The upcoming sci-fi drama series from AMC, Channel 4 and Kudos (Broadchurch, The Hour) is set in a parallel present where the latest must-have gadget for any busy family is a ‘Synth’ — a highly developed robotic servant eerily similar to its live counterpart. Premiering in June on AMC, Humans follows a strained suburban family who, in the hope of transforming the way they live, purchases a refurbished Synth only to discover that sharing life with a machine has far-reaching and chilling consequences. I saw some intriguing extended footage at the recent INTV conference in Jerusalem, and AMC has now offered up the first online glimpse of Gemma Chan’s Synth, Anita, as she’s being activated.

An adaptation of Sweden’s Real Humans, it also stars William Hurt, Katherine Parkinson, Tom Goodman-Hill, Colin Morgan, Rebecca Front, Neil Maskell. The eight-part series is written by British duo Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley (Spooks, Spooks: The Greater Good). A UK date for Channel 4 has yet to be set.