over the years, so it was very sweet.
“You won't find a more dedicated, kick-arse actress than Nat. She really goes into it and she's a brilliant person to have on set. But also, it's nice to have a friendly face.”
Their reunion has led to huge interest in the series from Harry Potter fans, with Felton saying they’ve sent plenty of messages of support.
“Everyone's been very excited,” he said. “I know there's lots of Harry Potter fans that are excited to see us in something else. It’s really quite sweet and humbling to know there are all these fans here to support our work, even all these years after we've done it.”
Joining them onboard this doomed voyage into space are French actor Nora Arnezeder as Rey, newcomer Sen Mitsuji as Shun, Fraser James as Henri, Philipp Christopher as Baum and Siobhan Cullen as Katie.
They are joined by Timewasters star Adelayo Adedayo as Lee and former EastEnders actor Nina Wadia as Venisha.
Origin is now available on YouTube Premium
