Image caption Eric Mabius and Hermione Norris star in Outcasts

A sci-fi series which sees humans attempt to populate another planet is being filmed for the BBC.

Among the Outcasts stars are Ugly Betty's Eric Mabius and Spooks actress Hermione Norris.

Currently filming in South Africa, the eight-part series will be set on the fictional Carpathia in 2040.

The series opens with a group of pioneers waiting to welcome other settlers to the planet, who will hopefully bring news of Earth.

Outcasts, which is due to screen on BBC One later in the year, has been created by Spooks writer Ben Richards.

Other actors joining the cast include Jamie Bamber, who appeared in cult US series Battlestar Galactica, and rapper-turned actor Ashley Walters, who recently starred in the BBC adaptation of Small Island.

Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC drama commissioning, said: "Outcasts is a richly intelligent, character led drama full of big ideas about what it is to be human told through thrilling and surprising stories that could only appear in this show."