Stan Lee’s Lucky Man set to debut on Sky 1

With comic-book movies having dominated global cinema for over a decade, it was only to be expected that the likes of Marvel and DC would turn their attention to the small-screen. Now, after Daredevil and Gotham, none other than Marvel co-founder Stan ‘The Man’ Lee is set to take TV by storm with his original drama Lucky Man.

Produced for Sky1 by Carnival Films – the people responsible for Downton Abbey – the series stars James Nesbitt (The Hobbit) as Harry Clayton, a detective with a knack for self-destruction. Out of pocket thanks to his gambling addiction and facing the unwanted attentions of a nefarious casino boss, things look pretty bleak for Harry. That is until he shares a bed with a beautiful stranger (Love Actually’s Sienna Guillory) from whom he receives a bracelet that grants him instant good fortune.

“I’ve had the idea for a long time,” the 90-year-old Lee (below) told SFX magazine. “I imagined it as everything of anything. I think it would make a great comic, a great television show or a great movie. If you have what you think is a good idea for a story, it will usually work in any medium. It took until I met the right people to work with that we actually put it together.”

With the finished script fleshed out by Neil Biswas (The Take) and Ben Schiffer (Skins), Lee’s involvement isn’t the only reason Lucky Man’s receiving so much attention. Besides Nesbitt and Guillory, the cast also features the likes of Joseph Gatt (Game Of Thrones), Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval), Darren Boyd (Luther) and Steven Mackintosh (everything from Lock, Stock… to Kick-Ass 2). The directors, meanwhile, include David Caffrey (Divorcing Jack, Grand Theft Parsons) and BBC stalwart Andy De Emmony.

Billed as a science-fiction action crime drama, Lucky Man ought to appeal to a broad audience. We’re also guaranteed that it should go down well with gambling fans what with gaming tables being among Harry’s most regular haunts.

So all that remains is to ask where the leading man stands on the matter of luck. “An actor should be the perfect person to answer this,” the Cold Feet star told the Daily Mail. “Actors are replaceable. I have no unique set of skills and I’m lucky to be working. But the harder I work, the luckier I get.”

Stan Lee’s Lucky Man premieres on Sky 1 on 22nd January.