Exclusive: Netflix has added to its UK drama commissioning team by hiring Best Interests EP Toby Bentley from AC Chapter One.
Bentley recently joined Anne Mensah’s Sex Education and The Crown division as Manager, UK Series, focusing on overseeing shows coming out of the UK. He reports to Mona Qureshi and is an addition to the team.
Toby Bentley
Bentley joined Netflix from AC Chapter One, the drama indie backed by Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents of which he was a founding member with Sophie Gardiner five years ago, at which point it was called Chapter One Pictures. Former ITV Studios drama lead Patrick Spence has since taken over.
Having worked with Jack Thorne on BAFTA-nominee Kiri and National Treasure prior to Chapter One, he was EP on the prolific British scribe’s Michael Sheen and Sharon Horgan-starring BBC drama Best Interests, which aired earlier this...
Bentley recently joined Anne Mensah’s Sex Education and The Crown division as Manager, UK Series, focusing on overseeing shows coming out of the UK. He reports to Mona Qureshi and is an addition to the team.
Toby Bentley
Bentley joined Netflix from AC Chapter One, the drama indie backed by Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents of which he was a founding member with Sophie Gardiner five years ago, at which point it was called Chapter One Pictures. Former ITV Studios drama lead Patrick Spence has since taken over.
Having worked with Jack Thorne on BAFTA-nominee Kiri and National Treasure prior to Chapter One, he was EP on the prolific British scribe’s Michael Sheen and Sharon Horgan-starring BBC drama Best Interests, which aired earlier this...
- 8/31/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Jack Thorne is a writer at the peak of his powers, so there are probably few people who can shred his nerves when they comment on his scripts. Sharon Horgan happens to be one such person.
The BAFTA-winning Bad Sisters and Catastrophe creator was not wielding a pen on Thorne’s BBC series Best Interests, but did bring motherly instincts to what is arguably her most dramatic role to date.
Horgan plays Nicci in the powerful story of a family torn apart by a devastating dilemma over whether to remove life support from their terminally ill daughter, Marnie. Thorne had written several scenes between Andrew and their eldest daughter Katie, who cuts a forlorn figure at home as her sister lies stricken in hospital.
He later re-engineered some of these moments for Nicci on the advice of Horgan, who observed that she...
The BAFTA-winning Bad Sisters and Catastrophe creator was not wielding a pen on Thorne’s BBC series Best Interests, but did bring motherly instincts to what is arguably her most dramatic role to date.
Horgan plays Nicci in the powerful story of a family torn apart by a devastating dilemma over whether to remove life support from their terminally ill daughter, Marnie. Thorne had written several scenes between Andrew and their eldest daughter Katie, who cuts a forlorn figure at home as her sister lies stricken in hospital.
He later re-engineered some of these moments for Nicci on the advice of Horgan, who observed that she...
- 6/14/2023
- by Jake Kanter
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay & Associates and United Agents have set former Itvs Creative Director Patrick Spence (Spy Among Friends) as Managing Director of their UK film and TV production joint venture.
Sophie Gardiner, who has overseen the Jv since its initial launch, will transition into a first look deal with the company. She will continue to work on their current film and TV projects.
Formerly known as Chapter One Pictures, the outpost has now rebranded to AC Chapter One. Spence will continue to run the company’s day to day operations independent of the three founding companies.
Spence joins AC Chapter One from ITV Studios. We broke news of his exit from the UK broadcaster last month. In his time there, he executive-produced projects including BAFTA-nominated drama A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce and Anna Maxwell Martin, and Litvinenko, starring David Tennant.
Prior to ITV Studios,...
Sophie Gardiner, who has overseen the Jv since its initial launch, will transition into a first look deal with the company. She will continue to work on their current film and TV projects.
Formerly known as Chapter One Pictures, the outpost has now rebranded to AC Chapter One. Spence will continue to run the company’s day to day operations independent of the three founding companies.
Spence joins AC Chapter One from ITV Studios. We broke news of his exit from the UK broadcaster last month. In his time there, he executive-produced projects including BAFTA-nominated drama A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce and Anna Maxwell Martin, and Litvinenko, starring David Tennant.
Prior to ITV Studios,...
- 4/27/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
With an International Panorama spangled by gems – think Spain’s “Apagón,” Sweden’s “Blackwater,” and Canada’s “Disobey” and “Little Bird” – Series Mania also weighs in this year with one, if not the, strongest and most mouthwatering of international competitions in its history.
Including the opening and closing series, Amazon’s “Greek Salad” and Netflix’s “Transatlantic,” nearly all the global streamers have titles in the lineup, from Apple TV+’s “Drops of God” and Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies.” The lineup also features some A-List international writing talents, such as the U.K.’s Jack Thorne and Israel’s Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen, whose “The Virtues” and “No Man’s Land” rank among the most memorable of recent Series Mania competition titles, and closing the festival, out of competition, “Unorthodox’s” Anna Wenger.”Fleeting Lies” also represents one of the first series from Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s El Deseo label in Madrid,...
Including the opening and closing series, Amazon’s “Greek Salad” and Netflix’s “Transatlantic,” nearly all the global streamers have titles in the lineup, from Apple TV+’s “Drops of God” and Paramount+’s “Fleeting Lies.” The lineup also features some A-List international writing talents, such as the U.K.’s Jack Thorne and Israel’s Ron Leshem and Amit Cohen, whose “The Virtues” and “No Man’s Land” rank among the most memorable of recent Series Mania competition titles, and closing the festival, out of competition, “Unorthodox’s” Anna Wenger.”Fleeting Lies” also represents one of the first series from Pedro and Agustín Almodóvar’s El Deseo label in Madrid,...
- 3/17/2023
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Netflix has revealed the cast, and released a first-look image, of its upcoming Australian original drama series Boy Swallows Universe.
An all-Aussie production, the eight-part limited series stars Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Simon Baker (The Mentalist) and Phoebe Tonkin (H₂O: Just Add Water) as leads in the adaptation of Trent Dalton’s book of the same name. The cast also includes Felix Cameron, Lee Tiger Halley, Bryan Brown, Anthony La Paglia and Sophie Wilde.
Boy Swallows Universe, a very Australian coming-of-age novel that has become an international bestseller, tells the story of a broken family in Brisbane in 1985. The publisher’s synopsis reads: “A lost father, a mute brother, a junkie mum, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious crime for a babysitter. It’s not as if Eli Bell’s life isn’t complicated enough already. He’s just trying...
Netflix has revealed the cast, and released a first-look image, of its upcoming Australian original drama series Boy Swallows Universe.
An all-Aussie production, the eight-part limited series stars Travis Fimmel (Vikings), Simon Baker (The Mentalist) and Phoebe Tonkin (H₂O: Just Add Water) as leads in the adaptation of Trent Dalton’s book of the same name. The cast also includes Felix Cameron, Lee Tiger Halley, Bryan Brown, Anthony La Paglia and Sophie Wilde.
Boy Swallows Universe, a very Australian coming-of-age novel that has become an international bestseller, tells the story of a broken family in Brisbane in 1985. The publisher’s synopsis reads: “A lost father, a mute brother, a junkie mum, a heroin dealer for a stepfather and a notorious crime for a babysitter. It’s not as if Eli Bell’s life isn’t complicated enough already. He’s just trying...
- 9/1/2022
- by Abid Rahman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Netflix’s series adaptation of Australian novel Boy Swallows Universe has unveiled its cast, and first images from the shoot have been released.
Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker and Phoebe Tonkin topline an ensemble cast for the eight-part limited series, which is based on Trent Dalton’s book and is now in production in Brisbane, Australia.
Deadline first revealed news of the project in May 2019, and Netflix boarded it earlier this year.
2022 Netflix Pilot & Series Orders
The book, set in the violent working-class suburban fringe of Brisbane in 1983, follows Eli Bell, an articulate 12-year-old boy, and his mute brother Gus. A synopsis for the novel reads: “Eli Bell’s life is complicated. His father is lost, his mother is in jail and his stepdad is a heroin dealer. The most steadfast adult in Eli’s life is Slim — a...
Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker and Phoebe Tonkin topline an ensemble cast for the eight-part limited series, which is based on Trent Dalton’s book and is now in production in Brisbane, Australia.
Deadline first revealed news of the project in May 2019, and Netflix boarded it earlier this year.
2022 Netflix Pilot & Series Orders
The book, set in the violent working-class suburban fringe of Brisbane in 1983, follows Eli Bell, an articulate 12-year-old boy, and his mute brother Gus. A synopsis for the novel reads: “Eli Bell’s life is complicated. His father is lost, his mother is in jail and his stepdad is a heroin dealer. The most steadfast adult in Eli’s life is Slim — a...
- 8/31/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Travis Fimmel, Simon Baker and Phoebe Tonkin head the adult cast of “Boy Swallows Universe,” an Australia-set fantasy-drama series. Production has now begun in Brisbane, Queensland.
The eight-part limited series is an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s international best-selling novel “Boy Swallows Universe” and is being produced by Brouhaha Entertainment, together with Anonymous Content and Chapter One, for streaming platform Netflix.
“Boy Swallows Universe” follows working-class Brisbane teenager Eli Bell in a whirlwind story about drug addiction, ex-cons, poverty, violence and the discovery of hope through the power of love. Dalton has pitched the story as involving “a boy who receives a message on a red rotary dial phone in a secret underground room that tells him he must bust into Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road Prison to save his mum’s life on Christmas Day.”
The roles of the young Eli and Gus Bell will be played by Felix Cameron...
The eight-part limited series is an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s international best-selling novel “Boy Swallows Universe” and is being produced by Brouhaha Entertainment, together with Anonymous Content and Chapter One, for streaming platform Netflix.
“Boy Swallows Universe” follows working-class Brisbane teenager Eli Bell in a whirlwind story about drug addiction, ex-cons, poverty, violence and the discovery of hope through the power of love. Dalton has pitched the story as involving “a boy who receives a message on a red rotary dial phone in a secret underground room that tells him he must bust into Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road Prison to save his mum’s life on Christmas Day.”
The roles of the young Eli and Gus Bell will be played by Felix Cameron...
- 8/31/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The “Sexy Beast” prequel series at Paramount+ has found its cast, Variety has learned.
The original U.K. drama will star James McArdle as Gal Dove and Emun Elliott as Don Logan, the roles played by Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley respectively in the original 2000 film.
The show follows Gal and Don as best friends and small-time thieves living the good life in ‘90s East London. The series will explore Gal and Don’s complicated relationship as Gal finds himself descending into the seductive madness of the London criminal world during the vibrant and volatile 1990s, while falling in love with DeeDee.
Sarah Greene is Deedee, a captivating adult film star, who has the potential to turn Gal’s whole life upside down. DeeDee was played by Amanda Redman in the film
Stephen Moyer is Teddy Bass, a rising name in the gangster world, who Gal and Don are offered...
The original U.K. drama will star James McArdle as Gal Dove and Emun Elliott as Don Logan, the roles played by Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley respectively in the original 2000 film.
The show follows Gal and Don as best friends and small-time thieves living the good life in ‘90s East London. The series will explore Gal and Don’s complicated relationship as Gal finds himself descending into the seductive madness of the London criminal world during the vibrant and volatile 1990s, while falling in love with DeeDee.
Sarah Greene is Deedee, a captivating adult film star, who has the potential to turn Gal’s whole life upside down. DeeDee was played by Amanda Redman in the film
Stephen Moyer is Teddy Bass, a rising name in the gangster world, who Gal and Don are offered...
- 8/8/2022
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Paramount+ has set the lead cast for its upcoming drama series Sexy Beast, the prequel to the 2000 cult British gangster movie, which is set to premiere in 2023.
The series will track the origin story of the Gal Dove, Don Logan and Teddy Bass characters, played in the movie by Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley and Ian McShane, respectively. It will explore Gal and Don’s complicated relationship as Gal finds himself descending into the seductive madness of the London criminal world during the vibrant and volatile 1990s, while falling in love with DeeDee.
James McArdle (Mare of Easttown) leads the cast as Gal Dove, with Emun Elliot (The Gold) starring as Don Logan, Gal’s best friend. The pair are small-town thieves living the good life in ‘90s East London.
Sarah Greene (Normal People) is Deedee, an adult film star with the potential to turn Gal’s whole life upside down.
The series will track the origin story of the Gal Dove, Don Logan and Teddy Bass characters, played in the movie by Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley and Ian McShane, respectively. It will explore Gal and Don’s complicated relationship as Gal finds himself descending into the seductive madness of the London criminal world during the vibrant and volatile 1990s, while falling in love with DeeDee.
James McArdle (Mare of Easttown) leads the cast as Gal Dove, with Emun Elliot (The Gold) starring as Don Logan, Gal’s best friend. The pair are small-town thieves living the good life in ‘90s East London.
Sarah Greene (Normal People) is Deedee, an adult film star with the potential to turn Gal’s whole life upside down.
- 8/8/2022
- by Sofia Behzadi
- Deadline Film + TV
Australia-set fantasy-drama “Boy Swallows” is to shoot in Brisbane, Queensland from next month. The series is an adaptation of Trent Dalton’s international best-selling novel “Boy Swallows Universe” and is being produced by Brouhaha Entertainment for streaming platform Netflix.
“Boy Swallows Universe” follows working-class Brisbane teenager Eli Bell in a whirlwind story about drug addiction, ex-cons, poverty, violence and the discovery of hope through the power of love, said local screen agency Screen Queensland.
Dalton says that the story involves a “boy who receives a message on a red rotary dial phone in a secret underground room that tells him he must bust into Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road Prison to save his mum’s life on Christmas Day.”
“Boy Swallows Universe” was first published in 2018 by Harper Collins and holds the record as the fastest-selling Australia debut novel ever. It was subsequently produced as a stage play.
The previously...
“Boy Swallows Universe” follows working-class Brisbane teenager Eli Bell in a whirlwind story about drug addiction, ex-cons, poverty, violence and the discovery of hope through the power of love, said local screen agency Screen Queensland.
Dalton says that the story involves a “boy who receives a message on a red rotary dial phone in a secret underground room that tells him he must bust into Brisbane’s notorious Boggo Road Prison to save his mum’s life on Christmas Day.”
“Boy Swallows Universe” was first published in 2018 by Harper Collins and holds the record as the fastest-selling Australia debut novel ever. It was subsequently produced as a stage play.
The previously...
- 7/21/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Following a competitive situation, Spotlight and Mr. Robot outfit Anonymous Content and Chapter One, the UK production house launched by Anonymous Content, Casarotto and United Agents, have acquired rights to produce a movie adaptation of new book Breadsong.
The Brit memoir tells the story of bouncy teenager Kitty Tait who overnight becomes overwhelmed by a cloud of depression and anxiety. Seeing his daughter completely withdrawn from the world, Kitty’s dad Al, desperate to help her with her mental health struggles, asked her to bake a loaf of bread with him. One loaf escalated into an obsession and Kitty started to find her way out of the terrible place she was in. Kitty began to take her baking in a whole new direction, eventually opening the Orange Bakery in Oxfordshire with her dad where queues regularly snake down the street. The book also features more than 80 of Kitty’s favorite recipes.
The Brit memoir tells the story of bouncy teenager Kitty Tait who overnight becomes overwhelmed by a cloud of depression and anxiety. Seeing his daughter completely withdrawn from the world, Kitty’s dad Al, desperate to help her with her mental health struggles, asked her to bake a loaf of bread with him. One loaf escalated into an obsession and Kitty started to find her way out of the terrible place she was in. Kitty began to take her baking in a whole new direction, eventually opening the Orange Bakery in Oxfordshire with her dad where queues regularly snake down the street. The book also features more than 80 of Kitty’s favorite recipes.
- 5/4/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Sharon Horgan & Michael Sheen To Lead Jack Thorne’s ‘Best Interests’
Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen are to lead the Jack Thorne-scripted BBC One drama Best Interests. The duo will play married couple Nicci and Andrew who have two daughters: Katie (Alison Oliver) and Marnie (Niamh Moriarty). Marnie has a life-threatening condition and doctors believe it is in her best interests to be allowed to die, but her loving family disagree. Thus begins a fight that will take them through every stage of a legal process, as they struggle to contemplate this huge decision. Additional cast include Noma Dumezweni, Chizzy Akudolu, Des McAleer, Mat Fraser, Gary Beadle, Jack Morris, Pippa Haywood, Shane Zaza, Lucian Msamati and Lisa McGrillis. Thorne said: “Best Interests cases are both compelling and revealing. Our country has a very troubled relationship with disability and these cases put a spotlight on that. But our drama is first...
Sharon Horgan and Michael Sheen are to lead the Jack Thorne-scripted BBC One drama Best Interests. The duo will play married couple Nicci and Andrew who have two daughters: Katie (Alison Oliver) and Marnie (Niamh Moriarty). Marnie has a life-threatening condition and doctors believe it is in her best interests to be allowed to die, but her loving family disagree. Thus begins a fight that will take them through every stage of a legal process, as they struggle to contemplate this huge decision. Additional cast include Noma Dumezweni, Chizzy Akudolu, Des McAleer, Mat Fraser, Gary Beadle, Jack Morris, Pippa Haywood, Shane Zaza, Lucian Msamati and Lisa McGrillis. Thorne said: “Best Interests cases are both compelling and revealing. Our country has a very troubled relationship with disability and these cases put a spotlight on that. But our drama is first...
- 3/16/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione and Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
BAFTA-winning writer and disability rights advocate Jack Thorne’s BBC drama “Best Interests” stars Michael Sheen (“Good Omens”) and Sharon Horgan (“Catastrophe”).
Sheen and Horgan play married couple Nicci and Andrew, who have two daughters, Katie played by Alison Oliver (“Conversation with Friends”) and Marnie played by Niamh Moriarty (Thorne’s play “A Christmas Carol”). Marnie has a life-threatening condition. The doctors believe it is in her best interests to be allowed to die, but her loving family disagree. And so begins a fight that will take them through every stage of a legal process, as they struggle to contemplate this huge decision.
The four-part series for BBC One is produced by Chapter One Pictures in association with Endeavor Content and directed by Michael Keillor (“Roadkill”).
Horgan said: “‘Best Interests’ broke me when I first read the script and then again after talking with Jack about it. Covid seems to...
Sheen and Horgan play married couple Nicci and Andrew, who have two daughters, Katie played by Alison Oliver (“Conversation with Friends”) and Marnie played by Niamh Moriarty (Thorne’s play “A Christmas Carol”). Marnie has a life-threatening condition. The doctors believe it is in her best interests to be allowed to die, but her loving family disagree. And so begins a fight that will take them through every stage of a legal process, as they struggle to contemplate this huge decision.
The four-part series for BBC One is produced by Chapter One Pictures in association with Endeavor Content and directed by Michael Keillor (“Roadkill”).
Horgan said: “‘Best Interests’ broke me when I first read the script and then again after talking with Jack about it. Covid seems to...
- 3/16/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix has greenlit a trio of series across Japan, Australia and Taiwan, featuring top talent.
Japanese sitcom “Let’s Get Divorced” follows a rookie politician and his actor wife who struggle with their marriage life and they decide to split up. However, their parents and agents don’t allow them to do it. It is co-written by Japan’s top scriptwriters Kankuro Kudo and Shizuka Oishi and the cast includes Tori Matsuzaka, Riisa Naka, Ryo Nishikido, Yuka Itaya, Koji Yamamoto and Arata Furuta.
The series is directed by Fuminori Kaneko, Ryosuke Fukuda and Takuya Sakaue and the TBS Sparkle production is produced by Aki Isoyama and Itsumi Katsuno with Naomi Satoh executive producing for Netflix. It will bow in 2023.
“Boy Swallows Universe” is an adaptation of bestselling Australian author Trent Dalton’s novel of the same name. “‘Boy Swallows Universe’ is about a boy who receives a message on a...
Japanese sitcom “Let’s Get Divorced” follows a rookie politician and his actor wife who struggle with their marriage life and they decide to split up. However, their parents and agents don’t allow them to do it. It is co-written by Japan’s top scriptwriters Kankuro Kudo and Shizuka Oishi and the cast includes Tori Matsuzaka, Riisa Naka, Ryo Nishikido, Yuka Itaya, Koji Yamamoto and Arata Furuta.
The series is directed by Fuminori Kaneko, Ryosuke Fukuda and Takuya Sakaue and the TBS Sparkle production is produced by Aki Isoyama and Itsumi Katsuno with Naomi Satoh executive producing for Netflix. It will bow in 2023.
“Boy Swallows Universe” is an adaptation of bestselling Australian author Trent Dalton’s novel of the same name. “‘Boy Swallows Universe’ is about a boy who receives a message on a...
- 3/4/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
These include a supernatural thriller series titled ’Corballymore House’.
Sleeper Films, the London and Dublin-based production company founded by The Favourite producer Lee Magiday, has revealed plans to ramp up its output across TV and film, with a refreshed slate of projects in development.
Magiday founded the company in 2016, with Rory Gilmartin and and Wilf Varvill joining in 2019 as producers and partners. Gilmartin’s previous credits as a producer include feature Herself and Channel 4/Amazon Prime series Frank Of Ireland.
Varvill has worked at a leading film and TV completion guarantor, where he was closely involved in the financial...
Sleeper Films, the London and Dublin-based production company founded by The Favourite producer Lee Magiday, has revealed plans to ramp up its output across TV and film, with a refreshed slate of projects in development.
Magiday founded the company in 2016, with Rory Gilmartin and and Wilf Varvill joining in 2019 as producers and partners. Gilmartin’s previous credits as a producer include feature Herself and Channel 4/Amazon Prime series Frank Of Ireland.
Varvill has worked at a leading film and TV completion guarantor, where he was closely involved in the financial...
- 11/23/2021
- by Mona Tabbara
- ScreenDaily
Sleeper Films, the London and Dublin-based film and TV company run by Lee Magiday (The Favourite), Rory Gilmartin (Herself) and Wilf Varvill, has secured investment from MediaNet Partners and Sampsonic Media.
New to the company’s development slate is supernatural thriller Corballymore House, a returnable TV series which is being co-produced with Ben Grass of Pure Grass Films.
Declan De Barra (The Witcher) will showrun, with Diane Ademu-John (Dune – The Sisterhood) onboard as creative consultant and EP.
Created by De Barra and inspired by stories from his own family history, Corballymore House is set just prior to the First World War and follows the Doyle family as they inherit a remote manor house while recovering from the loss of their baby and failed business. Setting out with renewed hope to heal and restore their fortunes, they realize their previous troubles are nothing compared to what lies in wait for them at Corballymore.
New to the company’s development slate is supernatural thriller Corballymore House, a returnable TV series which is being co-produced with Ben Grass of Pure Grass Films.
Declan De Barra (The Witcher) will showrun, with Diane Ademu-John (Dune – The Sisterhood) onboard as creative consultant and EP.
Created by De Barra and inspired by stories from his own family history, Corballymore House is set just prior to the First World War and follows the Doyle family as they inherit a remote manor house while recovering from the loss of their baby and failed business. Setting out with renewed hope to heal and restore their fortunes, they realize their previous troubles are nothing compared to what lies in wait for them at Corballymore.
- 11/23/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Netflix has landed The 39 Steps, a limited series star vehicle for Benedict Cumberbatch. Edward Berger, who previously teamed with Cumberbatch on Patrick Melrose, will direct and The Revenant scribe Mark L. Smith will write the series. It’s an update of the classic thriller novel by John Buchan that was famously turned into the 1935 film classic by Alfred Hitchcock.
Anonymous Content, Chapter One Pictures and SunnyMarch are producing. I’m told there will be six or more hourlong episodes, most likely to shoot next year in Europe when schedules clear. Netflix moved most aggressively and committed to make the series when Anonymous Content took the package to the marketplace in late February.
Cumberbatch most recently starred in The Mauritanian and will next be seen starring in the Cold War thriller The Courier. Berger is coming off directing episodes and serving as EP on the superb Showtime limited series Your Honor with Bryan Cranston,...
Anonymous Content, Chapter One Pictures and SunnyMarch are producing. I’m told there will be six or more hourlong episodes, most likely to shoot next year in Europe when schedules clear. Netflix moved most aggressively and committed to make the series when Anonymous Content took the package to the marketplace in late February.
Cumberbatch most recently starred in The Mauritanian and will next be seen starring in the Cold War thriller The Courier. Berger is coming off directing episodes and serving as EP on the superb Showtime limited series Your Honor with Bryan Cranston,...
- 4/9/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Benedict Cumberbatch will star in the Anonymous Content limited series update of the classic thriller The 39 Steps. Series is created by The Revenant scribe Mark L. Smith and directed by Edward Berger. Berger teamed previously with Cumberbatch on Patrick Melrose, and was a director and executive producer of the just completed Showtime limited series Your Honor.
Anonymous Content takes the limited series to networks and streaming platforms immediately.
Anonymous Content, Chapter One Pictures and SunnyMarch are producing the limited series inspired by John Buchan’s novel, which was turned into the 1935 film classic by Alfred Hitchcock. Cumberbatch is set to star, Berger to direct, and the scripts are by Smith who most recently scripted the George Clooney-directed The Midnight Sky.
The 39 Steps is a provocative, action-packed conspiracy thriller series that updates the classic novel for our times. An ordinary man, Richard Hannay, becomes an unwitting pawn in a vast,...
Anonymous Content takes the limited series to networks and streaming platforms immediately.
Anonymous Content, Chapter One Pictures and SunnyMarch are producing the limited series inspired by John Buchan’s novel, which was turned into the 1935 film classic by Alfred Hitchcock. Cumberbatch is set to star, Berger to direct, and the scripts are by Smith who most recently scripted the George Clooney-directed The Midnight Sky.
The 39 Steps is a provocative, action-packed conspiracy thriller series that updates the classic novel for our times. An ordinary man, Richard Hannay, becomes an unwitting pawn in a vast,...
- 2/19/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Joel Edgerton.
Joel Edgerton has spent most of his time in lockdown writing two feature films while rethinking where and how these productions can be shot in the Covid-19 era.
One is a suspense thriller in the vein of The Gift, which he had intended to film in the US. Now he is considering making it in Australia, encouraged by the success of Natalie Erika James’ identifiably Australian movie Relic.
Another revolves around a family of immigrants in New York. Avoiding the risks of filming in that pandemic-stricken city, he plans to shoot it in a studio somewhere in Asia.
“There is an opportunity for a real renaissance in Australia,” the writer-producer-director-actor said in a webinar with Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner.
“We have a plethora of talent and we can make a lot of stuff while the rest of the world has to rest.”
Asked for his wish list for the Australian industry,...
Joel Edgerton has spent most of his time in lockdown writing two feature films while rethinking where and how these productions can be shot in the Covid-19 era.
One is a suspense thriller in the vein of The Gift, which he had intended to film in the US. Now he is considering making it in Australia, encouraged by the success of Natalie Erika James’ identifiably Australian movie Relic.
Another revolves around a family of immigrants in New York. Avoiding the risks of filming in that pandemic-stricken city, he plans to shoot it in a studio somewhere in Asia.
“There is an opportunity for a real renaissance in Australia,” the writer-producer-director-actor said in a webinar with Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner.
“We have a plethora of talent and we can make a lot of stuff while the rest of the world has to rest.”
Asked for his wish list for the Australian industry,...
- 8/26/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
“National Treasure” scribe Jack Thorne is penning “Best Interests” for the BBC, a drama series about a family’s fight to save their sick young daughter after doctors say the child should be allowed to die. The four-part series is the first commission for Chapter One Pictures, the U.K.-based producer set up by Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay, and United Agents.
“As a parent of a three year old I’ve looked at the cases in the media about ‘best interests’ with some fascination and a little dread,” said Thorne, whose TV credits include “His Dark Materials” and “The Virtues.” He added: “We are going to try and tell a nuanced story that talks about this issue from all sides.”
Filming commences in 2020. Piers Wenger, controller of drama for U.K. pubcaster the BBC, commissioned the series. “This heartbreaking story delves deep into the inner turmoil these two parents...
“As a parent of a three year old I’ve looked at the cases in the media about ‘best interests’ with some fascination and a little dread,” said Thorne, whose TV credits include “His Dark Materials” and “The Virtues.” He added: “We are going to try and tell a nuanced story that talks about this issue from all sides.”
Filming commences in 2020. Piers Wenger, controller of drama for U.K. pubcaster the BBC, commissioned the series. “This heartbreaking story delves deep into the inner turmoil these two parents...
- 7/25/2019
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: His Dark Materials writer Jack Thorne is writing four-part family drama Best Interests for BBC One. It marks the first commission for Chapter One Pictures, the Sophie Gardiner-run production company set up by Anonymous Content, Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents.
Deadline revealed that the trio of management and talent agencies had established the indie in March 2018 with Gardiner, who was previously head of drama at Howards End producer Playground Television, set as Managing Director.
Its first order is a “compelling” and “thought-provoking original” from the prolific Thorne, who is also behind series including The Virtues, National Treasure and This Is England as well as the Harry Potter musical.
Best Interests is the story of a family driven apart by having to make choices no parent would ever want to make. Andrew and Nicci’s daughter, Marnie, has a life-threatening condition. The doctors believe it is in her best...
Deadline revealed that the trio of management and talent agencies had established the indie in March 2018 with Gardiner, who was previously head of drama at Howards End producer Playground Television, set as Managing Director.
Its first order is a “compelling” and “thought-provoking original” from the prolific Thorne, who is also behind series including The Virtues, National Treasure and This Is England as well as the Harry Potter musical.
Best Interests is the story of a family driven apart by having to make choices no parent would ever want to make. Andrew and Nicci’s daughter, Marnie, has a life-threatening condition. The doctors believe it is in her best...
- 7/25/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Joel Edgerton
Australian journalist Trent Dalton’s debut novel, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story set in Brisbane in the 1980s, is to be turned into an international TV drama series.
Joel Edgerton, Hopscotch Features’ Troy Lum, Anonymous Content’s Kerry Kohansky-Roberts and Chapter One’s Sophie Gardiner will produce Boy Swallows Universe.
Dalton will serve as an executive producer but no writer has yet been set, according to Deadline.
The UK-based Chapter One was formed last year by Us talent management and production company Anonymous Content and the UK talent agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United.
Published by HarperCollins Australia, the tome follows a young boy who is trying to find his way despite his mum being in jail, his stepfather pushing heroin, and the attentions of a local drug kingpin. Amid this chaos he embarks on his first romance.
The screen rights deal negotiated with HarperCollins Australia followed a “heated international auction,...
Australian journalist Trent Dalton’s debut novel, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story set in Brisbane in the 1980s, is to be turned into an international TV drama series.
Joel Edgerton, Hopscotch Features’ Troy Lum, Anonymous Content’s Kerry Kohansky-Roberts and Chapter One’s Sophie Gardiner will produce Boy Swallows Universe.
Dalton will serve as an executive producer but no writer has yet been set, according to Deadline.
The UK-based Chapter One was formed last year by Us talent management and production company Anonymous Content and the UK talent agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United.
Published by HarperCollins Australia, the tome follows a young boy who is trying to find his way despite his mum being in jail, his stepfather pushing heroin, and the attentions of a local drug kingpin. Amid this chaos he embarks on his first romance.
The screen rights deal negotiated with HarperCollins Australia followed a “heated international auction,...
- 5/22/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: Following a heated auction, Anonymous Content, Chapter One, Hopscotch Features and Joel Edgerton (Boy Erased) are teaming to produce an international TV drama adaptation of Australian bestseller Boy Swallows Universe.
The project is the first to be announced for Anonymous Content’s UK spin-off Chapter One, which was set up last year with UK agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United. The deal was negotiated on behalf of HarperCollins Australia.
Acclaimed Oz journalist Trent Dalton’s lauded debut novel, inspired by his own complicated youth, is a coming-of-age story set in Brisbane’s violent working-class suburban fringe. The 1980’s story follows a young boy trying to find his way despite his mum being in jail, his stepfather pushing heroine, and the attentions of a local drug kingpin. Amid this fraught existence he also navigates his first romance.
Australian multi-hyphenate Edgerton, star of Loving and writer-director-producer of Boy Erased and The Gift,...
The project is the first to be announced for Anonymous Content’s UK spin-off Chapter One, which was set up last year with UK agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United. The deal was negotiated on behalf of HarperCollins Australia.
Acclaimed Oz journalist Trent Dalton’s lauded debut novel, inspired by his own complicated youth, is a coming-of-age story set in Brisbane’s violent working-class suburban fringe. The 1980’s story follows a young boy trying to find his way despite his mum being in jail, his stepfather pushing heroine, and the attentions of a local drug kingpin. Amid this fraught existence he also navigates his first romance.
Australian multi-hyphenate Edgerton, star of Loving and writer-director-producer of Boy Erased and The Gift,...
- 5/22/2019
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Channel 4 has unveiled the first look at the Alessandro Nivola-fronted series adaptation of Lucy Kirkwood’s critically acclaimed play Chimerica.
The broadcaster is set to launch the four-part series, from Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment, this spring.
Chimerica, written by Kirkwood, examines the changing fortunes of the U.S. and China. Nivola plays the lead, an American photojournalist who tries to discover the truth behind the iconic, career-making image he took of a lone man defying the tanks that rolled into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Chimerica starts in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 as young American photojournalist captures a piece of history as tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door. Twenty years later, he is covering a presidential election, marred by debate over cheap labor and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. He subsequently becomes obsessed with a cryptic message left...
The broadcaster is set to launch the four-part series, from Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment, this spring.
Chimerica, written by Kirkwood, examines the changing fortunes of the U.S. and China. Nivola plays the lead, an American photojournalist who tries to discover the truth behind the iconic, career-making image he took of a lone man defying the tanks that rolled into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Chimerica starts in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 as young American photojournalist captures a piece of history as tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door. Twenty years later, he is covering a presidential election, marred by debate over cheap labor and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. He subsequently becomes obsessed with a cryptic message left...
- 2/22/2019
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
The increasing demand for original film and TV content has resulted in players targeting earlier stages of the production process. Now talent agencies, in both the U.K. and the U.S., are arriving earlier to the dance.
The latest agency to dive into content creation is The Artists Partnership (Tap), which is launching The Development Partnership (Tdp) with a slate that includes a new take on Cyrano de Bergerac from Joseph Fiennes, a drama series with Anna Friel and a film project about a real-life con man, with James Norton.
Tap, which is part of the Marcus Evans group, aims to focus on nascent development; its new sister operation, Tdp, is working with clients from the main agency and its book-to-film department, then going out to find production partners. The Tdp team is aware that there are some sticky questions over agents getting into production – the effect it has...
The latest agency to dive into content creation is The Artists Partnership (Tap), which is launching The Development Partnership (Tdp) with a slate that includes a new take on Cyrano de Bergerac from Joseph Fiennes, a drama series with Anna Friel and a film project about a real-life con man, with James Norton.
Tap, which is part of the Marcus Evans group, aims to focus on nascent development; its new sister operation, Tdp, is working with clients from the main agency and its book-to-film department, then going out to find production partners. The Tdp team is aware that there are some sticky questions over agents getting into production – the effect it has...
- 9/20/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Line Of Duty director Michael Keillor boards project; filming underway.
Filming is now underway on Chimerica, Channel 4’s four-part adaptation of Lucy Kirkwood’s Olivier Award-winning stage play.
Show Fullscreen
Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle) will lead the cast as Lee Berger, an American photojournalist and idealist who has lost his way after years working in war zones. Joining him in the project are Cherry Jones (Transparent), Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), F. Murray Abraham (Homeland), Terry Chen (Jessica Jones) and Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World).
Lady Macbeth director William Oldroyd had been set to direct the series but has now left the project,...
Filming is now underway on Chimerica, Channel 4’s four-part adaptation of Lucy Kirkwood’s Olivier Award-winning stage play.
Show Fullscreen
Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle) will lead the cast as Lee Berger, an American photojournalist and idealist who has lost his way after years working in war zones. Joining him in the project are Cherry Jones (Transparent), Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), F. Murray Abraham (Homeland), Terry Chen (Jessica Jones) and Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World).
Lady Macbeth director William Oldroyd had been set to direct the series but has now left the project,...
- 6/1/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Transparent and The Handmaid’s Tale star Cherry Jones and Homeland’s F. Murray Abraham will be among the actors starring alongside Alessandro Nivola in Lucy Kirkwood’s TV adaptation of Chimerica.
The pair will join the American Hustle star, as exclusively reported earlier this year by Deadline, and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), Terry Chen (Jessica Jones) and Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World) in the four-part drama for UK’s Channel 4.
Chimerica, written by Kirkwood, examines the changing fortunes of the U.S. and China. Nivola will play the lead, American photojournalist Lee Berger who tries to discover the truth behind the iconic, career-making image he took of a lone man defying the tanks that rolled into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. Jones will play Mel Kincaid, Lee’s old friend and colleague, fiercely intellectual and recently sober; Okonedo will be Tessa Kendrick, a corporate-minded market researcher who crosses Lee...
The pair will join the American Hustle star, as exclusively reported earlier this year by Deadline, and Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda), Terry Chen (Jessica Jones) and Ty Simpkins (Jurassic World) in the four-part drama for UK’s Channel 4.
Chimerica, written by Kirkwood, examines the changing fortunes of the U.S. and China. Nivola will play the lead, American photojournalist Lee Berger who tries to discover the truth behind the iconic, career-making image he took of a lone man defying the tanks that rolled into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. Jones will play Mel Kincaid, Lee’s old friend and colleague, fiercely intellectual and recently sober; Okonedo will be Tessa Kendrick, a corporate-minded market researcher who crosses Lee...
- 6/1/2018
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Line Of Duty and Three Girls also score multiple nods.
Netflix dramas The Crown and Black Mirror lead the nominations for the 2018 Baftas TV Awards.
The shows, along with the BBC’s Line Of Duty and Three Girls, have three nods each.
The Crown and Line Of Duty will compete in the best drama category with Peaky Blinders and The End Of The F***ing World.
Claire Foy is once again nominated for best actress, with her co-star Vanessa Kirby up for best supporting actress. Both have been recast (with Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter) for series 3.
Joe Cole...
Netflix dramas The Crown and Black Mirror lead the nominations for the 2018 Baftas TV Awards.
The shows, along with the BBC’s Line Of Duty and Three Girls, have three nods each.
The Crown and Line Of Duty will compete in the best drama category with Peaky Blinders and The End Of The F***ing World.
Claire Foy is once again nominated for best actress, with her co-star Vanessa Kirby up for best supporting actress. Both have been recast (with Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter) for series 3.
Joe Cole...
- 4/4/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Line Of Duty and Three Girls also score multiple nods.
Netflix dramas The Crown and Black Mirror lead the nominations for the 2018 TV Baftas.
The shows, along with the BBC’s Line Of Duty and Three Girls, have three nods each.
The Crown and Line Of Duty will compete in the best drama category with Peaky Blinders and The End Of The F***ing World.
Claire Foy is once again nominated for best actress, with her co-star Vanessa Kirby up for best supporting actress. Both have been recast (with Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter) for series 3.
Joe Cole earned...
Netflix dramas The Crown and Black Mirror lead the nominations for the 2018 TV Baftas.
The shows, along with the BBC’s Line Of Duty and Three Girls, have three nods each.
The Crown and Line Of Duty will compete in the best drama category with Peaky Blinders and The End Of The F***ing World.
Claire Foy is once again nominated for best actress, with her co-star Vanessa Kirby up for best supporting actress. Both have been recast (with Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter) for series 3.
Joe Cole earned...
- 4/4/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle, Selma) is in final negotiations to star in Channel 4’s four-part limited series adaptation of Lucy Kirkwood’s critically acclaimed play Chimerica, from Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment.
Titled Foreign Skies, the U.K. series, written by Kirkwood, examines the changing fortunes of the U.S. and China. Nivola will play the lead, an American photojournalist who tries to discover the truth behind the iconic, career-making image he took of a lone man defying the tanks that rolled into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Foreign Skies starts in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 as young American photojournalist captures a piece of history as tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door. Twenty years later, he is covering a presidential election, marred by debate over cheap labour and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. He subsequently becomes obsessed with a...
Titled Foreign Skies, the U.K. series, written by Kirkwood, examines the changing fortunes of the U.S. and China. Nivola will play the lead, an American photojournalist who tries to discover the truth behind the iconic, career-making image he took of a lone man defying the tanks that rolled into Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Foreign Skies starts in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 as young American photojournalist captures a piece of history as tanks roll through Beijing and soldiers hammer on his hotel door. Twenty years later, he is covering a presidential election, marred by debate over cheap labour and the outsourcing of American jobs to Chinese factories. He subsequently becomes obsessed with a...
- 3/29/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Sophie Gardiner hired as managing director.
Us production and management outfit Anonymous Content is teaming with UK talent agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents to launch London-based production company Chapter One.
Sophie Gardiner has been named managing director of Chapter One, which will look to produce high-end film and TV content. She will join the company in June and will oversee the building of the company’s initial team.
Gardiner was previously head of drama at Playground Television where she executive produced adaptations of Howards End and Little Women. She is currently serving as executive producer on Chimerica by Lucy Kirkwood...
Us production and management outfit Anonymous Content is teaming with UK talent agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents to launch London-based production company Chapter One.
Sophie Gardiner has been named managing director of Chapter One, which will look to produce high-end film and TV content. She will join the company in June and will oversee the building of the company’s initial team.
Gardiner was previously head of drama at Playground Television where she executive produced adaptations of Howards End and Little Women. She is currently serving as executive producer on Chimerica by Lucy Kirkwood...
- 3/15/2018
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: In one of the most intriguing developments to hit the UK industry in quite a while, I can reveal that Us management and production powerhouse Anonymous Content has teamed up with leading UK talent agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents to form a film and TV production house in Blighty called Chapter One. The ambitious power play sees the trio launch the London-based company with Playground Television Head Of Drama Sophie Gardiner (Howards End) as Managing…...
- 3/15/2018
- Deadline TV
Exclusive: In one of the most intriguing developments to hit the UK industry in quite a while, I can reveal that Us management and production powerhouse Anonymous Content has teamed up with leading UK talent agencies Casarotto Ramsay and United Agents to form a film and TV production house in Blighty called Chapter One. The ambitious power play sees the trio launch the London-based company with Playground Television Head Of Drama Sophie Gardiner (Howards End) as Managing…...
- 3/15/2018
- Deadline
Peter Kosminsky and Playground team for series.
Director Peter Kosminsky and UK production outfit Playground, the team behind Wolf Hall, are re-teaming to develop cyber warfare series The Undeclared War for broadcaster Channel 4.
Source: BBC
Wolf Hall
The project is being envisioned as a 10-part series focusing on the undeclared cyber confrontation between the key state players in a present day Cold War. Kosminsky will write and direct the first three episodes and the series closer.
The Undeclared War is being developed by Beth Willis at Channel 4 and will be produced by Colin Callender’s Playground. Kosminsky, Callender and Sophie Gardiner, executive creative director at Playground, are serving as executive producers.
Founded in 2012, Playground is a New York and London-based television and film company that has produced more than 60 hours of TV drama to-date, garnering multiple awards including two Baftas and a Golden Globe for 2015 BBC miniseries Wolf Hall.
The company’s recent...
Director Peter Kosminsky and UK production outfit Playground, the team behind Wolf Hall, are re-teaming to develop cyber warfare series The Undeclared War for broadcaster Channel 4.
Source: BBC
Wolf Hall
The project is being envisioned as a 10-part series focusing on the undeclared cyber confrontation between the key state players in a present day Cold War. Kosminsky will write and direct the first three episodes and the series closer.
The Undeclared War is being developed by Beth Willis at Channel 4 and will be produced by Colin Callender’s Playground. Kosminsky, Callender and Sophie Gardiner, executive creative director at Playground, are serving as executive producers.
Founded in 2012, Playground is a New York and London-based television and film company that has produced more than 60 hours of TV drama to-date, garnering multiple awards including two Baftas and a Golden Globe for 2015 BBC miniseries Wolf Hall.
The company’s recent...
- 1/17/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Author: Zehra Phelan
Coming to BBC One in the not too distant future is a brand new adaptation Louisa May Alcott’s universally beloved novel, Little Women and a brand new trailer is now available for your viewing pleasure.
Set against the backdrop of a country divided, the story follows the four March sisters: Jo (Maya Hawke), Meg (Willa Fitzgerald), Beth (Annes Elwy), and Amy (Kathryn Newton) on their journey from childhood to adulthood while their father (Dylan Baker) is away at war. Under the guidance of their mother Marmee (Emily Watson), the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from gender roles to sibling rivalry, first love, loss and marriage.
Accompanied by the charming boy next door Laurie Laurence (Jonah Hauer-King), their cantankerous wealthy Aunt March (Angela Lansbury) and benevolent neighbour Mr. Laurence (Michael Gambon), Little Women is a coming of age story that is as...
Coming to BBC One in the not too distant future is a brand new adaptation Louisa May Alcott’s universally beloved novel, Little Women and a brand new trailer is now available for your viewing pleasure.
Set against the backdrop of a country divided, the story follows the four March sisters: Jo (Maya Hawke), Meg (Willa Fitzgerald), Beth (Annes Elwy), and Amy (Kathryn Newton) on their journey from childhood to adulthood while their father (Dylan Baker) is away at war. Under the guidance of their mother Marmee (Emily Watson), the girls navigate what it means to be a young woman: from gender roles to sibling rivalry, first love, loss and marriage.
Accompanied by the charming boy next door Laurie Laurence (Jonah Hauer-King), their cantankerous wealthy Aunt March (Angela Lansbury) and benevolent neighbour Mr. Laurence (Michael Gambon), Little Women is a coming of age story that is as...
- 12/15/2017
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
BBC One, PBS, Playground co-pro starts shoot this month.
Dame Angela Lansbury, Michael Gambon and Emily Watson will star in the BBC One drama adaptation of Little Women for UK indie Playground.
Based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, the coming of age story about a family growing up in post-Civil War America, will air as a three-part mini-series adapted by the creator of Call the Midwife Heidi Thoma (Cranford) and will be directed by Vanessa Caswill (Thirteen).
Principal photography gets under way this month in Ireland. Co-producers are PBS label Masterpiece.
The series will be set during the book’s 1860’s world with the UK actors adopting Us accents.
Maya Hawke, Willa Fitzgerald, Annes Elwy and Kathryn Newton will play the March sisters alongside rising actor Jonah Hauer-King as Laurie Laurence.
Watson is set to play Marmee, the matriarch of the March family. Lansbury will play the girls’ wealthy relative – the cantankerous Aunt March...
Dame Angela Lansbury, Michael Gambon and Emily Watson will star in the BBC One drama adaptation of Little Women for UK indie Playground.
Based on the classic novel by Louisa May Alcott, the coming of age story about a family growing up in post-Civil War America, will air as a three-part mini-series adapted by the creator of Call the Midwife Heidi Thoma (Cranford) and will be directed by Vanessa Caswill (Thirteen).
Principal photography gets under way this month in Ireland. Co-producers are PBS label Masterpiece.
The series will be set during the book’s 1860’s world with the UK actors adopting Us accents.
Maya Hawke, Willa Fitzgerald, Annes Elwy and Kathryn Newton will play the March sisters alongside rising actor Jonah Hauer-King as Laurie Laurence.
Watson is set to play Marmee, the matriarch of the March family. Lansbury will play the girls’ wealthy relative – the cantankerous Aunt March...
- 7/6/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Bolstering its UK team, Colin Callender’s Playground Entertainment has promoted Sophie Gardiner to Head of Drama, Executive Creative Director and hired Melissa Gallant as Creative Director to work alongside Katie Draper. Gardiner was previously Creative Director and will now oversee Playground's growing UK television production and development slate. That includes the adaptation of Howards End which is penned by Oscar winner Kenneth Lonergan for the BBC and Starz; the…...
- 5/15/2017
- Deadline TV
BBC drama boss Wenger orders over 25 hours of drama.
Russell T Davies, Stephen Poliakoff and Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas have penned dramas for Piers Wenger’s inaugural slate, reports Broadcast.
The BBC drama boss unveiled over 25 hours of new drama commissions across BBC1 and BBC2 at an event co-hosted by director general Tony Hall.
The nine series, seven for BBC1, one for BBC2 and one for BBC3, join recently announced Wenger commissions including Kudos’ Gunpowder and The Forge’s Carey Mulligan-fronted crime drama Collateral.
BBC1
Doctor Who writer Davies has written A Very English Scandal, a 3 x 60-minute series directed by Stephen Frears.
Based on the book A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment by John Preston, it follows the true story of Liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe’s conspiracy to kill his ex-lover Norman Scott.
Commissioned by Wenger and BBC director of content Moore, it...
Russell T Davies, Stephen Poliakoff and Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas have penned dramas for Piers Wenger’s inaugural slate, reports Broadcast.
The BBC drama boss unveiled over 25 hours of new drama commissions across BBC1 and BBC2 at an event co-hosted by director general Tony Hall.
The nine series, seven for BBC1, one for BBC2 and one for BBC3, join recently announced Wenger commissions including Kudos’ Gunpowder and The Forge’s Carey Mulligan-fronted crime drama Collateral.
BBC1
Doctor Who writer Davies has written A Very English Scandal, a 3 x 60-minute series directed by Stephen Frears.
Based on the book A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment by John Preston, it follows the true story of Liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe’s conspiracy to kill his ex-lover Norman Scott.
Commissioned by Wenger and BBC director of content Moore, it...
- 5/5/2017
- ScreenDaily
Colin Callender's Playground Entertainment has been steadily expanding its UK television team with Tom Leggett the latest to join. A former Film4 Senior Development Editor, Leggett will now be Director of Development, Playground Television UK. He will work in the London office alongside Managing Director of Playground Television Louise Pedersen and Creative Director Sophie Gardiner. Playground is a busy operation these days, just coming off of the critically acclaimed Wolf…...
- 3/17/2015
- Deadline TV
Shooting has begun this week in Berkshire on Glue, a brand new original series created and written by BAFTA-winning writer Jack Thorne (This is England, Skins, The Fades) for E4.
E4 has brought together some of Britain’s brightest young talent from film, TV, stage and music to star in the new series including:
Yasmin Paige, star of critically-acclaimed feature Submarine;
Jessie Cave, best known as Lavender Brown in Harry Potter;
Waterloo Road and The Sarah Jane Adventures actor Tommy Lawrence Knight;
Faye Marsay, who stole Howard’s heart as new housemate Candice in Channel 4’s Fresh Meat;
The young cast also features:
Jordan Stephens, platinum-selling hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks, making his acting debut:
Callum Turner who recently starred opposite Helen McCrory in ITV drama Leaving;
Charlotte Spencer last seen as Carly Kirk in BBC Two’s Line of Duty;
Tommy McDonnell, currently in cinemas in acclaimed British prison...
E4 has brought together some of Britain’s brightest young talent from film, TV, stage and music to star in the new series including:
Yasmin Paige, star of critically-acclaimed feature Submarine;
Jessie Cave, best known as Lavender Brown in Harry Potter;
Waterloo Road and The Sarah Jane Adventures actor Tommy Lawrence Knight;
Faye Marsay, who stole Howard’s heart as new housemate Candice in Channel 4’s Fresh Meat;
The young cast also features:
Jordan Stephens, platinum-selling hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks, making his acting debut:
Callum Turner who recently starred opposite Helen McCrory in ITV drama Leaving;
Charlotte Spencer last seen as Carly Kirk in BBC Two’s Line of Duty;
Tommy McDonnell, currently in cinemas in acclaimed British prison...
- 4/2/2014
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
E4 has ordered a second series of Youngers.
The urban music drama will return for eight more episodes in 2014.
Youngers - written by Levi David Addai - stars Calvin Demba, Ade Oyefeso and Shavani Seth as a group of friends negotiating their way through teenage life and London's music scene.
Popular YouTube stars Mandem on the Wall will also return for the second series, which will shoot in South London from November.
"Youngers is such a fresh, vivid and original take on teen life," said Sophie Gardiner - Commissioning Editor for Channel 4 Drama.
"I'm thrilled that it connected with the E4 audience in the way it did - with over half of viewers aged between 10 and 24 years old. I'm delighted that Jay, Yemi and Davina will be back for a second series."
Executive Producer Luke Alkin added: "The critical reaction to Youngers has been fantastic. Series 1 was loved by...
The urban music drama will return for eight more episodes in 2014.
Youngers - written by Levi David Addai - stars Calvin Demba, Ade Oyefeso and Shavani Seth as a group of friends negotiating their way through teenage life and London's music scene.
Popular YouTube stars Mandem on the Wall will also return for the second series, which will shoot in South London from November.
"Youngers is such a fresh, vivid and original take on teen life," said Sophie Gardiner - Commissioning Editor for Channel 4 Drama.
"I'm thrilled that it connected with the E4 audience in the way it did - with over half of viewers aged between 10 and 24 years old. I'm delighted that Jay, Yemi and Davina will be back for a second series."
Executive Producer Luke Alkin added: "The critical reaction to Youngers has been fantastic. Series 1 was loved by...
- 6/27/2013
- Digital Spy
Summer used to be the time that we’d see Warehouse 13, Haven, and – sigh – Eureka return with new seasons, but that’s all changed. Warehouse 13 returns for the second half of its giant 20-episode season on Monday, Haven is now a fall series, and Eureka… well, you know.
But chin up! We have Season 2 of Continuum and standalone seasons of Sinbad and Primeval: New World coming our way, along with the return of Face Off, Ghost Hunters, and many other competition and nonscripted series, not to mention a Twilight Zone marathon, a Roger Corman marathon, and more Original Movies with excellent titles. Check em all out below; series broadcast info will be updated on the SciFiMafia.com Spring and Summer Primetime TV Schedule.
Syfy Launches A Summer Of Imagination And Adventure Premieres Of Reality Series Joe Rogan Questions Everything, Cosworld, Notorious Hauntings And Exit All-new Episodes Of Face Off,...
But chin up! We have Season 2 of Continuum and standalone seasons of Sinbad and Primeval: New World coming our way, along with the return of Face Off, Ghost Hunters, and many other competition and nonscripted series, not to mention a Twilight Zone marathon, a Roger Corman marathon, and more Original Movies with excellent titles. Check em all out below; series broadcast info will be updated on the SciFiMafia.com Spring and Summer Primetime TV Schedule.
Syfy Launches A Summer Of Imagination And Adventure Premieres Of Reality Series Joe Rogan Questions Everything, Cosworld, Notorious Hauntings And Exit All-new Episodes Of Face Off,...
- 4/25/2013
- by Erin Willard
- ScifiMafia
It looks like our summer is shaping up very nicely, thanks to some excellent scheduling by The Powers That Be. At least our weekends will be taken care of. True Blood will almost certainly return in its usual Sunday at 9/8c slot, so there’s Sunday sorted. We told you earlier today that Zero Hour will be airing Saturdays at 8/7c, which fits in perfectly with this latest scheduling announcement: Primeval: New World will be airing Saturdays at 9/8c, followed by Sinbad at 10/9c on Syfy.
You may recall that we told you about the Syfy pickup of Primeval: New World back in October. You’ll recognize it as a spinoff from the original Primeval which aired here originally on BBC America. You’ll also recognize the star, Niall Matter, as Zane from the late great Eureka. Primeval: New World is another series acquired by Syfy from our pals up in Canada,...
You may recall that we told you about the Syfy pickup of Primeval: New World back in October. You’ll recognize it as a spinoff from the original Primeval which aired here originally on BBC America. You’ll also recognize the star, Niall Matter, as Zane from the late great Eureka. Primeval: New World is another series acquired by Syfy from our pals up in Canada,...
- 3/28/2013
- by Erin Willard
- ScifiMafia
My Mad Fat Diary is to return for a second series on E4.
The '90s-set teen drama - which stars Sharon Rooney as troubled but fun-loving Rae Earl - will start shooting six new episodes this summer.
The first series of My Mad Fat Diary launched in January and has a current average viewership of 1.2m.
"We are beyond delighted to be able to take the stories and characters of My Mad Fat Diary to a second series," said exec producer Jude Liknaitzky. "We have been overwhelmed by the response to the show and can't wait to bring more of Rae's stories to life."
Sophie Gardiner, Channel 4 Commissioning Editor for Drama, added: "Thanks to [head writer] Tom Bidwell's funny and insightful writing, and Sharon Rooney's stand-out performance as the great Rae Earl, My Mad Fat Diary has captured the hearts of the E4 audience, and we are delighted...
The '90s-set teen drama - which stars Sharon Rooney as troubled but fun-loving Rae Earl - will start shooting six new episodes this summer.
The first series of My Mad Fat Diary launched in January and has a current average viewership of 1.2m.
"We are beyond delighted to be able to take the stories and characters of My Mad Fat Diary to a second series," said exec producer Jude Liknaitzky. "We have been overwhelmed by the response to the show and can't wait to bring more of Rae's stories to life."
Sophie Gardiner, Channel 4 Commissioning Editor for Drama, added: "Thanks to [head writer] Tom Bidwell's funny and insightful writing, and Sharon Rooney's stand-out performance as the great Rae Earl, My Mad Fat Diary has captured the hearts of the E4 audience, and we are delighted...
- 2/18/2013
- Digital Spy
Here at Ioncinema.com, our interests with film extends into the world of the occasional television mini-series or made for TV project, a place were we see a lot of notable directors going for artistic freedoms they often cannot find elsewhere (we recently think back to: Todd Haynes’ Mildred Pierce, Ross Katz’s Taking Chance, Tom Hooper’s John Adams, Jay Roach’s Recount and if you want to include it but we don’t, Olivier Assayas’ Carlos). Looking forward into 2013, we’ve noticed a large amount of notable projects, from the long gestating mini-series debut of Stephen King’s Under the Dome, which seems to have snagged Swedish director Niels Arden Oplev (of the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo fame), and another notable foreign language talent, Pierre Scholler (whose 2011 film The Minister featured a praiseworthy Olivier Gourmet) who is heading to French television for Les Anonymes, with...
- 1/9/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Primeval co-creator Adrian Hodges is to adapt Giles Milton's book White Gold for Channel 4. Hodges is writing a two-hour pilot script and series bible for a proposed 12-part series based on Milton's non-fiction work, which investigates the slave trade in North Africa. White Gold is being developed by Red Arrow Entertainment and 4Rights, with Red Arrow's Simon Maxwell serving as executive producer and Sophie Gardiner leading development for Channel 4. "White Gold blows the lid off a forgotten yet revelatory chapter from our past and, given the sheer scale and ambition of the project, we're delighted to have Adrian Hodges at the helm to bring this story to life," said Maxwell. "It's a story as thought-provoking as it is gripping and its perfect home is Channel 4." > Youngers: New teen comedy (more)...
- 9/24/2012
- by By Morgan Jeffery
- Digital Spy
In an interesting pairing, Martha Marcy May Marlene helmer Sean Durkin will make his British TV debut with Channel 4 drama Southcliffe, based on a script by Tony Grisoni, who wrote the Red Riding trilogy for the net in 2009. Warp Films is producing the four-part Southcliffe to be aired in 2013. Following a raft of shootings in a fictional English market town, the story is told through the eyes of a journalist and the tragedies’ victims. Grisoni calls it an “anthem to ordinary people’s ability to reinvent themselves in the face of ultimate darkness.” His similarly-themed neo-noir Red Riding crime trilogy achieved cult status in 2009. It was released theatrically by IFC in the U.S. Durkin, who won the Best Director prize in Sundance with Martha Marcy, is also directing the feature indie, Joplin, next year. The $20M pic looks at the last 6 months in the singer’s career and...
- 8/24/2012
- by NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor
- Deadline TV
E4 has announced the commission of Youngers, a new teen drama set in the UK urban music scene.
Big Talk Productions conducted open auditions in London in July to find new faces, with over 350 applicants, aged 16 - 19, turning up - from actors, to rappers and aspiring music artists.
The successful candidates will star alongside YouTube heroes Mandem On The Wall aka recent Brit school graduates 18 year old Joivan Wade, 19 year old Percelle Ascott (both represented by Sainou), and 24 year old comedy actor Dee Kartier.
Percelle will also soon be seen starring in new Cbbc drama Wizards Vs Aliens.
It's Gcse results day and friends Yemi and Jay nervously make their way to find out what the future holds. Aspiring producer Yemi aces his results, but there's no celebrating for Jay. Determined to swerve a career fixing boilers with his dad, Mc Jay picks up a leaflet for Mic Star, a...
Big Talk Productions conducted open auditions in London in July to find new faces, with over 350 applicants, aged 16 - 19, turning up - from actors, to rappers and aspiring music artists.
The successful candidates will star alongside YouTube heroes Mandem On The Wall aka recent Brit school graduates 18 year old Joivan Wade, 19 year old Percelle Ascott (both represented by Sainou), and 24 year old comedy actor Dee Kartier.
Percelle will also soon be seen starring in new Cbbc drama Wizards Vs Aliens.
It's Gcse results day and friends Yemi and Jay nervously make their way to find out what the future holds. Aspiring producer Yemi aces his results, but there's no celebrating for Jay. Determined to swerve a career fixing boilers with his dad, Mc Jay picks up a leaflet for Mic Star, a...
- 8/23/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
Sky 1 HD have commissioned a new fantasy drama series based on the iconic adventurer Sinbad and will broadcast 13 hour-long episodes next year.
Straight out of drama school 20 year old newcomer Elliot Knight has nabbed the title role with recognisable faces cast around him including; Lost’s Naveen Andrews as baddie Lord Akbari, Oscar nominated Hotel Rwanda actress Sophie Okonedo as the love interest, Queen of the Water-Thieves and Timothy Spall as Anicetus, The Old Man of Sea.
I believe the image above of Knight is our first look at him as the fabled sailor who weekly will be fighting monsters, goblins and other devilish creatures and is it just me or does he the eyes of a villain and Naveen Andrews, long-touted as a good potential to play Sinbad in a big-screen movie, would have been a more inspired choice to play the titled hero in a new series?
The...
Straight out of drama school 20 year old newcomer Elliot Knight has nabbed the title role with recognisable faces cast around him including; Lost’s Naveen Andrews as baddie Lord Akbari, Oscar nominated Hotel Rwanda actress Sophie Okonedo as the love interest, Queen of the Water-Thieves and Timothy Spall as Anicetus, The Old Man of Sea.
I believe the image above of Knight is our first look at him as the fabled sailor who weekly will be fighting monsters, goblins and other devilish creatures and is it just me or does he the eyes of a villain and Naveen Andrews, long-touted as a good potential to play Sinbad in a big-screen movie, would have been a more inspired choice to play the titled hero in a new series?
The...
- 6/17/2011
- by Matt Holmes
- Obsessed with Film
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