#and with brian... all his dates involve daisy in some way

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

thinking about dream daddy again and god brian makes me so mad

[aion-rsa]

New British TV Series for 2021: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky Dramas, Britbox & More

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Among the detective dramas and high-stakes thrillers due to arrive on British television in the next year or so, there are a clutch of sci-fi, supernatural and horror shows also coming our way. April saw the release of Sky One original Intergalactic – the story of a wrongly imprisoned galactic pilot who breaks out of space jail with a gang of other high-security female prisoners – and Netflix has ordered fantasy novel adaptations Half Bad, Cuckoo Song, Lockwood & Co. and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – respectively, tales of witches, supernatural pacts, ghost-hunters, and a woman who jumps between bodies in her quest to solve a murder mystery. Coming to terrestrial TV, there’s Life After Life and The Three, stories about living multiple versions of the same life, and the miraculous child survivors of a mysterious plane crash.

On top of that, there’s plenty of true crime, thrillers, a new Sally Rooney adaptation for fans of Normal People, the screenwriting debuts of Candice Carty-Williams and Cash Carraway, plus Shane Meadows’ first period drama. Find out what’s coming from the UK in 2021 and beyond below.

We’ll keep this list updated with new commissions and as casting details and release dates are confirmed.

Anansi Boys (2022)

Following on the heels of Good Omens‘ surprise second series renewal by Amazon Prime Video came the announcement that the same team were to adapt Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys novel into a television series. It’s the story of Fat Charlie Nancy and his slippery brother Spider, sons of Mr Nancy, the folkloric spider god and trickster famed in West African and Caribbean mythology. Casting for the six-part series has yet to be announced.

Around the World in 80 Days (tbc)

Filming began in South Africa on this new eight-part adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic novel in February 2020, and was halted in March by Covid-19 with an episode and a half in the can, before resuming in early July, then finally wrapping in March 2021. The European-funded series will air on BBC One and stars David Tennant as Verne’s famous explorer Phileas Fogg. To satisfy a foolhardy wager, Fogg and his valet set off on a globe-circling journey, this time in the company of journalist Abigail Fix, played by The Crown’s Leonie Benesch. It’s been adapted by a team led by Life On Mars’ Ashley Pharoah.

Anne (tbc)

World Productions, the makers of some of the best British drama around (Line Of Duty, Save Me, Jed Mercurio drama Bodyguard) are behind this four-part drama for ITV. Written by novelist Kevin Sampson, who was present at Hillsborough Stadium on the tragic day that ninety-six football fans died, it tells the real-life story of Anne Williams’ decades-long fight for justice for her teenage son and all the victims of the 1989 disaster. Maxine Peake stars in the lead role and Bruce Goodison directs. Peake was spotted filming the series in Liverpool back in late 2018 but there’s no sign yet of a release date.

Before We Die (May)

Adapted from the Swedish crime thriller of the same name (pictured above), Before We Die is the six-part story of a detective who discovers that her son is acting as an undercover informant in a brutal murder investigation. This English-language version is set in Bristol and stars Lesley Sharp, Vincent Regan and Patrick Gibson. The series aired on Channel 4 in May to lukewarm reviews.

Behind Her Eyes (Feb)

This six-part psychological thriller arrived in February, went straight into Netflix’s Top 10 and had an ending that left a real impression on viewers (spoilers in our discussion of it.) Adapted by Hannibal and The Punisher’s Steve Lightfoot from Sarah Pinborough’s 2017 novel, it’s the story of a woman who becomes involved in an unconventional love triangle that develops into a dark, twist-filled web of secrets. Tom Bateman (Vanity Fair, Beecham House) and The Luminaries’ Eve Hewson star.

Best Interests (tbc)

Jack Thorne (pictured), the busiest screenwriter in the UK is returning to BBC One fresh from His Dark Materials series two with a new original four-part drama partly inspired by the real-life Charlie Gard case. It’s about a young child with a life-threatening condition whose medical team judge it in her best interests that she be allowed to die, a decision her family can’t support and fight every step of the way. The commission was announced in July 2019 and filming was due to begin in 2020 before the pandemic took hold. As of June 2021, there were no recent updates about progress on this one.

Bloodlands (Feb)

Series two has already been ordered of new BBC One Belfast-set crime drama Bloodlands, which stars The Missing and Cold Feet‘s James Nesbitt. The thriller, from new writer Chris Brandon, revolved around a cold case that held personal significance for Nesbitt’s detective and dug up buried secrets for him and the people of Belfast. Susan Lynch, Michael Smiley, Ian McElhinney and Lisa Dwan were among the cast for series one.

But When We Dance  (tbc)

Directed by Johnny Campbell (of In The Flesh and Dracula fame) and written by Esio Trot’s Paul Mayhew Archer, this one-off comedy-drama about two people with Parkinson’s disease was announced in late 2019 and will be coming to BBC One. Described as a touching and hilarious love story, it’s the story of Tony and Emma, a couple who first meet at a dance class for people with Parkinson’s. It promises to be a witty, heart-felt 90 minutes throwing a light on a much-diagnosed condition in the UK.

Call My Agent (tbc)

An English-language adaptation of the hit French comedy-drama following a Parisian talent agency is coming to the UK, and from the best possible choice of writer – WIA and Twenty Twelve writer John Morton. Filming took place in summer 2021 on the series, which is set to welcome a host of star cameos including Helena Bonham Carter, Kelly Macdonald and Jim Broadbent, all playing satirical versions of themselves. Jack Davenport leads the regular cast.

Cash Carraway w/t (2022)

Inspired by writer Cash Carraway’s recent memoir Skint Estate, this new BBC drama will star This Country’s Daisy May Cooper as a working class single mum skewering stereotypes and exploring the brutal realities of austerity Britain. Creator Carraway assures viewers that it won’t be “a woeful tale of poverty porn,” but a love story between a mother who refuses to give in, and her 10-year-old daughter.

Champion (2022)

From Candice Carty-Williams (pictured above), writer of 2019 hit novel Queenie, comes a series celebrating contemporary Black British Music. Champion is the story of a highly personal rap battle between a South London brother and sister, former rap sensation and ex-con Bosco, and his former PA and younger sister Vita. Which of the Champion siblings will prosper?

Chloe (tbc)

From Alice Seabright, director of Netflix’s Sex Education comes six-part BBC One psychological thriller Chloe. It’s the story of Becky, who becomes so obsessed with the death of an estranged friend that she takes on a false identity to find out the true story. The cast (pictured above) was announced in April 2021 and includes Poldark‘s Jack Farthing, The Crown‘s Erin Doherty, The Serpent‘s Billy Howle and Gangs of London‘s Pippa Bennett-Warner.

Come Again (2022)

Robert Webb’s debut novel Come Again, which was published in April 2020, is being adapted for television. It was announced in May 2020 that Firebird Pictures Ltd is working on the screen version of the story by the writer-actor. Come Again is the first novel by Webb (Peep Show, Back, That Mitchell And Webb Look). It tells the story of Kate, a karate expert, computer genius widow mired in grief who gets an out-of-this-world chance to go back into her past and change the future. It’s part love story, part coming-of-age story, part spy thriller packed with action and 90s nostalgia.

Conversations with Friends (2022)

Following the enormous success of Normal People – the story of young Irish couple Marianne and Connor navigating love, sex, university, class, friendship and mental health – the BBC and Hulu are collaborating on an adaptation of author Sally Rooney’s debut novel, Conversations with Friends. This one’s on a similar bent, as the story of a pair of young Irish students who get involved with an glamorous older, married couple. The cast looks excellent too, with Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke playing Nick and Melissa, newcomer Alison Oliver playing the lead Frances, and Utopia (US) and Loki‘s Sasha Lane as Frances’ friend Bobbi.

Crime (tbc)

Filming began in April 2021 on Irvine Welsh crime thriller adaptation Crime, a Britbox exclusive due to arrive late this year. Welsh is adapting his novel for the screen in collaboration with Dean Cavanagh. Set in Edinburgh, it’s the story of Detective Inspector Lennox (played by Dougray Scott) and his investigation into the disappearance of a schoolgirl. Angela Griffin, Joanna Vanderham and Ken Stott also star. Broadchurch and Vigil (see below) director James Strong describes it as “a dark, visceral, shocking ride.”

Cuckoo Song (2022)

Based on the acclaimed young adult novel by author Frances Hardinge (The Lie Tree, Fly By Night), this six-part fantasy series is coming to Netflix. Among the writers are Doctor Who’s Sarah Dollard, Elizabeth is Missing’s Andrea Gibb and The Innocents’ Corinna Faith. It’s the story of two sisters – one human and one a monster – at war with each other, who have to reunite to reverse a supernatural pact gone wrong.

Danny Boy (May)

New BBC Two feature-length drama Danny Boy aired in May and told the story of real-life soldier Brian Wood, accused of war crimes in Iraq by human rights lawyer Phil Shiner. Ordeal by Innocence’s Anthony Boyle plays Wood, with the magnificent Toby Jones as Shiner, from a screenplay written by Murder and Party Animals’ Robert Jones. It’s currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Death Comes as the End (tbc)

With Agatha Christie adaptation The Pale Horse having completed Sarah Phelps’ quintet of adaptations for the BBC in 2020, it’s the turn of a different voice on a very different kind of Christie novel. That voice? Vanity Fair and Five Days screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes. And that novel? Death Comes As The End, a murder mystery set not in the early 20th century, but in ancient Egypt. The arrival of a new concubine sends ripples through an Egyptian priest’s family. The cast and air date have yet to be announced.

Devils (February)

Italian-French-UK co-production Devils came to Sky Atlantic in February, a high-finance thriller based on Guido Maria Brera’s novel of the same name. It’s a story of a top investment firm, multi-million dollar deals, a mysterious death and a public scandal. Alessandro Borghi stars.

Domina (May)

From Simon Burke, the creator of Sky weird-thriller Fortitude, eight-part historical family saga Domina is set in ancient Rome, beginning in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination. Based on real historical characters, it follows the ascendancy of Livia Drusilla through the Roman political ranks, as she strategizes her way to the top, driven by revenge.

Englistan (tbc)

Actor, rapper and screenwriter Riz Ahmed (pictured) was announced in 2018 as developing this ambitious nine-part series with BBC Two, but no updates have been released since. It was set to be a drama about three generations of a British Pakistani family set over the course of four decades. As soon as there’s any news on this one, we’ll include it here.

Everything I Know About Love (2022)

Novelist and journalist Dolly Alderton has turned screenwriter to adapt her own memoir Everything I Know About Love for the BBC. Described as “a generous, funny, warm-hearted and uplifting Sex & the City for Millennials, it’s the story of two young women Maggie and Birdy, who move to London and have to navigate relationships, flat-shares, heartache and friendship.

Extinction (2022)

This one needs to be on your radar: Giri/Haji creator Joe Barton has written an eight-part action thriller starring I May Destroy You and Gangs of London‘s Paapa Essiedu. It’s the story of a man recruited into an organisation formed to stop global catastrophes, who ends up reliving the same day again and again. Strike‘s Tom Burke, The Bodyguard‘s Anjli Mohindra and Jonathan Creek‘s Caroline Quentin co-star.

Finding Alice (January)

Keeley Hawes stars as a woman who discovers a host of unsettling secrets when her partner Harry unexpectedly dies when they finally move into their newly built dream house. A black comedy that aired on ITV in early 2021, Finding Alice also stars Joanna Lumley and Nigel Havers, and was written by The Durrells’ Simon Nye.

Four Lives (tbc)

Previously titled The Barking Murders, Four Lives is a three-part BBC drama based on real-life killer Stephen Port, and the aftermath of the four murders he committed. Port raped and murdered four men between 2014 and 2015, using Grindr to attract his victims. Jeff Pope, who previously penned The Moorside and Little Boy Blue, is the writer, with Neil McKay directing. Sheridan Smith and Jamie Winstone will star alongside Stephen Merchant as Port. In this Entertainment Focus interview from April 2020, actor Michael Jibson confirmed the drama was currently postponed due to the ongoing real-life criminal case.

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Ginger Snaps (2022)

It’s 20 years since the release of Ginger Snaps, the first in a trilogy of now-cult horror films, and, according to Sid Gentle Films, high time for a live-action TV adaptation. The darkly comic feminist werewolf movie will be adapted for a TV co-production by Anna Ssemuyaba, who has previous written for Sky’s Guerilla, Channel 4’s Adult Material and ITV’s Unsaid Stories, and from by the co-producers of Killing Eve and Orphan Black.

Grace (March)

From Endeavour creator Russell Lewis come two feature-length adaptations of Peter James’ crime novel series about a Brighton-based Detective Superintendent. Life on Mars’ John Simm plays unorthodox investigator Roy Grace, who’s haunted by the disappearance of his wife, in two-hour versions of Dead Simple and Looking Good Dead. The first film, which aired in May, revolves around a cold case and a groom who goes mysteriously missing just days before his wedding, and the second film will air later in 2021. Reviews were good so catch up on ITV Hub if you missed it.

Half Bad (tbc)

Based on Sally Green’s celebrated book trilogy of the same name, Half Bad will be an eight-part one-hour Netflix fantasy drama. It’s about a 16-year-old boy who has spent his life surveilled for signs that he may follow in the footsteps of his father – the world’s most feared witch. Giri/Haji creator Joe Barton is writing the series, with Andy Serkis among the producers. We. Can’t. Wait.

Harlan Coben’s Stay Close (tbc)

Thriller writer Harlan Coban is currently part of the way into a five-year deal with Netflix to adapt 14 of his novels, and Stay Close is the latest adaptation from writer Danny Brocklehurst and RED Productions, the team that brought us The Stranger. Like The Stranger, Stay Close will star Richard Armitage and move the book setting from the US to the UK. It’s the story of three characters whose dark secrets threaten to destroy their lives. James Nesbitt and Cush Jumbo also star.

Hollington Drive (tbc)

If you’ve seen writer Sophie Petzal’s Irish thriller Blood starring Adrian Dunbar, you’ll want to tune in for this. Coming to ITV, it’s a four-part thriller about two grown-up sisters who become entangled in a tense mystery when their children are involved in the disappearance of a 10-year-old local boy. Expect twists, turns, and sharp writing. The cast looks great too, led by Rachel Stirling and Anna Maxwell-Martin (pictured above).

Inside Man (tbc)

The latest BBC One drama from former Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner Steven Moffat is a four-part crime thriller entitled Inside Man. The twisting story is about a death row inmate in the US and a woman who’s trapped in a cellar under an English vicarage, whose lives interlink “in the most unexpected way”. The cast (pictured above) looks excellent and includes plenty of Moffat’s past collaborators in David Tennant, Dracula‘s Dolly Wells and Lydia West, and Mr Stanley Tucci.

Intergalactic (April)

Sky One’s Intergalactic is an original, British space-set drama about a galactic pilot who’s falsely imprisoned, then breaks free with a gang of other high-security female prisoners. It stars The Tunnel‘s Savannah Steyn in the lead role, with Parminder Nagra, Eleanor Tomlinson, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Natasha O’Keeffe, Thomas Turgoose and Craig Parkinson, so lots of great British talent in the cast. The first series aired in Spring 2021 and is available to stream on NOW.

It’s a Sin (January)

This 1980s-set drama (previously titled The Boys) comes from acclaimed screenwriter Russell T. Davies (A Very English Scandal, Doctor Who) and tackles the impact of AIDS on the lives of three young men across a period of ten years. It’s the story of “the epidemic, the pain of rejection and the prejudices that gay men faced throughout the decade.” It was one of the dramas of the year, with a fantastic cast including Olly Alexander, Lydia West, Omari Douglas, Neil Patrick Harris, Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry, Tracy Ann Oberman and Shaun Dooley.

Karen Pirie (tbc)

A new detective is on her way to ITV in the form of Karen Pirie, the creation of novelist Val McDermid who’s also the literary source of ITV’s popular Wire in the Blood forensic pathology series. The new crime drama comes adapted from the first in McDermid’s five-book series The Distant Echo by Harlots and Save Me Too’s Emer Kenny. It’s about a young Scottish detective working in St. Andrews who is tasked with reopening cold cases. The first involves the 25-year-old death of a teenager whose unsolved murder has become the subject of a true crime podcast. It’s being made by Bodyguard and Line of Duty‘s World Productions. 

Landscapers (tbc)

A four-part true crime series about ‘Mansfield Murderers’ Susan and Christopher Edwards is on its way to Sky Atlantic and HBO. Alexander Payne (Sideways) was set to direct, but departed the project in October 2020 following what’s being reported as a scheduling conflict after Covid-19 pushed production back. The Edwards killed Susan’s parents and buried them in their garden, then spent over a decade draining their bank accounts before being discovered in 2014. Olivia Colman will star as Susan Edwards, from a script written by Colman’s producer husband Ed Sinclair. Giri/Haji and Flowers’ Will Sharpe replaces Payne as the director.

Life After Life (tbc)

Kate Atkinson’s 2013 novel Life After Life is a masterpiece of imaginative fiction, so it’s no surprise that BBC One is currently preparing a TV adaptation. It’s the story of Ursula, a woman with the extraordinary power to keep being continually reborn into new and alternative versions of her life after she dies. Seemingly insignificant changes to people and circumstances set her on new courses every time – can she alter the course of history? Playwright Bash Doran (Traitors) has adapted the novel and filming began in April 2021 with a cast including Sian Clifford, James McArdle and lead Thomasin McKenzie.

Lockwood & Co (tbc)

Attack the Block’s Joe Cornish is writing and directing this Netflix adaptation of Jonathan Stroud’s supernatural adventure series about a ghost-hunting detective agency run by two teenage boys and a psychic girl. It’s set in London and was only announced in December 2020, so don’t expect to see it arrive on the streaming service for a little while yet.

Magpie Murders (2022)

One of a slate of original drama commissions for UK streamer Britbox, Anthony Horowitz will adapt for screen his own murder mystery novel Magpie Murders, the first of his Susan Ryeland series. Lesley Manville will play literary editor Ryeland (Manville), with Spall playing her client’s fictional 1950s detective Atticus Pünd. A dream cast for this six-part thriller.

Marlow (2022)

Another Britbox commission that shows the UK streamer is serious about making a splash in quality original drama, Marlow will be an eight-part thriller from Southcliffe and Red Riding’s Tony Grisoni, starring The Crown’s Claire Foy. It’s a modern-day crime fable based around two warring families “amid the unsettling and indelible landscape of the Thames Estuary,” or as Foy’s revenge-seeking character Evie Wyatt calls it, the Edgelands.

Marriage (2022)

From Stefan Golaszewski, the creator of excellent comedy-drama Mum (pictured above) and comedy Him & Her, comes four-part drama Marriage. Not much is known about the show yet, but we can expect it to examine “in intimate detail the fears, frustrations and salvation of marriage and the comfort that can only be found in togetherness.”

My Name is Leon (tbc)

Filming began in March 2021 on a feature-length adaptation of Kit de Waal’s novel My Name is Leon, the 1980s-set story of a nine-year-old biracial boy forced to cope with his mother’s breakdown. Writer-director Shola Amoo is adapting the screenplay, with Kibwe Tavares directing, and Malachi Kirby and Monica Dolan among the cast.

My Name is Lizzie (tbc)

This four-part Channel 4 drama, based on real events, will star The Virtues and Raised by Wolves’ Niamh Algar as an undercover police officer used in a honeytrap search for a killer in the 1990s. Written by The Tunnel’s Emilia di Girolamo, it promises to take viewers behind the scenes on one of the UK’s most controversial police investigations. It was only announced in late 2020, so don’t expect it for a little while.

No Return (tbc)

Filming is due to begin in summer 2021 on ITV’s No Return, a Manchester-based four-part drama from Danny Brocklehurst (The Stranger, Shameless). It stars Sheridan Smith (pictured above) as the mother of a 16-year-old boy accused of a serious crime while on a family holiday in Turkey. Secrets unfurl as the family fights an alien legal system to free their son and get to the truth.

Ragdoll (tbc)

Attn: crime fans. Alibi has commissioned darkly witty six-part thriller Ragdoll, to be adapted from the novel of the same name by Daniel Cole. It’s a Jo Nesbo-ish crime drama about a grotesque murder in which six victims have been sewn into the shape of a single body. Detectives Rose, Baxter and Edmunds are on the case, charged with protecting the killer’s next set of advertised victims. The Irregulars’ Henry Lloyd Hughes, Lucy Hale and Thalissa Teixeira will star.

Ralph and Katie (tbc)

This six-part half hour is a spin-off from BBC One’s hit family drama The A Word, following the married lives of the titular characters, both of whom have Down’s Syndrome. The original series creator Peter Bowker is writing the show, which stars Leon Harrop and Sarah Gordy, alongside new and emerging disabled talent.

Red Rose (tbc)

A contemporary teen horror series is on its way to BBC Three and Netflix, written by Michael and Paul Clarkson (The Haunting Of Hill House, pictured). Red Rose will be an eight-part series about the relationship between teenagers and their online lives. It’s the story of Rochelle, a Bolton teen who downloads a mysterious app that sets in motion a series of terrifying events. Ultimately, say the Clarksons, “it’s the story of friendship told through the prism of a classic horror-thriller.” 

Riches (tbc)

From Empire to Succession, the complicated family lives of the super-wealthy are a continued source of fascination on screen. ITV has ordered drama Riches from writer Abby Ajayi to mine that seam. The six-part drama revolves around successful businessman Stephen Richards, a specialist in cosmetics for black women, who’s on a winning streak until a dramatic event forces his grown-up children from two marriages to gather together and decide what happens next.

Ridley Road (tbc)

Four-part BBC One thriller Ridley Road is adapted from Jo Bloom’s 2014 novel of the same name by screenwriter-actor Sarah Solemani (Him & Her, No Offence). It’s the story of the fight against fascism in 1960s London. According to Solemani, the novel reveals “a darker side of Sixties London and the staggering contribution the Jewish community made in the battle against racism.” Newcomer Aggi O’Casey is joined by Eddie Marsan, Rory Kinnear, Samantha Spiro and more.

Ripley (tbc)

Sherlock and Fleabag’s Andrew Scott will play Tom Ripley in a new TV adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith five-strong novel series for Showtime and Sky Atlantic. The first season will restage events as depicted in Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr Ripley, when a young grifter in 1960s New York is hired by a wealthy man to convince his wayward, hedonist son – played by Emma and Beast’s Johnny Flynn – to return home from Italy. Steven Zaillian (The Night Of, Schindler’s List) will write and direct.

Rogue Heroes (tbc)

A major new drama is on its way to BBC One, from Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders and Taboo. The six-part drama is based on Ben Macintyre’s SAS: Rogue Heroes book, which charts the creation of the famed Special Forces unit. Knight has written the adaptation, which will tell a tale “celebrating the glory, action and camaraderie at the heart of this story” while delving into the psychology of the officers and men who formed the SAS in WWII. With real-life events given Knight’s visionary treatment, this one promises to be a spectacle with real depth. Jack O’Connell and Alfie Allen are among the cast (pictured above.)

Screw (tbc)

Inspired by his real-life experience as a civilian prison worker, writer Rob Williams (Killing Eve) is bringing a six-part prison drama to Channel 4. Screw promises to show “the uncensored, terrifying and often darkly funny reality of life as a prison officer in an all-male prison in 21st century Britain.” The story focuses on veteran officer Leigh, who’s trying to keep her past buried, and mouthy new recruit Rose. The cast includes Nina Sosanya, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and Stephen Wight.

Sherwood (tbc)

A new six-part crime drama is coming to BBC One from acclaimed playwright James Graham, the writer behind Quiz and Brexit: The Uncivil War. Set in post-industrial Nottinghamshire, where the drama was filmed, Sherwood is fictional but inspired in part by real events and tells the story of two murders that lead to one of the largest manhunts in British history. Two police officers have to set aside their differences to find the killer, against a socio-political backdrop of community divisions riven during the 1980s Miners’ Strikes. Lesley Manville, David Morrissey and Joanne Froggatt star.

Showtrial (tbc)

The Tunnel’s writer Ben Richards has teamed up with World Productions (the folks behind Bodyguard and Line of Duty) on six-part series Showtrial. Coming to BBC One, it’s a legal drama that questions the role class, money and power play in justice being done. The story treats the disappearance of a young working class student and the subsequent arrest and trial of the accused, “the arrogant daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur.” Filming began in April 2021, and you can read more about the cast here.

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Superhoe (tbc)

Nicôle Lecky’s one-woman Royal Court stage show is getting the Fleabag treatment and being turned into a six-part BBC Three series. It’s the musical story of a would-be singer and rapper thrown out of home who moves in with a young woman who inducts her into the life of social media influencing and sex work.

Sweetpea (tbc)

From Kirstie Swain, the screenwriter of Channel 4’s Pure comes a new eight-part series adapted from C.J. Skuse’s 2017 novel of the same name. It’s the story of a young woman who seems unremarkable on the surface and works as an editorial assistant in a British seaside town. Unfulfilled by her job, she turns to darker pursuits outside of work, because who would ever suspect her? The comedy-drama is coming to Sky Atlantic and no casting has yet been announced. Read our interview with Kirstie Swain about Pure, mental illness in TV drama and more.

Tenacity (tbc)

If you saw His Dark Materials on BBC One, then you know Welsh-based Bad Wolf Productions are capable of great things on a grand scale. In 2019, ITV commissioned them to make six-part thriller Tenacity, from a screenplay by Flightplan’s Peter A. Dowling, based on the J.S. Law novel of the same name. It’s about a body discovered on a British nuclear submarine, investigated by military detective Danielle Lewis. Think assassins, high-stakes action and a momentous threat to national security. The cast is tba.

The Amazing Mr Blunden (December)

Following on from Sky’s beautiful festive family film Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse with another, this time written and directed by Mark Gatiss. The Amazing Mr Blunden comes adapted from Antonia Barber’s novel ‘The Ghosts’ and its original 1972 film adaptation. The 90-minute feature will star Gatiss, Simon Callow and Tamsin Grieg, and tells the story of two London teenagers whose mum moves them to a haunted country house where they get involved with a thrilling story of strange visitors, time travel and wicked would-be murderers…

The Baby (tbc)

The Baby is a darkly comic horror on its way to Sky Atlantic. The eight-episode first season was co-created by screenwriter Siân Robins-Grace (Kaos, Sex Education) and Gangs of London production manager Lucy Gaymer. It’s being billed as a provocative, dark and funny story about a woman in her late thirties who’s unexpectedly landed with a baby that takes over her world. The cast includes The Duchess‘ Michelle de Swarte (pictured), who’ll star alongside Amira Ghazalla and Amber Grappy.

The Birth of Daniel F Harris (tbc)

With a similar premise to Sky One’s Two Weeks to Live, but a psychological drama instead of a knockabout comedy, this Channel 4 drama by Urban Myths‘ (pictured above) Pete Jackson is the story of a young man raised in isolation from society after his mother’s death, by a father who told him the outside world is filled with monsters. When the boy turns eighteen, he enters the world to find the person responsible for his mother’s death. Read more about it here.

The Confessions of Frannie Langton (tbc)

Adapted by Sara Collins from her own Costa Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Confessions of Frannie Langton is a four part murder mystery set in Georgian London. It follows the title character, born on a Jamaican slave plantation and transported as a ‘gift’ by the man who enslaved her to the home of a wealthy London couple who meet a grim fate. Was Frannie really responsible? Or is she being used?  

The Devil’s Hour (tbc)

Peter Capaldi and Jessica Raine lead the cast of a new six-part “mind-bending” Amazon Prime Video thriller from writer Tom Moran, produced by Steven Moffat. It’s the story of Lucy (Raine) who suffers from terrifying visions every night at precisely the same time (the titular devil’s hour), and who becomes entangled with a series of brutal murders. Capaldi, pictured above, plays “a reclusive nomad driven by a murderous obsession”, which all sounds rather fun.

The Elephant Man (tbc)

The story of Victorian Joseph Merrick was memorably brought to the screen by David Lynch in 1980, and has since been retold on stage (notably starring Bradley Cooper in the lead role). This two-part BBC drama stars Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton (pictured) and is written by Moorside’s Neil McKay. The biopic will tell the story of Merrick’s life from the start to the end and promises to “explore the man behind the myth”. Filming was due to take place in Wales in late 2018, but there’s been no news about this one since so it’s a bit of a question mark.

The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies (tbc)

In this original six-part BBC One thriller, screenwriters Penelope and Ginny Skinner (pictured above) tell the story of two very different women, both of whom are being conned by the same man. Alice and Caroline have Rob in common, a celebrated ecopreneur who may well be trying to destroy them both. Inspired to fight against society’s glorification of the predator, The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies was commissioned in August 2020, so it’ll be a little while before we see it.

The Gallows Pole (2022)

You’re going to want to look out for this one. Director Shane Meadows (This is England, The Virtues), whose TV work usually airs on Channel 4, is making his BBC drama debut with an adaptation of Benjamin Myers’ acclaimed novel The Gallows Pole. It’s a true historical story about Yorkshire legend David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners, who became the biggest fraudsters in British history. Meadows describes himself as buzzing about making his first period drama, produced by Element Pictures. The cast led by Michael Socha, with George McKay, Thomas Turgoose and Tom Burke, promises a real roster of the best young British talent.

The Girl Before (tbc)

This BBC-HBO Max co-production boasts a great cast in Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki, Black Mirror – pictured above – Belle) and David Oyelowo (Selma, Les Misérables), and a hit psychological thriller as its source material. It’s to be a four-part limited series created by JP Delaney (one of Tony Strong’s pseudonyms), adapted from his novel of the same name. It’s about a woman given the chance to move into a stunning home on the condition that she obeys an exacting set of rules, and presumably things get murder-y from then on in.

The Irregulars (March)

The modern version. The Robert Downey Jr version. The gnome version. The version where Watson is Lucy Liu. Just when you thought the world had no more Sherlock Holmes to give, along comes The Irregulars on Netflix. Written by My Mad Fat Diary‘s Tom Bidwell, this version focuses on the Baker Street gang of teens used as a resource by a sinister version of Dr John Watson, and a Sherlock Holmes whose best days are long behind him. It’s supernatural and horror-tinged, and unfortunately only lasted one season before being cancelled, but did manage to wrap up satisfactorily so don’t let the early ending put you off.

The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe (tbc)

Power, love, loyalty and politics all come to play in Dan Sefton’s (Trust Me) BBC adaptation of Keith Badman’s 2010 book The Final Years Of Marilyn Monroe. Narrowing the time-frame (as the working title suggests) Sefton’s drama will take in the final six months of Monroe’s life until her death in 1962 at the age of 36. We first heard about this one back in April 2019, but since then there’s been no news about casting or filming.

The Midwich Cuckoos (2022)

John Wyndham’s classic 1957 sci-fi is getting a modern TV adaptation courtesy of The Night Manager and Hanna writer David Farr. The eight part series will update the novel to the present day and set the action in a commuter town south of London, where the local women all mysteriously fall pregnant at the same time and give birth to a cohort of very unusual children. The most famous adaptation to date was 1965 cult favourite Village of the Damned (pictured above). Keeley Hawes and Max Beesley will star.

The North Water (September)

Film director Andrew Haigh (Weekend, 45 Years, Lean On Pete) has adapted and directed Ian Maguire’s novel The North Water into a four-part BBC Two drama with an excellent cast. Colin Farrell, Stephen Graham (pictured above), Tom Courtenay, Peter Mullan and Jack O’Connell are all on board – literally so as the series is set on a whaling ship in the Arctic in the 1850s. It’s the story of a disgraced ex-army surgeon who joins a whaling expedition and finds himself “on an ill-fated journey with a murderous psychopath” and in a struggle to survive. Filming took place on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in late 2019.

The Offenders (tbc)

From co-creator of The Office and writer-director of fab wrestling film Fighting with my Family, Stephen Merchant (pictured above, and soon to be seen playing killer Stephen Port in ITV true crime drama Four Lives) and Mayans M.C.’s Elgin James is a six-part one-hour comedy The Offenders. A BBC One-Amazon Studios co-production, it follows seven strangers forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol. Merchant is joined by Christopher Walken, Darren Boyd and Eleanor Tomlinson in the cast.

The Pembrokeshire Murders (January)

This three-part ITV true crime drama stars Luke Evans as Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins, who, in 2006, reopened and solved a cold case from the 1980s using new forensic DNA evidence and, bizarrely, an episode of darts-based quiz show Bullseye. Keith Allen plays John Cooper, the man in Wilkins’ sights.

The Pursuit of Love (May)

Emily Mortimer wrote and directed this glorious BBC One adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s 1945 comic romance about an aristocratic family in the interwar period (loosely based on Mitford’s own family, which gained notoriety through her popular novels and her sisters’ scandalous connections to the British Union of Fascists and Adolf Hitler). Downton Abbey‘s Lily James plays lead Linda Radlett in the three-part series.

The Red Zone (tbc)

Sports writers Barney Ronay and Jonathan Liew are behind this six-part half-hour comedy “about football, but also not about football,” which is coming to Netflix in 2021. Director Sam Mendes is executive producing through his Neal Street Productions company. Only announced in late 2020, no casting has yet been confirmed for this one.

The Responder (tbc)

Filming begain in May 2021 on this BBC Two five-part series from new screenwriter and former police officer Tony Schumacher, who’s been mentored by Jimmy McGovern as part of a BBC Writers Room initiative. The Responder will star The Hobbit and Sherlock‘s Martin Freeman as officer Chris, who works a series of night shifts in Liverpool, alongside his rookie new partner Rachel (Adelayo Adedayo). The series is described as funny, tragic, and showing the realities of policing in Britain.

The Rig (tbc)

In November 2020, Amazon Prime Video green-lit this six-episode supernatural thriller from Line of Duty and Bodyguard director John Strickland, written by David Macpherson. It’s due to film in Scotland and is set onboard the Kishorn Bravo oil rig in the North Sea. The crew finds itself marooned on the rig by a mysterious fog that cuts off communication with the outside world. Line of Duty‘s Martin Compston, Owen Teale and Rochenda Sandall will star, alongside Iain Glen, Mark Bonnar and more (see above.) Filming has concluded so the wait shouldn’t be too long for this one.

The Serpent (January)

Ripper Street writer Richard Warlow scripted this eight-part BBC drama about serial killer Charles Sobhraj, Interpol’s most wanted man in the 1970s for the robbery and murder of multiple young Western travellers across South Asia. Tom Shankland (Les Miserables, The City & The City) directs, and A Prophet and The Looming Tower‘s Tahar Rahim played the lead role of Sobhraj, with Jenna Coleman as his girlfriend/accomplice Marie-Andree Leclerc. Read more about the true story that inspired the series here.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (tbc)

Now this sounds like a bit of alright. Adapted from Stuart Turton’s novel of the same name, it’s a seven-part murder mystery coming to Netflix. The story’s a high-concept thriller about a woman trying to solve a murder who keeps waking up in somebody else’s body every time she gets close to the answer. Sophie Petzal (The Last Kingdom, Blood) is adapting it, and the announcement only arrived in late 2020, so don’t expect it for a little while yet. Casting is tba.

The Three (tbc)

Another BBC drama commission based on a book series, The Three, “an international thriller with a supernatural twist”, was announced in late 2017 but there’s been no news since then. The premise of Sarah Lotz’ trilogy sees four planes crash on the same day in four different countries, leaving three children as the miraculous survivors… Wolf Hall’s Peter Straughan was attached as adapting this eight-part drama but as yet, it’s still to appear on his IMDb credits. We’ll keep you posted if more arrives.

The Tourist (tbc)

Producer-writers Harry and Jack Williams (Fleabag, Baptiste, The Missing, Liar) are back with a six-part BBC-HBO Max drama set and filmed in South Australia. The Tourist is an outback noir about a British man pursued through the Australian outback by a tank truck. When the man awakens in a hospital with no memory of who he is or how he got there, his search for answers takes him to some unsettling places. Chris Sweeney (Back to Life) directs, with The Fall‘s Jamie Dornan leading the cast.

The Tower (tbc)

Three-part detective drama The Tower is coming to ITV, starring Game of Thrones‘ Gemma Whelan, Peaky Blinders‘ Emmett Scanlan and Kate & Koji‘s Jimmy Akingbola and The Haunting of Bly Manor‘s Tahirah Sharif. It’s adapted by Homeland‘s Patrick Harbinson from former Met Police officer Kate London’s novel Post-Mortem, and follows the investigation into two deaths and two disappearances from a London tower block.

The Undeclared War (2022)

Channel 4 has teamed up with Peacock to commission this six-part cyber thriller written by Wolf Hall’s Peter Kosminsky. It’s set in 2024, as a team of GCHQ cyber specialists secretly work to fend off a cyber attack on the UK electoral system. There’s an impressive cast, from Mark Rylance (pictured above in Bridge of Spies), to Adrian Lester, Alex Jennings, Simon Pegg, Maisie Richardson-Sellers and newcomer Hannah Khalique-Brown. The commission was only announced in April 2021, so we can expect to see this one next year.

Three Families (May)

This drama based on real-life abortion stories set in Northern Ireland – the only part of the UK where pregnancy termination remains illegal – aired on BBC One in May 2021. Written by Vanity Fair‘s Gwyneth Hughes, who travelled to Northern Ireland to meet the families who inspired the drama, Three Families was produced by the makers of hard-hitting Three Girls and explores the experience of families and loved ones whose lives have been affected by the law in Northern Ireland. It’s currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Time (June)

Three-part prison drama Time is the latest from legendary British screenwriter Jimmy McGovern (Cracker, Accused, Broken), and stars Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. The four-part drama aired in June 2021 and followed the story of Bean’s character Mark, a former teacher in his 50s who finds himself in prison for the first time, and Graham’s character Eric, a prison officer targeted by a dangerously connected inmate. It’s currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Tom Jones (tbc)

Praise for 2018’s Vanity Fair adaptation, scheduled opposite Bodyguard in 2018, was drowned out somewhat by the hit political thriller, but there was plenty of it, and deservingly so. Good news then, that ITV has brought screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes back to tackle another classic novel – Henry Fielding’s 1749 book Tom Jones. Following in the footsteps of the acclaimed Albert Finney-starring 1963 film, and the raucous 1997 version with Max Beasley, expect rollicking fun. The last update we had in November 2019 confirmed that Hughes was mid-writing, but news has been thin on the ground since then.

Too Close (April)

Emily Watson (Chernobyl, Apple Tree Yard, Breaking the Waves) stars in this meaty psychological three-part ITV thriller. Based on the novel of the same name written by Natalie Daniels (the pseudonym of actor-writer Clara Salaman, who’s also behind the screenplay), it’s about a forensic psychiatrist treating a patient who’s committed a heinous crime that she says she doesn’t remember. The two women become locked in a dark struggle of influence and manipulation. Watson stars opposite Denise Gough (pictured above).

Trigger Point (tbc)

Line of Duty‘s Vicky McClure plays bomb disposal expert Lana Washington in this new ITV thriller from the Jed Mercurio stable. Written by Daniel Brierley and executive produced by Mercurio, it’s the story of a front-line bomb disposal pro whose squad is pushed to the limits tackling a terrorist threat to London. Six episodes are on their way, and likely to arrive in early 2022.

Vigil (August)

With a working title of Vigil, a new six-part thriller filmed in Scotland is on its way from the makers of Bodyguard and Line of Duty. Created by Strike‘s Tom Edge, it’s the story of the mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on board a Trident nuclear submarine that brings the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services. It stars Suranne Jones, Rose Leslie, Shaun Evans, Anjli Mohindra, Martin Compston, Paterson Joseph and more. 

Viewpoint (April)

This five-part ITV thriller from Rillington Place and Manhunt writer Ed Whitmore and Fleabag director Harry Bradbeer aired in April 2021 (well, most of it did. The final episode was pulled from the schedules and made available as streaming-only following a series of sexual harassment complaints made about its star, Noel Clarke). It was the story of a police surveillance investigation in Manchester following the disappearance of a primary school teacher in the vein of Rear Window and The Lives of Others.

Wahala (2022)

This BBC series, described as “Big Little Lies meets Girlfriends meets Peckham” is adapted from Nikki May’s as-yet-unpublished novel of the same name. It’s about Simi, Ronke and Boo, three 30-something Anglo-Nigerian women living in London whose friendship is shaken by the arrival of the beautiful, charismatic Isobel, with tragic consequences.

White Stork (2022)

Formerly known as Spadehead, White Stork is a 10-episode political drama coming to Netflix courtesy of Eleven, the British production compnay behind Sex Education. Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, The Night Manager – pictured above) stars as James Cooper, whose secret past is unearthed when he’s vetted in preparation for a parliamentary election. It was creted by Jericho and Meadowlands‘ Christopher Dunlop, with Taboo‘s Kristoffer Nyholm directing.

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (tbc)

Hugh Laurie (pictured above in BBC political drama Roadkill) has adapted Agatha Christie’s 1934 novel as a Britbox original. It’s the story of a vicar’s son and socialite duo played by Will Poulter and Lucy Boynton, who become amateur detectives and set out to solve a crime when they discover a dying man asking the titular question. Production began in June 2021, with a very fine British comedy cast.

Wolfe (September)

From the creators of Shameless comes six-part crime drama Wolfe, which stars Guerilla‘s Babou Ceesay (pictured above) as an expert forensic pathologist and university professor described as “half genius, half liability”. With a complicated home life and a varied work team including a child prodigy, Wolfe uses his unusual expertise to solve a case of the week. Amanda Abbington, Natalia Tena, Naomi Yang, Adam Long and Shaniqua Okwok co-star.

You (tbc)

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We might expect the working title of this one to change to avoid confusion with the Netflix stalker story of the same name, but as it stands, You will be an eight-part thriller coming to Sky. Filming started in June 2021 in the UK and Morocco on this adaptation of the Zoran Drvenkar novel, which tells the story of Tara O’Rourke, a woman on the run across Europe after committing a deadly crime. She’s pursued by a dangerous gangster and a serial killer known only as ‘The Traveller’. The Capture (pictured above) writer-director Ben Chanan has written the adaptation.

The post New British TV Series for 2021: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky Dramas, Britbox & More appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3rUOpEv

[yszarin]

see below for mostly incoherent thoughts on I Guess You Had To Be There

- “I woke up, and... ghost.” She’s wonderful. I hope she isn’t a monster. Also all this going back to sleep? excellent.

- well, I was fully expecting her to turn into a monster, but she didn’t? and now I’m just Deeply Suspicious. of all of it. why would we have a nice thing.

- I’m worried too, “John Smith”, but mostly about Tim at the moment. He sounds, well, very good with the statement giver at the moment, but also Tired.

- oh, we’ll call him Jeremy, will we?

- Robin, I am very much a dog person, please tell me all about your dog, any dogs you know, and any dogs you may have seen. Basira, I fear, may not be a dog person, or, at the very least, is concentrating on doing her job.

- I would like to congratulate Jackie for being what I think is the podcast’s first named dog! very proud. and even if she isn’t. congratulations. good dog.

- so there’s no coherency because Jon isn’t there? turns out this maybe wasn’t a nice thing.

- moving out, an excellent decision.

- so it turns out the real horror was awkwardness all along.

- please don’t pay her. wouldn’t that upset the academic whatsit? guess it doesn’t matter so much in TMA because if it’s not real it’ll go on the laptop but in general.

- Martiiiin. I would die for you.

- Is this why he couldn’t get a job in retail? too much of a giant awkward puffball. 

- help me I’m too overcome with love for Martin Blackwood to feel any of the second-hand embarrassment that should, by rights, be flattening me.

- it’s possible that he got to pet Jackie though? assuming that Robin brought her to the Institute. he could really do with petting a dog. they probably all could, but I feel like Martin would get the most out of it.

- imagine if we’d had Martin taking Robin’s statement. we could have had a five minute conversation about Jackie. that’s probably why he didn’t take the dog-walker’s statement.

- “I would have been late for dinner, so I got out of the spiral, and went to dinner.” What an icon. These statement-givers are all icons.

- “There’s tea there” is the best comforting phrase ever, I love this episode, it’s so shiny.

- oh. abort. what a nice cheerful polite monster (and I was just wishing we’d get to meet an Isolation monster the other day, and here one is!)? also poor Brian. at least there might not be spiders in the alone?

- Peter Lukas’ static-y thing is... different? to Jon’s static, it’s screechier? but maybe not as screechy as Michael’s, or Michael’s has more of one tone where as this is different ones? Jon’s is more crackly. Not sure what this means or if it even means anything, I just quite like it. Someone please tell me things about static.

- I am now fully expecting that everything in this episode will turn out to be Very Relevant and Important later.

- I want to Analyse but I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be Analysing? they’re all being recorded on-tape, so are presumably Genuine Happenings but they’re also not the way we expect them to be? Presumably this is because Jon isn’t there, and that an Archivist needs to be In Place for story-mode, which would link nicely to the episode title. How long has he not been there for, since someone hasn’t had the decency to date either his own kidnapping or his recordings? (please, Jonathan, if you learn nothing else from Gertrude, learn “committed to tape [date]”)

- Georgie’s statement was given on 29th April, Brian’s is from the 26th May. But Jon has recorded three statements since Georgie’s, including a trip to Newcastle, one to the Trophy Room, a visit from Nikola, and enough time for Georgie to change all her lightbulbs. So it could have theoretically taken him all that time to reach the end of Dust to Dust, especially as, according to Elias, his recordings are inconsistent. Melanie says he’s on leave, Martin says he’s not in, but this could be about his staying at Georgie’s or being off with Daisy, as much as it could be about him being missing. I suppose we’ll see if we get an abduction episode with the date? It seems like the Archives breaking down without the Archivist is The Thing, but Martin’s recording on the 2nd May, three days after Georgie’s statement, doesn’t seem to leave enough time for the intervening stuff, unless the breakdown started before he was taken?

- But, if they are Genuine, and we’re Analysing - the spiders in Brian’s statement seem almost Spiral-y? as in, I would say they were a Spiral Entity if they weren’t, well, spiders; they're messing with his perception and driving him to his current state. But they are also spiders. No reason why they couldn’t be both I guess?

- Anyway. I loved this episode, and I loved it as Episode 100 - it reminded me somewhat of Stargate SG-1′s e100 and e200, in that, rather than do something like rip all our souls out and stamp on them etc etc (as I was very much expecting), it was a bit more lighthearted, and involved taking something of a look at itself (though admittedly the awkward!Institute skews a little more serious, seems to have more underlying meaning than Wormhole X-Treme!). The statement-givers are a little closer to Jonathan’s original attitudes towards them in S1, as the Institute would be if it weren’t Genuine, and it was lovely to hear some more of the rest of the RQ crew. All in all a lovely episode, at first taking away some of the sting from last week’s cliffhanger as we go into the midseason break, and then quietly giving some of it back. Also there was a dog.

[back-and-totheleft]

Stone, cold sober

Re-telling the story of September 11 with a measured hand and lightness of touch hithertoo unhinted at, director Oliver Stone proves a more serious thinker than his paranoia-soaked canon would suggest. Here, he explains how his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam framed his outlook on life and art.

The introductory handshake comes with an additional squeeze of the wrist and a roguish smile.

“You’re Irish. I can tell.”

No. Your correspondent hasn’t been transported back to a disco in the 1970s. Instead, she’s in New York’s Regency Hotel meeting Oliver Stone. That twinkling opening gambit has brought about a Proustian rush of wayward tabloid headlines. I remember that idiotic book on the making of Natural Born Killers, with its scurrilous tales of loose ladies, psilocybin mushrooms and cocaine abuse. I recall that story about the director commandeering the Warners corporate jet to do peyote in the Mexican desert while making The Doors. I remember too how the set of Alexander reputedly became an extravagant saturnalia. Sure enough, I can effortlessly picture this man partying down with Colin Farrell, a duel study in swaggering Dionysian charm.

Though Stone insists his appetite for debauchery has been greatly exaggerated, he’s always owned up to unruly habits. Yes, he does have a fondness for marijuana dating back to time spent on the frontline in Vietnam. He has also ‘expanded his consciousness’ with the occasional psychedelic. But driving offences from last year and 1999 have, he claims, more to do with pre-diabetic medication unwisely knocked back with alcohol than exotic marching powders.

Still, it’s an impressively scandalous record for a man of his years. Stone is 60 now, though you’d say he were a decade younger if you suddenly spied him on the street. In person he’s imperturbably casual, far more relaxed than the ‘madman’ headlines might lead one to suppose. His glowing tan is offset by a bright yellow polo shirt and he sits way, way back in his chair holding your gaze all the while.

Accommodating and easy in his manner, you’d be hard-pressed to identify this individual as Oliver Stone – Controversial Filmmaker. That is, nevertheless, to whom we speak. Stone boasts a fearsomely uncompromising reputation as a screenwriter and director. Throughout the ‘80s when the post-classical frisson of counter-cultural Hollywood had fizzled and poachers died off or turned gamekeeper, only Stone kept the faith, authoring politically conscious cinema at a time when the Academy was honouring Driving Miss Daisy.

His screenplay for rapper’s favourite Scarface set the frenzied pace and ultra-violent tone that would later characterise his visual style. But Stone was too engaged with the world to become the new Brian De Palma. Salvador, his first major film as director, probed the gulf between the ideals of American foreign policy and realpolitik. Platoon, Wall Street, JFK and Nixon would further confirm his interest in micro and macro conspiracies and establish him as an outlaw auteur.

Though he’s now rueful about being stereotyped or “pinned like a butterfly”, he was a good sport about it, appearing as a conspiracy nut in Dave and Wild Palms.

“You know, I’ve never really regarded myself as a political filmmaker”, he tells me. “I consider myself a dramatist. I always get involved with people more than the politics. With the movie JFK, for example, the book by Jim Garrison had a lot of theory. I was more interested in making him part of that story. And Oswald fascinated me. If you watch that film it is really a trail of people played by great actors. Nixon, despite the whiff of conspiracy, is truly a psychological portrait of a man. Many people in the right wing thought it would be a hatchet job but I really made him apathetic. I refuse to be pigeon holed. I am not a political guy. I don’t go to rallies. I am not an activist. I don’t have the time because I’m busy being a writer.”

He may deny the role of agitator, but his opinions, both off and onscreen suggest otherwise. His most recent work in the documentary sector includes Persona Non Grata, an examination of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and two features about Cuban president Fidel Castro, Comandante and Looking for Fidel. (Stone has described himself as a friend and an admirer.)

He has, before now, referred to the events of September 11th as a ‘revolt’ and expressed an interest in the work of Richard Clarke, the former White House counter-terrorism advisor whose book Against All Enemies accuses the Bush administration of ignoring the al-Qaeda threat, then linking the group to Iraq, contrary to all evidence.

“We Vietnam vets, in particular, found it very difficult”, says Stone. “We had the backing of the world in Afghanistan. We were rounding up the main suspects. Then we go into Iraq with no support. Militarily, it was stupid. It was overreaching. And any American who travels can tell you how the rest of the world is resentful. What the hell are we doing in Iraq when the enemy was 4000 al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan?”

When it was announced last summer that Stone would direct World Trade Centre, a film focusing on ‘first response’ police officers trapped by the Twin Towers collapse, many eyebrows were raised. “To allow this poisoned and deranged mind… (to recreate 9/11) in the likeness of his vile fantasies is beyond obscene,” raged one conservative commentator. But World Trade Center, it transpires, is Stone’s least obvious work even by his own consistently innovative standards. The towers do not fall back and to the left. There is no grand plot or secret ruling elite. “This is not a political film in any sense”, insists Stone. “It harks back to Platoon in that respect. In Vietnam, we didn’t sit around talking about LBJ. And the truth is, I don’t think we can say for sure what happened during 9/11. We spent more investigating Bill Clinton’s blowjobs than the destruction of the World Trade Centre. Whatever was going on in the background, if you look at the forest through the trees, it seems to me that what has happened since is far worse than what happened that day. So the politics and conspiracies behind that day, whatever they may be, are not as relevant as where we are now.” Completely eschewing polemic, the movie instead offers a heartfelt portrait of ordinary fellows on the front line. Stone’s traditional constituency are, needless to say, horrified, and assorted doublespeak statements have been issued attacking World Trade Center as “non-conspiratorial lies.”

John Conner, a leading voice in the Christian branch of the 9/11 Truth Movement, went so far as to ask the following– “Was Stone used by the Illuminati as an unknowing pawn to whitewash the 9/11 conspiracy theories to the masses? Was he approached with the project and coerced into a commitment to occupy his time in attempts to thwart any other 9/11 angle from being used? Is Stone a pawn in the game? Perhaps Stone didn’t know at the time, and found out too late.”

Oddly, however, like Paul Greengrass’ United 93, Stone’s film has found champions from either end of America’s bipolar political spectrum, often the same folks who had previously dismissed him as a pinko malcontent. L. Brent Bozell III, the president of the conservative Media Research Center and founder of the Parents Television Council — a latter day Mary Whitehouse in trousers — called it “a masterpiece” and sent an e-mail message to 400,000 people saying, “Go see this film.” Cal Thomas, the right-wing syndicated columnist and contributor to The Last Word, wrote that it was “one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-faith, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.”

“I just felt this was a great story dying to be told,” explains Stone. “It may not be like anything I have done before, but Heaven And Earth wasn’t like anything I had done before. Nor was U Turn or Natural Born Killers. I do jump around and each film is a different style. This isn’t like United 93 which was a brilliant piece of vérité. This is more like a classic John Ford, William Wyler or even Frank Capra film. Against tremendous odds this rescue takes place. This has the traditional Hollywood tropes of emotional connection to four main characters from the working class.

"I would love to bring Hollywood back to that, making films where people actually work for a living, not sit around making things happen with a remote control like that Adam Sandler film. Born On The Fourth Of July was blue-collar. So was Any Given Sunday. Although it’s about elite athletes, it was about work. They had to punish their bodies for their lifestyle.”

A marriage of disaster movie and combat zone drama, World Trade Centre follows Port Authority officers Sergeant John Mc Loughlin (Nicolas Cage) and Will Jimeno (Michael Pena) on a doomed rescue mission into the Twin Towers. On September 12th, they were among the last survivors to be pulled from the rubble. Though the original script by newcomer Andrea Berloff read like a relocation of Beckett’s Endgame, Stone has widened the remit to include the rescuers and the anxious wives at home. As a director noted for working within a decidedly masculine milieu, was it a challenge to represent domesticity, I wonder.

“Oh yes,” he admits. “That was a big challenge. On the surface this is a very simple story of catastrophe and rescue and heroism. But if you go beyond the cliché it is very fresh. Everything the rescuers did was dangerous. We assume rescues just happen, but it is hard work. These men really crawled into places where they thought they would die. It took hours to get them out. I tried to show some of that digging. But an even bigger cliché in these circumstances is the waiting housewife. Actually, it goes further than that. Each of these women died that day. They sit there as the hours pass and the only news is no survivors. You knew no one would come out of there. The buildings were so pancaked. So it was like death for them. I wanted to portray that. I wanted them smelling the sheets from the previous night where they had slept. Again it’s a cliché but the idea was to take the cliché and make it fresh.”

Another subplot concentrates on Staff Sergeant Dave Karnes (Michael Shannon) a Christian marine in Wilton, Connecticut, who watches events on TV and tells his colleagues that America is now at war. Once he decides that God wants him to go to New York he heads to Ground Zero with a flashlight and eventually hears the two cops in the debris. A postscript before the final credits informs us that Kearns has since served two tours of duty in Iraq.

“It’s a remarkable and weird story,” Stone admits. “But that’s how it happened. I also think Kearns represents a significant sector of the American population when he says, ‘We’re going to need some good men to avenge this’. For many people, revenge was their first thought.”

And there you have it. For all the pigeonholing as a conspiracy theorist, facts are of paramount importance to Stone. He spent two-and-a-half years researching JFK. He spent three years immersed in Persian history for the much-maligned Alexander. It was a labour of love and the ill-tempered critical reception seems to have cut to the quick.

“I’m a historical dramatist,” he explains. “I wasn’t a Kennedy assassination junkie at the time, nor was I a 9/11 junkie. But I love the past. It hurts when I read someone claiming that I’ve fabricated something. But then you make a film like Alexander and scholars say you have it right, but critics say it’s all wrong.”

Similarly, while Stone has been at pains to represent those involved in the World Trade Centre disaster as faithfully as possible, he has not been able to quell dissent completely. The widow of Dominick Pezzulo – a cop portrayed in the film - has accused Jimeno and McLoughlin of cashing in on the tragedy by selling their story to Paramount. There have also been mutterings about the film being too soon.

“I know,” nods Stone. “But I honestly think it is the right time. The Killing Fields was made five years after those events in Cambodia. During World War II, Hollywood made propaganda films. Casablanca, made in 1941, takes a very anti Nazi position even before we declared war. The Vietnam movies took longer to make, but life goes faster now. I would say to you the consequences of 9/11 are so bad that we better look back now and understand what happened on that day. When you leave it too long, events become mythologized. Watching Pearl Harbor, you’d think we won that battle. This is the epicentre of 9/11, but there are many stories that still need to be told.”

Though personal and more modest in scope than the $63 million budget might suggest, the director does hope that his intense focus on McLoughlin and Jimeno has a wider relevance.

“They did not have a clue as to what was happening,” he says. “They knew it was a terrorist attack but there was no discussion of politics. They’re cops. They are far more likely to talk about pop culture, whether it is Starsky And Hutch or GI Jane. It wasn’t Bergman down in that hole.

So I am not claiming this movie will answer all the questions. But let’s say you go to a psychiatrist and all your life you have been repressed because you were raped when you where 14. Perhaps the psychiatrist says, ‘Let’s go back to that day’. They make you remember that day and it changes all the defences you had built up. So perhaps by undoing the screw, the secret at the beginning, you can take some of the armour off.”

The events of 9/11 may be difficult to disentangle, but no more so than the filmmaker himself. Born in New York City to a Jewish father and Catholic mother, William Oliver Stone was raised Episcopalian by way of compromise. His parents divorced after his father, a conservative Republican, conducted various extra-marital affairs with family friends. Young Oliver spent much of his subsequent childhood in splendid isolation between private schools and five star hotels - ‘a cartoonish Little Lord Fauntleroy’ by his own account.

Still, Stone needs neither bullfighting nor marlin fishing to confirm his Hemingwayesque credentials as an artist. He attended Yale and dropped out twice before enlisting to fight as an Infantryman in Vietnam. Mixing with the lower orders and smoking pot soon transformed the spoiled youngster into a military hero. He was wounded twice in action and received the Bronze Star with ”V” device signifying valor for “extraordinary acts of courage under fire,” and the Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

Soon after the war, he was arrested at the US-Mexico border for possession of marijuana. His father bailed him out but the experience served to radicalise him. Later, meeting understandably embittered veterans such as Ron Kovic pushed Stone further to the left.

He has, however, wooed Hollywood despite the often overtly political nature of his films. He won his first Academy Award as the screenwriter of Midnight Express and has been further honoured for directing Platoon and Born On The Fourth Of July.

Now, after World Trade Centre, has attention and lavish praise from the likes of Bill O’Reilly turned his head? Not bloody likely.

“People are people,” he tells me. “I think people have to take care of themselves and their families first. But there are bigger questions now. The ecological movement want us to clean up, but how can that work when there is always the issue of jobs? It’s a very selfish world and avarice triumphs over the green imperative. After Katrina, there was a tremendous outpouring of help. That was also true when the tsunami hit Indonesia. People are very generous in America and there are some very fine Americans. Unfortunately, a lot of them don’t have passports. Most of them don’t know where Iraq is. And a lot think al Qaeda and Iraq are the same thing. There’s a problem with the education levels. American television keeps people trapped. The news is very superficial and mostly filled with advertisements and rapes and murders. If you travel in the country and you stay in the smaller places you find very limited resources. If America spent the same amount of money as we spend on embassies and CIA stations around the world on our major cities with the goal of helping bring those cities to a way of life that was democratic and economically viable, we would have a tremendous success in this country. Instead, we have an international presence and I don’t know if it is worth it. All we are doing is promoting a system which is now suspect all over the world. We have broken our constitution repeatedly since 2001.”

He smiles cynically.

“I don’t think pictures of soldiers pointing their naked dicks in Abu Ghraib has helped us at a local level either.”

He’s still got it.

-Tara Brady, “Stone cold sober,” HotPress, Sept 19 2006 [x]

[bronzeflower]

Polydads

Also on ao3

Based on a post that @catsforartists made!

-----

When Amanda woke up, she decided to crawl out of bed to get a bowl of cereal. And eat it on the couch, of course.

“Ain’t nothing beat couch cereal.” She declared to the empty room and dug into her delicious and dangerously sugary cereal.

Almost immediately after taking a bite out of her cereal, she heard footsteps coming from her dad’s room, but, when she glanced up, she saw Damien walking by her.

“Good morning, Amanda dear.” Damien greeted.

“Mornin.” Amanda responded. She KNEW it. Her dad and Damien had been getting pretty close, so it wasn’t a completely wild assumption that they would start dating. And, of course, the footsteps she heard must be…

Craig?

“You get enough sleep, kiddo? Always good to get up early, but make sure you snooze enough.” Craig greeted as he walked past. Okay, so clearly the next person to walk out must be her dad, right?

Wrong. It was Brian.

“Don’t fill up on cereal!” Brian said. “I’m making eggs and sausage! Teacher incoming, by the way.”

That just made Amanda even more confused, and OH MY GOD IT’S MR. VEGA.

Hugo walked past Amanda as quickly as he could, shielding his face with his hand and pointedly turning away from Amanda. He didn’t give Amanda any greeting, but he did whisper a steady stream of the word ‘shit’.

Amanda put a pillow over her face and barely even noticed when she dropped her bowl of cereal. She could hear more steps, and then she heard Mat’s voice.

“Coast clear, pillow gal.”

Amanda held up one of her hands in a rock and roll gesture to signal that she had heard Mat.

As she put down the pillow, Robert started walking past her, wearing her father’s robe.

“Tell your dad I’m keeping this robe.”

“You want me to tell him before or after I beat him up?” Amanda asked.

“After.” Came the definitive answer.

Surely, SURELY, that was the last of them, and the steps she was hearing was the footsteps of her dad, but, she was, yet again, wrong.

Joseph walked in and turned to her.

“Cookies?” He offered.

“WHY AM I ONLY FINDING OUT ABOUT ALL THIS NOW?”

“...does that mean you don’t want cookies?”

“Oh, no, I want the cookies.”

“Here you go, then! They’ll tide you over while I help make breakfast with the others.” Joseph moved towards the kitchen, leaving Amanda to contemplate what just happened.

She began to eat the cookies.

“My hunger for answers still rages.” She said as she shoved another cookie into her mouth.

It wasn’t long before her dad finally came out of his room.

“Father.”

“Daughter.”

Amanda took a bite of a cookie without breaking eye contact.

“So, dad,” Amanda began. “I see that you’ve been getting around.”

Her dad at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

“Well, uh, you see, um…” After a moment or two of fumbling for words, her dad finally came to a tentative conclusion. “I made friends?”

“Dad, this isn’t exactly what I meant when I told you to make friends.” Amanda deadpanned. “I come back from college for two days, and this is what I wake up to? How did they all even fit in your room?”

“Have you ever seen a clown car?”

“No, dad. I’m afraid of clowns, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. The actual answer is that a bunch of us just sleep on the floor like gremlins. It’s gotten to the point where people bring their own sleeping bags or air mattresses.”

Amanda almost chokes on her cookie.

“You mean this has happened multiple times? Dad, what have you even been doing while I’ve been gone?”

“I guess I’ve been getting busy.”

“Hey! Amanda! Jessie! Breakfast is ready!” Brian shouted.

Amanda put down her empty plate of cookies and went over to where the food, which also happened to be the place where she would likely get the most answers.

But who to interrogate? Robert was obviously out. He would probably just weave some weird story about how they all started dating because they went through this horrific thing. She also did not want to confront her old teacher for obvious reasons. Anyone else would probably be a good bet.

Amanda eventually decided that Mat would be the one to give her the most answers in the most straightforward fashion.

Before confronting him, however, she did graciously accept food from Brian, who did, in fact, cook eggs and sausage. Afterwards, she went over to Mat.

“Alright, Mat. I need answers and I need them now.”

“I think you might need to be a little more specific on what you need answers to.”

“I need the answers to all of this!” Amanda gestured to everyone that had somehow piled into the kitchen. “How did this even happen?”

“If you want the truth, I honestly have no idea.” Mat answered. “It just kind of happened. We just all kind of just feel for Jessie at some point or another, and then we all started dating each other, and now we have this large polyamorous group of people consisting of all the dads in the cul-de-sac.”

“How does my dad have that much game? Like, I basically expected him to be dating someone from the neighborhood at some point or another, but holy shit.”

“Careful. You might activate the Dad sensors of everyone in this room.” Robert interrupted the conversation.

“I can swear if I want to! Besides, it is perfectly justifiable swearing!”

“Robert, could you give me back my robe?”

“That’s my notice to scram.” Robert practically dashed out the door.

“ROBERT! GET BACK HERE AND GIVE ME BACK MY ROBE!”

It was too late. Robert had already gotten away scot free.

“Jokes on him. He left his jacket here. It’s mine now.” Amanda’s dad said. He dashed to his room and came back with a leather jacket on.

“Dad. Really?”

“Sometimes you have to take whatever opportunities have been given to you. And, if those opportunities involve wearing your boyfriend’s leather jacket because he left it at your place, then so be it.”

“Hey, bro! I’m going to go out on my daily jog. Want to come with?” Craig asked.

“Sorry, dude, but not today. I think Amanda has questions that I’m going to have to answer.”

“Cool beans!”

“I should probably get going too.” Mat said. “I’ve got to open up the Coffee Spoon at some point, after all.”

Mat kissed Amanda’s dad on the cheek before going around and saying bye to all the other dads. Hugo said something about needing to make sure that Ernest didn’t get into too much trouble before leaving along with Mat.

Amanda’s dad said goodbye to both of them.

It wasn’t long before the rest of the dads left, saying how they needed to check to make sure their kids were okay, and then Amanda was in the perfect position to interrogate her father.

“So, dad.” She paused for dramatic effect. “What the fuck?”

“It just kind of happened? I was making friends, and then it became a bit more than friends, and soon enough, I was dating all the dads in the cul-de-sac.”

“How does that sort of thing just happen? I was just sitting on the couch, having a good time eating some cereal, when a bunch of dads just left your room one at a time in the kind of systematic fashion you see in comedic television.”

“So, what exactly do you want to know? How I got together with each of my boyfriends?”

“That would be a good start, yes. Please do it in as little detail as possible.”

“Well, you conspired with Daisy to get me and Brian to be friends, but we ended up as boyfriends. Go figure. I went on a camping trip with Craig, and there was only one sleeping bag. Played a song on stage with Mat. A lot of discussion of extremely personal stuff with Robert. Found a runaway dog with Damien. Joseph took me on his yacht and we ran out of gas. And then Hugo. Wrestling match. Kiss cam. Take a wild guess.”

“...It’s weird how you can remember all that, but you can barely remember where you put flour in the kitchen.”

“What can I say? It’s a skill of mine.”

“Are all the dads together?”

“Not all of them, but some of them are.” Her dad answered.

“Why hadn't I been told about this sooner?”

“Well, I don’t really have much of an excuse for that, but the best I have is that I was so concerned about how you were doing in college that I guess it just slipped my mind. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

“I forgive you, Popsicle. But…”

“But what?”

“How am I possibly going to deal with seven times the dad jokes???”

[cerealmonster15]

ddadds kids....

i like thinking about them as one big extended cul-de-sac family... [headcanons and stuff!]

imagine all the families spending the holidays together! i’m sure some celebrate things that the rest dont but theyd probs have one big generic get together during The Holiday Season

all of the kids are crammed together on one big “kid’s table” even tho like half of them are teenagers and there are more offspring than parents

someone always ends up starting a food fight,, usually ernest and lucien, or the twins [either pair. both pairs?? christie and christian vs hazel and briar??]

this was referenced in game once so amanda probs ends up babysitting a lot when she’s home from college for breaks+ during that short time shes still around before she leaves! she’d be  a cool fun babysitter, but tough enough to keep some of the more rambunctious kids in check ;p

[ernest voice] dad i dont NEED a babysitter!!! [hugo voice] son i want to know that i can be away for the weekend and come home to a house that isn’t on fire

ernest is probs really snarky to amanda when she babysits like “youre not the boss of me” and going out of his way to cause trouble, but amanda is Cool and probs gives him a run for his money with snark and idk shenanigans ensue and he probs secretly admires her and thinks she’s awesome but would rather die than let anyone ever find out

lucien looks like he might be fairly close to amanda’s age? they probs dont have all that much in common, but damien’s date revealed that lucien listens to mcr, and amanda made her dad listen to black parade, so I bet they could bond over some music tastes here and there

LET LUCIEN GIVE AMANDA A COOL GOTH MAKEOVER

amanda: pleeeeeaaaaassseeeeeee ;D??? lucien: no way. the goth lifestyle isnt for posers i think with enough pestering she’d get him to cave. he’d take great time and care while painting her nails to make sure he does it Right

amanda probs comments on how careful and skilled he does it like “wow you really take this stuff seriously” “uh obviously??”

once he finishes, amanda takes a pic, and then all the other neighbors see her and are bothering lucien to make them look cool too. he pretends to hate it but actually has a lot of fun and is secretly really happy that they think he’s good at what he does

amanda convinces lucien to do like, cool goth makeup videos and put them on youtube/instagram. she helps him with filming and doing photography of final looks and together they get a lot of followers. sometimes she’ll guest star in his videos if he needs a face model other than his own

amanda’s kinda freaked out by christie and christian at first but over time gets used to and sees past their “creepy twin shtick” and, much like her dad [in the joseph brownie date] learns to use it to mess with them and possibly other people

at first chris probably doesnt talk to amanda a lot and keeps to himself when she’s over, but maybe over time she’d adapt to him and learn a few things hes interested in and express gentle interest in those things to kind of help him open up to her more

chris gets quietly attached to her like shes an older sister

everyone in the cul de sac does. they love amanda

AND EACH OTHER

i want daisy to be involved with the carmensita and amanda girl band thing mentioned briefly during one of mat’s dates. that’d be adorable

you know what else would be adorable? allllll the cul de sac kids coming to briar and hazel’s softball games to support them. 

the kids going to each others’ anything to support them!! when theyre in clubs and activities that put on shows or performances or other sports games, as many of the neighbors that can make it are there

when they get older, they try to be more and more obnoxious to embarrass their neighbors in front of everyone, like making huge support signs and banners with glitter with a stupid yet supportive pun that one of their dads helped come up with, or printing their neighbor’s face on a tshirt or a giant cutout on a popsicle stick, shouting as loud as possible 

they def went to amanda’s actual graduation and PROBABLY ALL CRIED

a lot of this has amanda centric bc i Love Her, but also,,

maybe hugo and craig start going to wrestling matches together [+dadsona] so ernest sees a lot of the cahn kids. if amanda’s in town, she’s with them and in charge. if not, ernest is technically in charge, but secretly [not so secretly probably] the dads are counting on briar and hazel [briar, mostly] to keep things from falling to disaster for the few hours theyre out

they all like to take turns riding on the Giant Dog that ernest got in damien’s route [duchess something i think?] [a good component that should be canon in all universes]

“lets put river on him” “no she’ll fall off” “wheres the duct tape” “n o”

if enough disaster happens leaving these kids alone together, they probably get dropped off at another dad’s house to be looked after for a while. joseph volunteers to look after them but since he and mary are already looking after 4 and KEEP LOSING CRISH, they tend to try and ask literally anyone else

[not that theyre bad parents lmao but it’d be easier for all the other parents that just have One Kid]

i bet christian and christie love robert’s wild spooky stories. he probably makes up so much bullshit to fuck with any kid that’s listening

they’d carpool if they could fit enough kids in one car. it’s probably a 2-3 car carpool depending on who’s driving what size car and who needs to go where at what time

there are probably so many inside jokes[CUL DE SAC MEMES......] that are born at every cul de sac gathering. 

when amanda’s home from college, all the kids wanna be the first to tell her all about the SHENANIGANS she’s missed out on

river and crish are bffs once theyre old enough for human interaction. they Have To Be.

pranking each other in the school hallways plz, or just all around chaos. god help the teachers that somehow end up with 2+ of the cul de sac kids in the same class

ernest definitely sends his dog to poop on damien’s lawn outside lucien’s bedroom window / probably does the flaming bag of dog poop ding dong ditch when he knows lucien’s home alone and will be the one to answer the door

christie and chris like when briar and hazel pretend to be each other, so they get their hands on a pair of scissors and chris gives christie a terrible haircut. possibly briar and hazel try and help with the scheme and things just get Worse and joseph has to take his daughter to a Professional [or maybe one of the dads is really good with hair/has had their child do the same thing and is good with fixing a bad haircut ;p]

carmensita goes through a goth phase after she goes over to lucien’s to be babysat one day. mat does not know how to Deal bc this isnt the type of music hes used to playing but he loves and supports his daughter regardless and likes to hear her singing all kinds of music to broaden her horizons and strengthen her talent

G R O U P  T E X T between all the kids old enough to have phones

there are lots of memes. lots. of memes.

they take candid shitty photos of each other all the time and send them in the chat, and particularly amusing ones end up reused as reaction photos

lucien: [sends photo of ernest having just spilled cereal on himself with duchess in the background making off with a piece of pizza] ernest: fuck u carmensita: mood daisy: why are you having pizza and cereal for breakfast? ernest: dont tell me how to live my life amanda: lol tag urself i’m duchess

this is just something i like to do w/ my friends but they’d probs also stealthily take pictures  of each other when theyre out and about and send them to each other in secret like amanda’s out with her dad at the grocery store and spots lucien and damien in the dairy isle and is like FUCK,, she hides behind a stand of donuts or w/e and takes a pic of them and sends it to lucien w/ no context or like “lol hey” 

it becomes a war of sending pics of each other to each other/the group without getting caught. lucien and ernest probably act like they think it’s stupid but get so competitive about it

they all keep score and it probably also would extend to taking stealthy pics of cul de sac dads too Just Because

the dads find out about the competition somehow and like,,, secretly are so into who’s winning. especially brian and dadsona. sometimes they’ll try and serve as a distraction for their child to get a sneaky pic so they can win, but usually the kids prefer the solo missions

val comes and visits sometimes with cool stories. sometimes she brings her girlfriend, and amanda especially looks up to them like two cool older sisters [i dont remember if it was jacket pins or photography that val said her gf is into, but whatever it is i’m sure amanda would geek out about it with her]

christie and christian eventually grow out of their “creepy twin” thing but still have a more unique brand of humor/personality. the cul de sac kids are used to them by then, and will THROW DOWN with anyone that bullies them/ calls them freaks or anything like that, or anyone that picks on chis [and eventually crish] by association or for any other reason

THESE KIDS MAY ARGUE AND FIGHT AND STUFF SOMETIMES BUT THEY’LL STICK UP FOR EACH OTHER IF ANYONE OUTSIDE THE CUL DE SAC TRIES TO START SOMETHING W/ ONE OF THEIR OWN

i could go on forever making up headcanons or scenarios for these kids bc i love them and constantly crave more content about them but imma stop here bc it’s been over an hour and this is Long but anyway plz talk to me about these kids + the cul de sac as a whole. share ur headcanons,,,,, i l o v e the m ,,

[ulyssessklein]

Doug Aldrich of The Dead Daisies Discusses New CD – Burn it Down!

By: Robert Cavuoto 

Doug Aldrich

The Dead Daisies are Doug Aldrich and David Lowy on guitar, John Corabi on vocals, Marco Mendoza on bass and newest member Deen Castronovo on drums.

The Dead Daisies new CD, Burn It Down is set for release on April 6th, 2018 via Spitfire Music/SPV. The band is re-energized and coming out swinging with their heaviest and most powerful CD to date. The first three tracks on the CD are monstrous; “Resurrected,” “Rise Up,” and “Burn it Down;” and the CD only gets better for there with a ballad “Set Me Free” which is rich in guitar tone and texture.

The closer, “Leave Me Alone” is hard-hitting, as the band never takes their foot off the gas! The band will embark on another World Tour in April with shows in Europe, Japan, United States and South America.

I caught up with Doug while the band rehearsed in New York City to discuss the making of Burn It Down, Brian Tichy’s departure, and what fans can expect from while on tour!

******

Robert Cavuoto: I think Burn it Down is The Dead Daisies best CD to date. It’s a heavier CD than previous CDs with no filler. Did the band have any discussions prior to writing the CD in terms of overall music direction?

Doug Aldrich: That’s really nice of you to say, as I’m happy to hear it. We had a good time making it, and I think we were a little more focused on this album in what we wanted to accomplish. I’m happy we were able to add some different colors as not to remake the last album.

We talked about making this album a bit heavier. After touring in support of the last album for a couple of years, we found that “less is more” with the The Dead Daisies. That simpler riffs with more straight-ahead groove songs resonate with our audience, especially at festivals.

A song like “Make Some Noise” always works, so we tried to go for some big riffs like that. Our producer Marti Frederiksen was a huge part of it. He was involved at the writing stage, and we used some vintage gear as well. We definitely talked about what we wanted to achieve.

Robert Cavuoto: Are you more comfortable songwriting now than when you first joined the band?

Doug Aldrich: Maybe a little bit.  We got some good songs last time we just didn’t talk about what we were going to do beforehand. Playing together for as long as we have doesn’t hurt, also knowing each other’s strengths so we could hone in on them.

Robert Cavuoto: How did the making of Burn It Down differ from the making of Make Some Noise?

Doug Aldrich: One of the main differences is that Deen came into the band and took over on drums. Brian is on one of my best friends, and I always miss him when he is part of something then goes. I thought Deen was the perfect guy to come in and step things up for the band. Aside from that, the other difference was we wanted the straight ahead kick in the teeth sound; guitar-wise, on the last record but with more of a vintage tone. We used some fuzz boxes, and I sometimes recorded through a Leslie cabinet as it has a vintage 70’s vibe.  The sound on this album was Marti designing. When we told him our vision and he said he could do it, but we would have to give him total control and couldn’t change our mind mid-stream. We gave him control, and he designed the sound the way he saw fit. It worked out really well.

Robert Cavuoto: How many songs did you write for Burn It Down?

Doug Aldrich: We wrote almost 25 songs; some without lyrics but with the structure intact. We narrowed it down to what we liked and then Marti selected the ones he wanted to focus on which were the 11 songs on the CD. We had the two covers; “Bitch” by the Stones and “Revolution” by John Lennon.

Robert Cavuoto: The band writes such great songs why do you still add the cover songs now that you are established?

Doug Aldrich: It’s something the band has always done. When people didn’t know the band, the covers really helped with their exposure, but we continue with it because we really enjoy adding them. “Bitch” is such a great song that we wanted to reintroduce it to our younger fans. The song has some great riffs, and we put our spin on it. Even though we are getting to a point where people know our stuff, there are still people who don’t know us, so these covers help establish ourselves.

Robert Cavuoto: What guitars did you use on the CD?

Doug Aldrich: Primarily I used my Gold Top Les Paul for a lot of it. Also, ESP built two Telecaster customs for me that I really love. In the past, I used to have a ton of guitars for all these different parts in order to get additional color. For example, when I was working with Whitesnake, it would be an acoustic day, and I would bring ten different acoustic guitars and put ten different microphones in a circle around me. I would then record each guitar using a different mic looking for the best sound.

You can spend an entire day doing it and by the time you are ready to record you don’t even want to play. [laughing] This is what is different about the Daisies, we just knocked it out! That’s what we do!

For the upcoming tour, I have a John Suhr single cutaway guitar called the Ora, which is insane. It’s similar to a Les Paul style with some cosmetic changes to the design and improvements to the intonation. I still have to break it in, there is a video of me playing it on my Instagram account, I barely warmed up, and the guitar played itself. I’m also going to take a Gibson double neck out on tour as well. Some of the songs have more flavor in them and need a different treatment live.

Robert Cavuoto: Tell me about Brian Tichy’s departure from the band.

Doug Aldrich: It was amicable; it would be more interesting if it weren’t! [Laughing] It came down to him wanting to accomplish some things on his own and wasn’t sure what his schedule would be for the year. He decided with management to get someone in his place for the album and the tour, as it would be difficult to find someone who would play like Brian for a tour after the album was made. Brian supported Deen joining. Whenever you change a member the sound changes. As long as it’s going in a good direction its fine.

Robert Cavuoto: Was Deen selected because of your connection with the Revolution Saints?

Doug Aldrich: Marco had known and worked with Deen in a band called Soul Circus. Everyone really knew him. Deen had taken some time off to get himself together. He did a phenomenal job on the Revolution Saints record, but he really wanted to get back on the road. He is recovering and sober for three years. He is the best “Deen” he has ever been. He is full of energy, positive, and happy to be with the band. We flew him to the writing session and got it right away. He can play anything, but with the Daisies, it’s important to understand the simplicity that we all keep in mind, and he got it after hearing the demos.

Robert Cavuoto: You have an upcoming European and US Tour, what songs from the new CD can we expect to hear?

Doug Aldrich: “Rise Up” for sure will be a big one live. I hope we do the ballad “Set Me Free,” as I love the version on the album, but it sounds more expansive and emotional live. We’ve relearned and rehearsed the entire album because we don’t know what is going to work and go over the best. We will swap different songs in and out of the set list to see what works.

Robert Cavuoto: I’m going to put my three favorites in the ring, “Rise Up,” “Resurrected,” and “Burn it Down.”

Doug Aldrich: Those three will be in there for sure. “Burn it Down” we are going to expand it live and “Resurrected” is such a kick-ass track.

Robert Cavuoto: I didn’t realize that you were in House of Lords for a period of time.

Doug Aldrich: Gregg Giuffria and James Christian formed the band. They did the first record with Lanny Cordola on guitar and not sure what happened with him departing. I had played on some demos for them, and they loved it. One of the demos was “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Blind Faith. They loved it so much they wanted me to do the album and join the band. I was in Hurricane and just finish an album and videos.

I couldn’t leave Hurricane to join House of Lords as I had too much invested. They got guitarist Mike Guy. When they rehearsed for the tour, I think they were overly sensitive about making the guitar part sound exactly as I had recorded on the album. Mike and I both play differently, both are good. They wanted him to sound like me, and that was probably putting pressure on him.  They decide it wasn’t working out and asked if I would do the tour. I was free, so I did the tour. After that, I was done as I was doing other things. I really liked playing with the guys. Gregg and I really hit it off.

GALLERY

[aion-rsa]

New British TV Series for 2021: BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky Dramas, Britbox & More

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Among the detective dramas and high-stakes thrillers due to arrive on British television in the next year or so, there are a clutch of sci-fi, supernatural and horror shows also coming our way. April saw the release of Sky One original Intergalactic – the story of a wrongly imprisoned galactic pilot who breaks out of space jail with a gang of other high-security female prisoners – and Netflix has ordered fantasy novel adaptations Half Bad, Cuckoo Song, Lockwood & Co. and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – respectively, tales of witches, supernatural pacts, ghost-hunters, and a woman who jumps between bodies in her quest to solve a murder mystery. Coming to terrestrial TV, there’s Life After Life and The Three, stories about living multiple versions of the same life, and the miraculous child survivors of a mysterious plane crash.

On top of that, there’s plenty of true crime, thrillers, a new Sally Rooney adaptation for fans of Normal People, the screenwriting debuts of Candice Carty-Williams and Cash Carraway, plus Shane Meadows’ first period drama. Find out what’s coming from the UK in 2021 and beyond below.

We’ll keep this list updated with new commissions and as casting details and release dates are confirmed.

Around the World in 80 Days (tbc)

Filming began in South Africa on this new eight-part adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic novel in February 2020, and was halted in March by Covid-19 with an episode and a half in the can, before resuming in early July, then finally wrapping in March 2021. The European-funded series will air on BBC One and stars David Tennant as Verne’s famous explorer Phileas Fogg. To satisfy a foolhardy wager, Fogg and his valet set off on a globe-circling journey, this time in the company of journalist Abigail Fix, played by The Crown’s Leonie Benesch. It’s been adapted by a team led by Life On Mars’ Ashley Pharoah.

Anne (tbc)

World Productions, the makers of some of the best British drama around (Line Of Duty, Save Me, Jed Mercurio drama Bodyguard) are behind this four-part drama for ITV. Written by novelist Kevin Sampson, who was present at Hillsborough Stadium on the tragic day that ninety-six football fans died, it tells the real-life story of Anne Williams’ decades-long fight for justice for her teenage son and all the victims of the 1989 disaster. Maxine Peake stars in the lead role and Bruce Goodison directs. Peake was spotted filming the series in Liverpool back in late 2018 but there’s no sign yet of a release date.

Before We Die (May)

Adapted from the Swedish crime thriller of the same name (pictured above), Before We Die is the six-part story of a detective who discovers that her son is acting as an undercover informant in a brutal murder investigation. This English-language version is set in Bristol and stars Lesley Sharp, Vincent Regan and Patrick Gibson. The series aired on Channel 4 in May to lukewarm reviews.

Behind Her Eyes (Feb)

This six-part psychological thriller arrived in February, went straight into Netflix’s Top 10 and had an ending that left a real impression on viewers (spoilers in our discussion of it.) Adapted by Hannibal and The Punisher’s Steve Lightfoot from Sarah Pinborough’s 2017 novel, it’s the story of a woman who becomes involved in an unconventional love triangle that develops into a dark, twist-filled web of secrets. Tom Bateman (Vanity Fair, Beecham House) and The Luminaries’ Eve Hewson star.

Best Interests (tbc)

Jack Thorne (pictured), the busiest screenwriter in the UK is returning to BBC One fresh from His Dark Materials series two with a new original four-part drama partly inspired by the real-life Charlie Gard case. It’s about a young child with a life-threatening condition whose medical team judge it in her best interests that she be allowed to die, a decision her family can’t support and fight every step of the way. The commission was announced in July 2019 and filming was due to begin in 2020 before the pandemic took hold. As of June 2021, there were no recent updates about progress on this one.

Bloodlands (Feb)

Series two has already been ordered of new BBC One Belfast-set crime drama Bloodlands, which stars The Missing and Cold Feet‘s James Nesbitt. The thriller, from new writer Chris Brandon, revolved around a cold case that held personal significance for Nesbitt’s detective and dug up buried secrets for him and the people of Belfast. Susan Lynch, Michael Smiley, Ian McElhinney and Lisa Dwan were among the cast for series one.

But When We Dance  (tbc)

Directed by Johnny Campbell (of In The Flesh and Dracula fame) and written by Esio Trot’s Paul Mayhew Archer, this one-off comedy-drama about two people with Parkinson’s disease was announced in late 2019 and will be coming to BBC One. Described as a touching and hilarious love story, it’s the story of Tony and Emma, a couple who first meet at a dance class for people with Parkinson’s. It promises to be a witty, heart-felt 90 minutes throwing a light on a much-diagnosed condition in the UK.

Cash Carraway w/t (2022)

Inspired by writer Cash Carraway’s recent memoir Skint Estate, this new BBC drama will star This Country’s Daisy May Cooper as a working class single mum skewering stereotypes and exploring the brutal realities of austerity Britain. Creator Carraway assures viewers that it won’t be “a woeful tale of poverty porn,” but a love story between a mother who refuses to give in, and her 10-year-old daughter.

Champion (2022)

From Candice Carty-Williams (pictured above), writer of 2019 hit novel Queenie, comes a series celebrating contemporary Black British Music. Champion is the story of a highly personal rap battle between a South London brother and sister, former rap sensation and ex-con Bosco, and his former PA and younger sister Vita. Which of the Champion siblings will prosper?

Chloe (tbc)

From Alice Seabright, director of Netflix’s Sex Education comes six-part BBC One psychological thriller Chloe. It’s the story of Becky, who becomes so obsessed with the death of an estranged friend that she takes on a false identity to find out the true story. The cast (pictured above) was announced in April 2021 and includes Poldark‘s Jack Farthing, The Crown‘s Erin Doherty, The Serpent‘s Billy Howle and Gangs of London‘s Pippa Bennett-Warner.

Come Again (2022)

Robert Webb’s debut novel Come Again, which was published in April 2020, is being adapted for television. It was announced in May 2020 that Firebird Pictures Ltd is working on the screen version of the story by the writer-actor. Come Again is the first novel by Webb (Peep Show, Back, That Mitchell And Webb Look). It tells the story of Kate, a karate expert, computer genius widow mired in grief who gets an out-of-this-world chance to go back into her past and change the future. It’s part love story, part coming-of-age story, part spy thriller packed with action and 90s nostalgia.

Conversations with Friends (2022)

Following the enormous success of Normal People – the story of young Irish couple Marianne and Connor navigating love, sex, university, class, friendship and mental health – the BBC and Hulu are collaborating on an adaptation of author Sally Rooney’s debut novel, Conversations with Friends. This one’s on a similar bent, as the story of a pair of young Irish students who get involved with an glamorous older, married couple. The cast looks excellent too, with Joe Alwyn and Jemima Kirke playing Nick and Melissa, newcomer Alison Oliver playing the lead Frances, and Utopia (US) and Loki‘s Sasha Lane as Frances’ friend Bobbi.

Crime (tbc)

Filming began in April 2021 on Irvine Welsh crime thriller adaptation Crime, a Britbox exclusive due to arrive late this year. Welsh is adapting his novel for the screen in collaboration with Dean Cavanagh. Set in Edinburgh, it’s the story of Detective Inspector Lennox (played by Dougray Scott) and his investigation into the disappearance of a schoolgirl. Angela Griffin, Joanna Vanderham and Ken Stott also star. Broadchurch and Vigil (see below) director James Strong describes it as “a dark, visceral, shocking ride.”

Cuckoo Song (2022)

Based on the acclaimed young adult novel by author Frances Hardinge (The Lie Tree, Fly By Night), this six-part fantasy series is coming to Netflix. Among the writers are Doctor Who’s Sarah Dollard, Elizabeth is Missing’s Andrea Gibb and The Innocents’ Corinna Faith. It’s the story of two sisters – one human and one a monster – at war with each other, who have to reunite to reverse a supernatural pact gone wrong.

Danny Boy (May)

New BBC Two feature-length drama Danny Boy aired in May and told the story of real-life soldier Brian Wood, accused of war crimes in Iraq by human rights lawyer Phil Shiner. Ordeal by Innocence’s Anthony Boyle plays Wood, with the magnificent Toby Jones as Shiner, from a screenplay written by Murder and Party Animals’ Robert Jones. It’s currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Death Comes as the End (tbc)

With Agatha Christie adaptation The Pale Horse having completed Sarah Phelps’ quintet of adaptations for the BBC in 2020, it’s the turn of a different voice on a very different kind of Christie novel. That voice? Vanity Fair and Five Days screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes. And that novel? Death Comes As The End, a murder mystery set not in the early 20th century, but in ancient Egypt. The arrival of a new concubine sends ripples through an Egyptian priest’s family. The cast and air date have yet to be announced.

Devils (February)

Italian-French-UK co-production Devils came to Sky Atlantic in February, a high-finance thriller based on Guido Maria Brera’s novel of the same name. It’s a story of a top investment firm, multi-million dollar deals, a mysterious death and a public scandal. Alessandro Borghi stars.

Domina (May)

From Simon Burke, the creator of Sky weird-thriller Fortitude, eight-part historical family saga Domina is set in ancient Rome, beginning in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination. Based on real historical characters, it follows the ascendancy of Livia Drusilla through the Roman political ranks, as she strategizes her way to the top, driven by revenge.

Englistan (tbc)

Actor, rapper and screenwriter Riz Ahmed (pictured) was announced in 2018 as developing this ambitious nine-part series with BBC Two, but no updates have been released since. It was set to be a drama about three generations of a British Pakistani family set over the course of four decades. As soon as there’s any news on this one, we’ll include it here.

Everything I Know About Love (2022)

Novelist and journalist Dolly Alderton has turned screenwriter to adapt her own memoir Everything I Know About Love for the BBC. Described as “a generous, funny, warm-hearted and uplifting Sex & the City for Millennials, it’s the story of two young women Maggie and Birdy, who move to London and have to navigate relationships, flat-shares, heartache and friendship.

Extinction (2022)

This one needs to be on your radar: Giri/Haji creator Joe Barton has written an eight-part action thriller starring I May Destroy You and Gangs of London‘s Paapa Essiedu. It’s the story of a man recruited into an organisation formed to stop global catastrophes, who ends up reliving the same day again and again. Strike‘s Tom Burke, The Bodyguard‘s Anjli Mohindra and Jonathan Creek‘s Caroline Quentin co-star.

Finding Alice (January)

Keeley Hawes stars as a woman who discovers a host of unsettling secrets when her partner Harry unexpectedly dies when they finally move into their newly built dream house. A black comedy that aired on ITV in early 2021, Finding Alice also stars Joanna Lumley and Nigel Havers, and was written by The Durrells’ Simon Nye.

Four Lives (tbc)

Previously titled The Barking Murders, Four Lives is a three-part BBC drama based on real-life killer Stephen Port, and the aftermath of the four murders he committed. Port raped and murdered four men between 2014 and 2015, using Grindr to attract his victims. Jeff Pope, who previously penned The Moorside and Little Boy Blue, is the writer, with Neil McKay directing. Sheridan Smith and Jamie Winstone will star alongside Stephen Merchant as Port. In this Entertainment Focus interview from April 2020, actor Michael Jibson confirmed the drama was currently postponed due to the ongoing real-life criminal case.

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Ginger Snaps (2022)

It’s 20 years since the release of Ginger Snaps, the first in a trilogy of now-cult horror films, and, according to Sid Gentle Films, high time for a live-action TV adaptation. The darkly comic feminist werewolf movie will be adapted for a TV co-production by Anna Ssemuyaba, who has previous written for Sky’s Guerilla, Channel 4’s Adult Material and ITV’s Unsaid Stories, and from by the co-producers of Killing Eve and Orphan Black.

Grace (March)

From Endeavour creator Russell Lewis come two feature-length adaptations of Peter James’ crime novel series about a Brighton-based Detective Superintendent. Life on Mars’ John Simm plays unorthodox investigator Roy Grace, who’s haunted by the disappearance of his wife, in two-hour versions of Dead Simple and Looking Good Dead. The first film, which aired in May, revolves around a cold case and a groom who goes mysteriously missing just days before his wedding, and the second film will air later in 2021. Reviews were good so catch up on ITV Hub if you missed it.

Half Bad (tbc)

Based on Sally Green’s celebrated book trilogy of the same name, Half Bad will be an eight-part one-hour Netflix fantasy drama. It’s about a 16-year-old boy who has spent his life surveilled for signs that he may follow in the footsteps of his father – the world’s most feared witch. Giri/Haji creator Joe Barton is writing the series, with Andy Serkis among the producers. We. Can’t. Wait.

Harlan Coben’s Stay Close (tbc)

Thriller writer Harlan Coban is currently part of the way into a five-year deal with Netflix to adapt 14 of his novels, and Stay Close is the latest adaptation from writer Danny Brocklehurst and RED Productions, the team that brought us The Stranger. Like The Stranger, Stay Close will star Richard Armitage and move the book setting from the US to the UK. It’s the story of three characters whose dark secrets threaten to destroy their lives. James Nesbitt and Cush Jumbo also star.

Hollington Drive (tbc)

If you’ve seen writer Sophie Petzal’s Irish thriller Blood starring Adrian Dunbar, you’ll want to tune in for this. Coming to ITV, it’s a four-part thriller about two grown-up sisters who become entangled in a tense mystery when their children are involved in the disappearance of a 10-year-old local boy. Expect twists, turns, and sharp writing. The cast looks great too, led by Rachel Stirling and Anna Maxwell-Martin (pictured above).

Inside Man (tbc)

The latest BBC One drama from former Doctor Who and Sherlock showrunner Steven Moffat is a four-part crime thriller entitled Inside Man. The twisting story is about a death row inmate in the US and a woman who’s trapped in a cellar under an English vicarage, whose lives interlink “in the most unexpected way”. The cast (pictured above) looks excellent and includes plenty of Moffat’s past collaborators in David Tennant, Dracula‘s Dolly Wells and Lydia West, and Mr Stanley Tucci.

Intergalactic (April)

Sky One’s Intergalactic is an original, British space-set drama about a galactic pilot who’s falsely imprisoned, then breaks free with a gang of other high-security female prisoners. It stars The Tunnel‘s Savannah Steyn in the lead role, with Parminder Nagra, Eleanor Tomlinson, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Natasha O’Keeffe, Thomas Turgoose and Craig Parkinson, so lots of great British talent in the cast. The first series aired in Spring 2021 and is available to stream on NOW.

It’s a Sin (January)

This 1980s-set drama (previously titled The Boys) comes from acclaimed screenwriter Russell T. Davies (A Very English Scandal, Doctor Who) and tackles the impact of AIDS on the lives of three young men across a period of ten years. It’s the story of “the epidemic, the pain of rejection and the prejudices that gay men faced throughout the decade.” It was one of the dramas of the year, with a fantastic cast including Olly Alexander, Lydia West, Omari Douglas, Neil Patrick Harris, Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry, Tracy Ann Oberman and Shaun Dooley.

Karen Pirie (tbc)

A new detective is on her way to ITV in the form of Karen Pirie, the creation of novelist Val McDermid who’s also the literary source of ITV’s popular Wire in the Blood forensic pathology series. The new crime drama comes adapted from the first in McDermid’s five-book series The Distant Echo by Harlots and Save Me Too’s Emer Kenny. It’s about a young Scottish detective working in St. Andrews who is tasked with reopening cold cases. The first involves the 25-year-old death of a teenager whose unsolved murder has become the subject of a true crime podcast. It’s being made by Bodyguard and Line of Duty‘s World Productions. 

Landscapers (tbc)

A four-part true crime series about ‘Mansfield Murderers’ Susan and Christopher Edwards is on its way to Sky Atlantic and HBO. Alexander Payne (Sideways) was set to direct, but departed the project in October 2020 following what’s being reported as a scheduling conflict after Covid-19 pushed production back. The Edwards killed Susan’s parents and buried them in their garden, then spent over a decade draining their bank accounts before being discovered in 2014. Olivia Colman will star as Susan Edwards, from a script written by Colman’s producer husband Ed Sinclair. Giri/Haji and Flowers’ Will Sharpe replaces Payne as the director.

Life After Life (tbc)

Kate Atkinson’s 2013 novel Life After Life is a masterpiece of imaginative fiction, so it’s no surprise that BBC One is currently preparing a TV adaptation. It’s the story of Ursula, a woman with the extraordinary power to keep being continually reborn into new and alternative versions of her life after she dies. Seemingly insignificant changes to people and circumstances set her on new courses every time – can she alter the course of history? Playwright Bash Doran (Traitors) has adapted the novel and filming began in April 2021 with a cast including Sian Clifford, James McArdle and lead Thomasin McKenzie.

Lockwood & Co (tbc)

Attack the Block’s Joe Cornish is writing and directing this Netflix adaptation of Jonathan Stroud’s supernatural adventure series about a ghost-hunting detective agency run by two teenage boys and a psychic girl. It’s set in London and was only announced in December 2020, so don’t expect to see it arrive on the streaming service for a little while yet.

Magpie Murders (2022)

One of a slate of original drama commissions for UK streamer Britbox, Anthony Horowitz will adapt for screen his own murder mystery novel Magpie Murders, the first of his Susan Ryeland series. Lesley Manville will play literary editor Ryeland (Manville), with Spall playing her client’s fictional 1950s detective Atticus Pünd. A dream cast for this six-part thriller.

Marlow (2022)

Another Britbox commission that shows the UK streamer is serious about making a splash in quality original drama, Marlow will be an eight-part thriller from Southcliffe and Red Riding’s Tony Grisoni, starring The Crown’s Claire Foy. It’s a modern-day crime fable based around two warring families “amid the unsettling and indelible landscape of the Thames Estuary,” or as Foy’s revenge-seeking character Evie Wyatt calls it, the Edgelands.

Marriage (2022)

From Stefan Golaszewski, the creator of excellent comedy-drama Mum (pictured above) and comedy Him & Her, comes four-part drama Marriage. Not much is known about the show yet, but we can expect it to examine “in intimate detail the fears, frustrations and salvation of marriage and the comfort that can only be found in togetherness.”

My Name is Leon (tbc)

Filming began in March 2021 on a feature-length adaptation of Kit de Waal’s novel My Name is Leon, the 1980s-set story of a nine-year-old biracial boy forced to cope with his mother’s breakdown. Writer-director Shola Amoo is adapting the screenplay, with Kibwe Tavares directing, and Malachi Kirby and Monica Dolan among the cast.

My Name is Lizzie (tbc)

This four-part Channel 4 drama, based on real events, will star The Virtues and Raised by Wolves’ Niamh Algar as an undercover police officer used in a honeytrap search for a killer in the 1990s. Written by The Tunnel’s Emilia di Girolamo, it promises to take viewers behind the scenes on one of the UK’s most controversial police investigations. It was only announced in late 2020, so don’t expect it for a little while.

No Return (tbc)

Filming is due to begin in summer 2021 on ITV’s No Return, a Manchester-based four-part drama from Danny Brocklehurst (The Stranger, Shameless). It stars Sheridan Smith (pictured above) as the mother of a 16-year-old boy accused of a serious crime while on a family holiday in Turkey. Secrets unfurl as the family fights an alien legal system to free their son and get to the truth.

Ragdoll (tbc)

Attn: crime fans. Alibi has commissioned darkly witty six-part thriller Ragdoll, to be adapted from the novel of the same name by Daniel Cole. It’s a Jo Nesbo-ish crime drama about a grotesque murder in which six victims have been sewn into the shape of a single body. Detectives Rose, Baxter and Edmunds are on the case, charged with protecting the killer’s next set of advertised victims. The Irregulars’ Henry Lloyd Hughes, Lucy Hale and Thalissa Teixeira will star.

Ralph and Katie (tbc)

This six-part half hour is a spin-off from BBC One’s hit family drama The A Word, following the married lives of the titular characters, both of whom have Down’s Syndrome. The original series creator Peter Bowker is writing the show, which stars Leon Harrop and Sarah Gordy, alongside new and emerging disabled talent.

Red Rose (tbc)

A contemporary teen horror series is on its way to BBC Three and Netflix, written by Michael and Paul Clarkson (The Haunting Of Hill House, pictured). Red Rose will be an eight-part series about the relationship between teenagers and their online lives. It’s the story of Rochelle, a Bolton teen who downloads a mysterious app that sets in motion a series of terrifying events. Ultimately, say the Clarksons, “it’s the story of friendship told through the prism of a classic horror-thriller.” 

Riches (tbc)

From Empire to Succession, the complicated family lives of the super-wealthy are a continued source of fascination on screen. ITV has ordered drama Riches from writer Abby Ajayi to mine that seam. The six-part drama revolves around successful businessman Stephen Richards, a specialist in cosmetics for black women, who’s on a winning streak until a dramatic event forces his grown-up children from two marriages to gather together and decide what happens next.

Ridley Road (tbc)

Four-part BBC One thriller Ridley Road is adapted from Jo Bloom’s 2014 novel of the same name by screenwriter-actor Sarah Solemani (Him & Her, No Offence). It’s the story of the fight against fascism in 1960s London. According to Solemani, the novel reveals “a darker side of Sixties London and the staggering contribution the Jewish community made in the battle against racism.” Newcomer Aggi O’Casey is joined by Eddie Marsan, Rory Kinnear, Samantha Spiro and more.

Ripley (tbc)

Sherlock and Fleabag’s Andrew Scott will play Tom Ripley in a new TV adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith five-strong novel series for Showtime and Sky Atlantic. The first season will restage events as depicted in Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr Ripley, when a young grifter in 1960s New York is hired by a wealthy man to convince his wayward, hedonist son – played by Emma and Beast’s Johnny Flynn – to return home from Italy. Steven Zaillian (The Night Of, Schindler’s List) will write and direct.

Rogue Heroes (tbc)

A major new drama is on its way to BBC One, from Steven Knight, creator of Peaky Blinders and Taboo. The six-part drama is based on Ben Macintyre’s SAS: Rogue Heroes book, which charts the creation of the famed Special Forces unit. Knight has written the adaptation, which will tell a tale “celebrating the glory, action and camaraderie at the heart of this story” while delving into the psychology of the officers and men who formed the SAS in WWII. With real-life events given Knight’s visionary treatment, this one promises to be a spectacle with real depth. Jack O’Connell and Alfie Allen are among the cast (pictured above.)

Screw (tbc)

Inspired by his real-life experience as a civilian prison worker, writer Rob Williams (Killing Eve) is bringing a six-part prison drama to Channel 4. Screw promises to show “the uncensored, terrifying and often darkly funny reality of life as a prison officer in an all-male prison in 21st century Britain.” The story focuses on veteran officer Leigh, who’s trying to keep her past buried, and mouthy new recruit Rose. The cast includes Nina Sosanya, Jamie-Lee O’Donnell and Stephen Wight.

Showtrial (tbc)

The Tunnel’s writer Ben Richards has teamed up with World Productions (the folks behind Bodyguard and Line of Duty) on six-part series Showtrial. Coming to BBC One, it’s a legal drama that questions the role class, money and power play in justice being done. The story treats the disappearance of a young working class student and the subsequent arrest and trial of the accused, “the arrogant daughter of a wealthy entrepreneur.” Filming began in April 2021, and you can read more about the cast here.

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Superhoe (tbc)

Nicôle Lecky’s one-woman Royal Court stage show is getting the Fleabag treatment and being turned into a six-part BBC Three series. It’s the musical story of a would-be singer and rapper thrown out of home who moves in with a young woman who inducts her into the life of social media influencing and sex work.

Sweetpea (tbc)

From Kirstie Swain, the screenwriter of Channel 4’s Pure comes a new eight-part series adapted from C.J. Skuse’s 2017 novel of the same name. It’s the story of a young woman who seems unremarkable on the surface and works as an editorial assistant in a British seaside town. Unfulfilled by her job, she turns to darker pursuits outside of work, because who would ever suspect her? The comedy-drama is coming to Sky Atlantic and no casting has yet been announced. Read our interview with Kirstie Swain about Pure, mental illness in TV drama and more.

Tenacity (tbc)

If you saw His Dark Materials on BBC One, then you know Welsh-based Bad Wolf Productions are capable of great things on a grand scale. In 2019, ITV commissioned them to make six-part thriller Tenacity, from a screenplay by Flightplan’s Peter A. Dowling, based on the J.S. Law novel of the same name. It’s about a body discovered on a British nuclear submarine, investigated by military detective Danielle Lewis. Think assassins, high-stakes action and a momentous threat to national security. The cast is tba.

The Amazing Mr Blunden (December)

Following on from Sky’s beautiful festive family film Roald & Beatrix: The Tail of the Curious Mouse with another, this time written and directed by Mark Gatiss. The Amazing Mr Blunden comes adapted from Antonia Barber’s novel ‘The Ghosts’ and its original 1972 film adaptation. The 90-minute feature will star Gatiss, Simon Callow and Tamsin Grieg, and tells the story of two London teenagers whose mum moves them to a haunted country house where they get involved with a thrilling story of strange visitors, time travel and wicked would-be murderers…

The Baby (tbc)

The Baby is a darkly comic horror on its way to Sky Atlantic. The eight-episode first season was co-created by screenwriter Siân Robins-Grace (Kaos, Sex Education) and Gangs of London production manager Lucy Gaymer. It’s being billed as a provocative, dark and funny story about a woman in her late thirties who’s unexpectedly landed with a baby that takes over her world. The cast includes The Duchess‘ Michelle de Swarte (pictured), who’ll star alongside Amira Ghazalla and Amber Grappy.

The Birth of Daniel F Harris (tbc)

With a similar premise to Sky One’s Two Weeks to Live, but a psychological drama instead of a knockabout comedy, this Channel 4 drama by Urban Myths‘ (pictured above) Pete Jackson is the story of a young man raised in isolation from society after his mother’s death, by a father who told him the outside world is filled with monsters. When the boy turns eighteen, he enters the world to find the person responsible for his mother’s death. Read more about it here.

The Confessions of Frannie Langton (tbc)

Adapted by Sara Collins from her own Costa Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Confessions of Frannie Langton is a four part murder mystery set in Georgian London. It follows the title character, born on a Jamaican slave plantation and transported as a ‘gift’ by the man who enslaved her to the home of a wealthy London couple who meet a grim fate. Was Frannie really responsible? Or is she being used?  

The Elephant Man (tbc)

The story of Victorian Joseph Merrick was memorably brought to the screen by David Lynch in 1980, and has since been retold on stage (notably starring Bradley Cooper in the lead role). This two-part BBC drama stars Stranger Things’ Charlie Heaton (pictured) and is written by Moorside’s Neil McKay. The biopic will tell the story of Merrick’s life from the start to the end and promises to “explore the man behind the myth”. Filming was due to take place in Wales in late 2018, but there’s been no news about this one since so it’s a bit of a question mark.

The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies (tbc)

In this original six-part BBC One thriller, screenwriters Penelope and Ginny Skinner (pictured above) tell the story of two very different women, both of whom are being conned by the same man. Alice and Caroline have Rob in common, a celebrated ecopreneur who may well be trying to destroy them both. Inspired to fight against society’s glorification of the predator, The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies was commissioned in August 2020, so it’ll be a little while before we see it.

The Gallows Pole (2022)

You’re going to want to look out for this one. Director Shane Meadows (This is England, The Virtues), whose TV work usually airs on Channel 4, is making his BBC drama debut with an adaptation of Benjamin Myers’ acclaimed novel The Gallows Pole. It’s a true historical story about Yorkshire legend David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners, who became the biggest fraudsters in British history. Meadows describes himself as buzzing about making his first period drama, produced by Element Pictures.

The Girl Before (tbc)

This BBC-HBO Max co-production boasts a great cast in Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki, Black Mirror – pictured above – Belle) and David Oyelowo (Selma, Les Misérables), and a hit psychological thriller as its source material. It’s to be a four-part limited series created by JP Delaney (one of Tony Strong’s pseudonyms), adapted from his novel of the same name. It’s about a woman given the chance to move into a stunning home on the condition that she obeys an exacting set of rules, and presumably things get murder-y from then on in.

The Irregulars (March)

The modern version. The Robert Downey Jr version. The gnome version. The version where Watson is Lucy Liu. Just when you thought the world had no more Sherlock Holmes to give, along comes The Irregulars on Netflix. Written by My Mad Fat Diary‘s Tom Bidwell, this version focuses on the Baker Street gang of teens used as a resource by a sinister version of Dr John Watson, and a Sherlock Holmes whose best days are long behind him. It’s supernatural and horror-tinged, and unfortunately only lasted one season before being cancelled, but did manage to wrap up satisfactorily so don’t let the early ending put you off.

The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe (tbc)

Power, love, loyalty and politics all come to play in Dan Sefton’s (Trust Me) BBC adaptation of Keith Badman’s 2010 book The Final Years Of Marilyn Monroe. Narrowing the time-frame (as the working title suggests) Sefton’s drama will take in the final six months of Monroe’s life until her death in 1962 at the age of 36. We first heard about this one back in April 2019, but since then there’s been no news about casting or filming.

The Midwich Cuckoos (2022)

John Wyndham’s classic 1957 sci-fi is getting a modern TV adaptation courtesy of The Night Manager and Hanna writer David Farr. The eight part series will update the novel to the present day and set the action in a commuter town south of London, where the local women all mysteriously fall pregnant at the same time and give birth to a cohort of very unusual children. The most famous adaptation to date was 1965 cult favourite Village of the Damned (pictured above). Keeley Hawes and Max Beesley will star.

The North Water (tbc)

Film director Andrew Haigh (Weekend, 45 Years, Lean On Pete) has adapted and directed Ian Maguire’s novel The North Water into a four-part BBC Two drama with an excellent cast. Colin Farrell, Stephen Graham (pictured above), Tom Courtenay, Peter Mullan and Jack O’Connell are all on board – literally so as the series is set on a whaling ship in the Arctic in the 1850s. It’s the story of a disgraced ex-army surgeon who joins a whaling expedition and finds himself “on an ill-fated journey with a murderous psychopath” and in a struggle to survive. Filming took place on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in late 2019.

The Offenders (tbc)

From co-creator of The Office and writer-director of fab wrestling film Fighting with my Family, Stephen Merchant (pictured above, and soon to be seen playing killer Stephen Port in ITV true crime drama Four Lives) and Mayans M.C.’s Elgin James is a six-part one-hour comedy The Offenders. A BBC One-Amazon Studios co-production, it follows seven strangers forced together to complete a Community Payback sentence in Bristol. Merchant is joined by Christopher Walken, Darren Boyd and Eleanor Tomlinson in the cast.

The Pembrokeshire Murders (January)

This three-part ITV true crime drama stars Luke Evans as Detective Superintendent Steve Wilkins, who, in 2006, reopened and solved a cold case from the 1980s using new forensic DNA evidence and, bizarrely, an episode of darts-based quiz show Bullseye. Keith Allen plays John Cooper, the man in Wilkins’ sights.

The Pursuit of Love (May)

Emily Mortimer wrote and directed this glorious BBC One adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s 1945 comic romance about an aristocratic family in the interwar period (loosely based on Mitford’s own family, which gained notoriety through her popular novels and her sisters’ scandalous connections to the British Union of Fascists and Adolf Hitler). Downton Abbey‘s Lily James plays lead Linda Radlett in the three-part series.

The Red Zone (tbc)

Sports writers Barney Ronay and Jonathan Liew are behind this six-part half-hour comedy “about football, but also not about football,” which is coming to Netflix in 2021. Director Sam Mendes is executive producing through his Neal Street Productions company. Only announced in late 2020, no casting has yet been confirmed for this one.

The Responder (tbc)

Filming begain in May 2021 on this BBC Two five-part series from new screenwriter and former police officer Tony Schumacher, who’s been mentored by Jimmy McGovern as part of a BBC Writers Room initiative. The Responder will star The Hobbit and Sherlock‘s Martin Freeman as officer Chris, who works a series of night shifts in Liverpool, alongside his rookie new partner Rachel (Adelayo Adedayo). The series is described as funny, tragic, and showing the realities of policing in Britain.

The Rig (tbc)

In November 2020, Amazon Prime Video green-lit this six-episode supernatural thriller from Line of Duty and Bodyguard director John Strickland, written by David Macpherson. It’s due to film in Scotland and is set onboard the Kishorn Bravo oil rig in the North Sea. The crew finds itself marooned on the rig by a mysterious fog that cuts off communication with the outside world. Line of Duty‘s Martin Compston, Owen Teale and Rochenda Sandall will star, alongside Iain Glen, Mark Bonnar and more (see above.)

The Serpent (January)

Ripper Street writer Richard Warlow scripted this eight-part BBC drama about serial killer Charles Sobhraj, Interpol’s most wanted man in the 1970s for the robbery and murder of multiple young Western travellers across South Asia. Tom Shankland (Les Miserables, The City & The City) directs, and A Prophet and The Looming Tower‘s Tahar Rahim played the lead role of Sobhraj, with Jenna Coleman as his girlfriend/accomplice Marie-Andree Leclerc. Read more about the true story that inspired the series here.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (tbc)

Now this sounds like a bit of alright. Adapted from Stuart Turton’s novel of the same name, it’s a seven-part murder mystery coming to Netflix. The story’s a high-concept thriller about a woman trying to solve a murder who keeps waking up in somebody else’s body every time she gets close to the answer. Sophie Petzal (The Last Kingdom, Blood) is adapting it, and the announcement only arrived in late 2020, so don’t expect it for a little while yet. Casting is tba.

The Three (tbc)

Another BBC drama commission based on a book series, The Three, “an international thriller with a supernatural twist”, was announced in late 2017 but there’s been no news since then. The premise of Sarah Lotz’ trilogy sees four planes crash on the same day in four different countries, leaving three children as the miraculous survivors… Wolf Hall’s Peter Straughan was attached as adapting this eight-part drama but as yet, it’s still to appear on his IMDb credits. We’ll keep you posted if more arrives.

The Tourist (tbc)

Producer-writers Harry and Jack Williams (Fleabag, Baptiste, The Missing, Liar) are back with a six-part BBC-HBO Max drama set and filmed in South Australia. The Tourist is an outback noir about a British man pursued through the Australian outback by a tank truck. When the man awakens in a hospital with no memory of who he is or how he got there, his search for answers takes him to some unsettling places. Chris Sweeney (Back to Life) directs, with The Fall‘s Jamie Dornan leading the cast.

The Undeclared War (2022)

Channel 4 has teamed up with Peacock to commission this six-part cyber thriller written by Wolf Hall’s Peter Kosminsky. It’s set in 2024, as a team of GCHQ cyber specialists secretly work to fend off a cyber attack on the UK electoral system. There’s an impressive cast, from Mark Rylance (pictured above in Bridge of Spies), to Adrian Lester, Alex Jennings, Simon Pegg, Maisie Richardson-Sellers and newcomer Hannah Khalique-Brown. The commission was only announced in April 2021, so we can expect to see this one next year.

Three Families (May)

This drama based on real-life abortion stories set in Northern Ireland – the only part of the UK where pregnancy termination remains illegal – aired on BBC One in May 2021. Written by Vanity Fair‘s Gwyneth Hughes, who travelled to Northern Ireland to meet the families who inspired the drama, Three Families was produced by the makers of hard-hitting Three Girls and explores the experience of families and loved ones whose lives have been affected by the law in Northern Ireland. It’s currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Time (June)

Three-part prison drama Time is the latest from legendary British screenwriter Jimmy McGovern (Cracker, Accused, Broken), and stars Sean Bean and Stephen Graham. The four-part drama aired in June 2021 and followed the story of Bean’s character Mark, a former teacher in his 50s who finds himself in prison for the first time, and Graham’s character Eric, a prison officer targeted by a dangerously connected inmate. It’s currently available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Tom Jones (tbc)

Praise for 2018’s Vanity Fair adaptation, scheduled opposite Bodyguard in 2018, was drowned out somewhat by the hit political thriller, but there was plenty of it, and deservingly so. Good news then, that ITV has brought screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes back to tackle another classic novel – Henry Fielding’s 1749 book Tom Jones. Following in the footsteps of the acclaimed Albert Finney-starring 1963 film, and the raucous 1997 version with Max Beasley, expect rollicking fun. The last update we had in November 2019 confirmed that Hughes was mid-writing, but news has been thin on the ground since then.

Too Close (April)

Emily Watson (Chernobyl, Apple Tree Yard, Breaking the Waves) stars in this meaty psychological three-part ITV thriller. Based on the novel of the same name written by Natalie Daniels (the pseudonym of actor-writer Clara Salaman, who’s also behind the screenplay), it’s about a forensic psychiatrist treating a patient who’s committed a heinous crime that she says she doesn’t remember. The two women become locked in a dark struggle of influence and manipulation. Watson stars opposite Denise Gough (pictured above).

Trigger Point (tbc)

Line of Duty‘s Vicky McClure plays bomb disposal expert Lana Washington in this new ITV thriller from the Jed Mercurio stable. Written by Daniel Brierley and executive produced by Mercurio, it’s the story of a front-line bomb disposal pro whose squad is pushed to the limits tackling a terrorist threat to London. Six episodes are on their way, and likely to arrive in early 2022.

Vigil (tbc)

With a working title of Vigil, a new six-part thriller filmed in Scotland is on its way from the makers of Bodyguard and Line of Duty. Created by Strike‘s Tom Edge, it’s the story of the mysterious disappearance of a Scottish fishing trawler and a death on board a Trident nuclear submarine that brings the police into conflict with the Navy and British security services. It stars Suranne Jones, Rose Leslie, Shaun Evans, Anjli Mohindra, Martin Compston, Paterson Joseph and more. It’s expected to arrive in autumn 2021.

Viewpoint (April)

This five-part ITV thriller from Rillington Place and Manhunt writer Ed Whitmore and Fleabag director Harry Bradbeer aired in April 2021 (well, most of it did. The final episode was pulled from the schedules and made available as streaming-only following a series of sexual harassment complaints made about its star, Noel Clarke). It was the story of a police surveillance investigation in Manchester following the disappearance of a primary school teacher in the vein of Rear Window and The Lives of Others.

Wahala (2022)

This BBC series, described as “Big Little Lies meets Girlfriends meets Peckham” is adapted from Nikki May’s as-yet-unpublished novel of the same name. It’s about Simi, Ronke and Boo, three 30-something Anglo-Nigerian women living in London whose friendship is shaken by the arrival of the beautiful, charismatic Isobel, with tragic consequences.

White Stork (2022)

Formerly known as Spadehead, White Stork is a 10-episode political drama coming to Netflix courtesy of Eleven, the British production compnay behind Sex Education. Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers, The Night Manager – pictured above) stars as James Cooper, whose secret past is unearthed when he’s vetted in preparation for a parliamentary election. It was creted by Jericho and Meadowlands‘ Christopher Dunlop, with Taboo‘s Kristoffer Nyholm directing.

Wolfe (tbc)

From the creators of Shameless comes six-part crime drama Wolfe, which stars Guerilla‘s Babou Ceesay (pictured above) as an expert forensic pathologist and university professor described as “half genius, half liability”. With a complicated home life and a varied work team including a child prodigy, Wolfe uses his unusual expertise to solve a case of the week. Amanda Abbington, Natalia Tena, Naomi Yang, Adam Long and Shaniqua Okwok co-star.

You (tbc)

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We might expect the working title of this one to change to avoid confusion with the Netflix stalker story of the same name, but as it stands, You will be an eight-part thriller coming to Sky. Filming started in June 2021 in the UK and Morocco on this adaptation of the Zoran Drvenkar novel, which tells the story of Tara O’Rourke, a woman on the run across Europe after committing a deadly crime. She’s pursued by a dangerous gangster and a serial killer known only as ‘The Traveller’. The Capture (pictured above) writer-director Ben Chanan has written the adaptation.

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