Dead Set

Dead Set is a British satirical zombie comedy horror television miniseries created and written by Charlie Brooker and directed by Yann Demange. Set on the production compound of a fictional series of Big Brother, the story follows a zombie outbreak that erupts during a live eviction, leaving housemates and production staff trapped inside the Big Brother house as the outside world collapses. The series stars Jaime Winstone as production runner Kelly, alongside Andy Nyman, Riz Ahmed, Warren Brown, Beth Cordingly, Raj Ghatak, Chizzy Akudolu, Kathleen McDermott and Adam Deacon. Big Brother presenter Davina McCall appears as herself, with cameo appearances from several former Big Brother housemates. Produced by Zeppotron (then part of Endemol), Dead Set was filmed primarily during summer 2008 at Longcross Studios and at the real Big Brother house in Elstree. It premiered on E4 from 27 to 31 October 2008 as a five-episode run, and was later repeated on Channel 4 in January 2009. The miniseries received generally positive reviews from critics for its blend of graphic horror and social satire. It was nominated for the Drama Serial award at the British Academy Television Awards in 2009. At the British Academy Television Craft Awards the same year, it won the Interactive Creative Contribution award and received a further nomination for Brooker. The series has been retrospectively cited as having thematic similarities to Brooker's later anthology series Black Mirror. A Brazilian adaptation of Dead Set titled Reality Z premiered on Netflix in 2020.