''The Lottery'' is an American

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

drama television series that aired on Lifetime from July 20 through September 28, 2014. The series is set in a

dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...

n future when women have stopped having children due to an

infertility In biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to Sexual reproduction, reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, whi ...

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

. It stars

Marley Shelton Marley Eve Shelton (born April 12, 1974) is an American actress. She made her film debut in ''Grand Canyon (1991 film), Grand Canyon'' (1991) and had a supporting role in the coming-of-age film ''The Sandlot'' (1993) before receiving recognition ...

Michael Graziadei Michael Graziadei is an American actor, known for his role as Daniel Romalotti on the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Life and career Graziadei was born in Germany. He began acting in Germany, on stage, at the age of 5 i ...

Athena Karkanis Athena Karkanis (born September 7, 1981) is a Canadian television, film and voice actress. She played Grace Stone in the NBC/Netflix science fiction drama series '' Manifest'', and voiced Anne Maria in '' Total Drama''. Life and career Karkanis ...

, David Alpay,

Shelley Conn Shelley Deborah Conn (born 21 September 1976) is an English actress. She portrayed Lady Mary Sharma in the second season of ''Bridgerton'', Isabella in the film '' Love Sarah'', Dr Elizabeth Shannon in the Spielberg series '' Terra Nova'', Beelz ...

, Yul Vazquez and

Martin Donovan Martin Donovan (born Martin Paul Smith; August 19, 1957) is an American actor. He has had a long collaboration with director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, such as '' Trust'' (1990), '' Surviving Desire'' (1991), '' Simple Men'' (1 ...

. On October 17, 2014, Lifetime cancelled ''The Lottery'' after one season.

Synopsis

It is the year 2025, and no children have been born on Earth since 2019 due to an infertility pandemic that first became noticeable in 2016. Dr. Alison Lennon and her assistant, Dr. James Lynch, make a breakthrough in their lab work for the Department of Humanity (DOH), and are able to successfully fertilize eggs to create 100 viable human embryos. Darius Hayes, Director of the DOH, strongly believes that the embryos should immediately become property of the U.S. government. But the President of the United States, Thomas Westwood, is fighting sagging poll numbers and sides with his chief of staff, Vanessa Keller, who suggests they hold a public lottery to select 100 women who will carry the embryos to term. The DOH is also looking to control all young children in the country, which includes Elvis Walker, the six-year-old son of Kyle Walker. Meanwhile, an anti-government group called the Second of May Resistance, or "MayTwos", is also trying to seize control of the embryos for its own purposes. In researching the egg and sperm donors that produced the embryos, Alison and James discover a common bond that leads them to uncover the cause of the global infertility crisis. The battle to affect the future of the human race, along with the need to keep secrets buried, becomes a life-and-death struggle, with many paying the ultimate price.

Cast and characters

Main cast

as Dr. Alison Lennon *

as Kyle Walker, father of Elvis *

as Chief of Staff Vanessa Keller * David Alpay as Dr. James Lynch, Alison's colleague and lab assistant *

as Gabrielle Westwood, the First Lady of the United States * Yul Vazquez as President Thomas Westwood, the President of the United States *

as Darius Hayes, the Director of the U.S. Fertility Commission and the head of the Department of Humanity (DOH)

Recurring cast

* J. August Richards as Deputy Secretary of State Nathan Mitchell * Jesse Filkow as Elvis Walker, Kyle's son and one of the last six children born in 2019 *

Rex Linn Rex Maynard Linn (born November 13, 1956) is an American actor. He is best known domestically for playing the role of Sgt. Frank Tripp in the CBS drama '' CSI: Miami'' and more recently for playing Kevin Wachtell in the television series ''Bet ...

as General Alan Langdon, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs *

Megan Park Megan Park (born July 24, 1986) is a Canadian actress and director. She is known for her portrayal of Grace Bowman in the television series ''The Secret Life of the American Teenager''. In 2021, Park made her feature directorial debut with '' ...

as Rose, Darius' daughter * Karissa Lee Staples as Perry Sommers, a Lottery finalist * Christiana Leucas as Angela Maria Perez, a Lottery finalist *

Ernie Hudson Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. Hudson has also acted in the films ''Leviathan'' (1989), '' The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'' (19 ...

as Randall Mitchell, a former Attorney General and Nathan's father * Arturo del Puerto as Rojas, the leader of the MayTwos, the Second of May Resistance *

Steven Culp Steven Bradford Culp (born December 3, 1955) is an American actor. Culp appeared in films '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993), '' James and the Giant Peach'' (1996), ''The Emperor's Club'' (2002), and most notably in the 2000 politic ...

as Dan Melrose, the Vice President of the United States

Production

On September 16, 2013, Lifetime placed a pilot order on ''The Lottery''. On November 4, 2013, Michael Graziadei, Lesley-Ann Brandt and Louise Lombard were cast as regulars. On November 21, 2013, Marley Shelton signed on to star in the pilot episode. David Alpay later was cast as her character's assistant. On December 2, 2013, Martin Donovan was cast as a regular and

Salli Richardson Salli Elise Richardson-Whitfield (born Salli Elise Richardson, November 23, 1967) is an American actress and television director. Richardson is known for her role as Angela in the film '' A Low Down Dirty Shame'' (1994) and for her role as Dr. A ...

was cast in a recurring role as the first lady of the United States. On February 11, 2014, Lifetime officially green-lit ''The Lottery'' with a 10-episode series order. The series filmed in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. After the pilot was picked up by Lifetime, several characters were recast. Lesley-Ann Brandt was reduced to recurring status, Athena Karkanis replaced

Louise Lombard Louise Lombard (born Louise Marie Perkins; 13 September 1970) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Evangeline Eliott in the BBC drama series ''The House of Eliott'' (1991–94), Sofia Curtis in the CBS drama series '' CSI: Cri ...

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

Vanessa Keller. Yul Vazquez was cast as President of the United States, and Shelley Conn replaced

in the role of First Lady of the United States.

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lottery (TV series) 2010s American drama television series 2014 American television series debuts 2014 American television series endings American English-language television shows Lifetime (TV channel) television dramas American post-apocalyptic television series Television shows about human pregnancy Television series by Warner Horizon Television Television shows filmed in Montreal Television series set in 2025 Television shows set in the United States