Channel 4's hit thriller Humans gets a second series (VIDEO)

(Image credit: Des Willie)

Channel 4 announced that it's commissioning another series of its hit sci-fi thriller series, Humans.

The eight-part series concludes on Sunday and has become Channel 4's highest rated series in 20 years. It's first episode had consolidated viewing figures of 6.1 million, while it has averaged 4.8 million per episode, an 18 per cent share of the total viewing audience.

Humans posits a contemporary world where humans live side by side with Synths - robots which appear human and in some cases appear to be developing very human characteristics. This dangerous development in artificial intelligence created the drama and Sunday's final episode will leave viewers on a cliff-hanger – will the Synth family come together and find a way to create feeling in others like them?

Piers Wenger, head of drama at Channel 4, said: “Humans has proved a huge hit with both audiences and critics alike this summer and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to writers Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley and to the team at Kudos for bringing a truly unmissable show to life. It also marks a key moment for Channel 4 as we expand our remit for bold and original drama into the international, co-production space. We look forward to working with our partners AMC on series 2 of Humans and to more Synth-related adventures to come."

Humans, which stars Colin Morgan, William Hurt and Colin Morgan, is a co-production between Channel 4 and US channel AMC.

Watch a clip from the Sunday's finale:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE-yOVivtO4

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix.

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.