He stars as Willow Hannigan, an 18 year-old jobless music lover who's just had his heart broken for the first time.
James (represented by United Agents) is a graduate of the Brit School, he played a young Eddie Marsan in Brit sci-fi comedy feature film World's End, and will next be seen in sci-fi action feature Our Robot Overlords.
Newcomer Fergus Van Gelder plays Willow's best friend Chris.
There are no jobs in the small Northern town Willow lives in, his beautiful ex-girlfriend has moved on to someone new and most of his mates have gone away to university whilst he's been left behind, living with his parents. The only thing that keeps him sane, other than his best friend Chris is listening to local internet radio show After Hours, which is run from a canal boat by Lauren (played by Jaime Winstone) and Ollie (played by Rob Kendrick)
Father Ted star Ardal O'Hanlon plays Willow's dad, Peter Hannigan, an ex-milkman who found himself jobless when the big supermarket opened, who is married to Anna (Susan Cookson), a woman who would secretly love a job at the new supermarket. The series will also feature John Thomson as Geoff, Peter's best friend who finds sanctuary on the Hannigan's sofa.
Written by John Osborne and Molly Naylor, the 6x30 minute episodes are being produced by production company Jellylegs, which previously made The Café for Sky1.
Early Doors and The Royle Family star Craig Cash is directing the show. He said of the show: "John and Molly have created a world which is not only very funny but has genuine warmth at its heart. It's a pleasure to be working with such talented new writers and a cast of great comic actors".
Commissioner Lucy Lumsden added: "After Hours is a beautifully written series about growing up in a small Northern town which will capture the hearts of our Sky1 customers. We're delighted to be working with Craig Cash again."
After Hours will be shown on Sky1 sometime in 2015.