News

"Peaky Blinders" single-handedly resurrected the newsboy cap as a menswear item. It also delivered a long, uncensored look at the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder in men who had served in some of the most unforgiving conditions of World War I, and lived during an era where people were mostly expected to walk off things like mental health issues. Oh, and it was a very good period gangster drama that wasn't afraid to go to some truly uncompromising places and had an absolutely stellar cast at its disposal.

To this day, the show's stellar theme song ("Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) evokes images of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) riding through the dirty streets of Birmingham in 1919, and the terrors that followed him like a dark cloud -- or, as he personally thought, a curse -- wherever he went. All six seasons of the show are great in their own way,...

Acorn TV has announced the titles that will be available on the AMC-owned streaming service in January 2025. The Acorn TV January 25 slate adds to the service’s various acclaimed English and foreign-language dramas, engaging comedies, documentaries, and more.

The January schedule includes The Catch, Darby and Joan Season 2, The Gone, The Graham Norton Show, and more.

Darby and Joan Season 2 Acorn TV January 2025 Highlights

Darby and Joan Season 2 (Acorn TV Original Series) – New Episodes Every Monday Until Season Finale on January 27

A year after their lives collided on an outback road, retired Australian detective Jack Darby (Emmy-nominee Bryan Brown) and English widowed nurse Joan Kirkhope (Emmy-winner Greta Scacchi) have forged a deep friendship amid shared investigative adventures. But Jack’s story has only just begun – he’s determined to clear his name of the unexplained cloud hanging over his career.

Despite the potential danger – or perhaps because of it...

Set in modern Dublin, A Greyhound of a Girl tells the heartwarming story of Mary, a spirited twelve-year-old girl with dreams of becoming a chef. Her biggest supporter is her grandmother Emer, who shares Mary’s love of cooking traditional Irish cuisine from scratch. When Emer falls ill, Mary leans on their strong bond of family and food during this difficult time.

Directed by Enzo d’Alò, the film brings the 2011 children’s novel by Irish author Roddy Doyle to animated life. D’Alò crafts a gentle yet meaningful tale that will resonate with both young and old. At its heart are the deep bonds between four generations of Irish women—Mary, Emer, Mary’s mother Scarlett, and a great-grandmother from the past who returns to offer comfort and wisdom.

Emer especially dotes on Mary and fuels her culinary ambitions. But when Emer’s health takes a turn for the worse,...

Dazzler Media has unleashed the trailer for the upcoming Irish animation ‘A Greyhound of a Girl.’

In this beautifully animated story of love and family, filled with joy and laughter, we join four generations of women as they take a glorious and life-affirming journey together. When unexpected news leads them to embark on a trip, they gain the opportunity to reconnect and learn more about each other.

Eleven-year-old Mary has an insatiable passion for cooking and dreams of becoming a

great chef. Her grandmother, Emer, with whom she has a very special bond, encourages her to make this dream come true. But every path has its obstacles, and facing them turns

into quite an adventure.

Starring the voice talents of BAFTA winner Sharon Horgan, Oscar nominee Brendan Gleeson, Charlene McKenna and Rosaleen Linehan, this moving, tender film is based on the acclaimed book by award-winning author Roddy Doyle (The Commitments...

French industry to descend on La Rochelle to premiere high-end drama series to the world.

Disney+’s French original Irrésistible, Canal+ legal drama Conviction, TF1’s Behind Closed Doors from Coda producers’ Jerico TV and Swedish thriller Evil are among the French and European titles that will premiere at France’s Festival de la Fiction, taking place in La Rochelle from September 12-17.

The event, which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2023, has long been a popular ‘back-to-school’ festival for the French industry, with a strong focus on French series, Its international appeal is growing and it has become a significant launchpad for European content.

‘Paper Empire’ Sets Entire Third Season Shoot At Saudi Arabia’s Film AlUla

Cryptocurrency drama Paper Empire will film the entirety of its 10-episode third season at Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning shooting hub and location Film AlUla. Created and directed by Robert Gillings, the high-profile cast will feature Robert Davi, Denise Richards, Kelsey Grammar, Carole Alt, Helena Mattsson, Wesley Snipes, Anne Archer, Richard Grieco, Robert Knepper, Steve Guttenberg among a host of returning and guest stars. The action-drama series is produced by Robert Gillings Productions, Tadross Media Group and Inner Circle Films. “We are delighted the Paper Empire team will be basing their new season in AlUla, we’ve worked with the creative team to provide locations which underscore the glamour, opulence and world-class production value of the series,” said Film AlUla Director Charlene Deleon-Jones.

BBC Acquires Dark Irish Drama Series

The BBC and Australia’s Sbs have acquired Clean Sweep,...

Emirati Movie

British actor Jefferson Hall will soon appear on screen in Emirati director Nayla Al Khaja’s psychological thriller “Three,” about a young boy who appears to be possessed.

Al Khaja – who is known for standout shorts including horror film “The Shadow” and “Animal” that both play on Netflix – has just wrapped the independently-produced “Three,” her debut feature, which was shot in Thailand.

Besides, Hall, “Three” also stars Faten Ahmed; Noura Alabed (“Wiladah”); veteran U.A.E. actor Mari Al Halyan (“On Borrowed Time”); Mohannad Bin Huthail (“Rashash”) and emerging Emirati talent Saud Alzarooni.

“Three” marks a rare case of a drama in which a Brit becomes enmeshed with the core of an Emirati family. The film unfolds in an unspecified modern-day Middle Eastern city, where a young boy named Ahmed begins exhibiting strange behavior, eventually leading his mother Maryam, to believe he is possessed. As the plot thickens,...

The third season of the acclaimed Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building” is set to premiere on Aug. 8. Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez star as true-crime podcasters who have a knack for finding themselves embroiled in murder — often having to prove their own innocence. Joining the third season will be Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep, and others. As seen in the Season 2 finale, Steve Martin’s Charles-Haden Savage is starring in a Broadway show when his co-star and rival (played by Rudd) drops dead on stage.

30-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month hulu.com

One of the most highly anticipated films of the year, “Killers of the Flower Moon” from director Martin Scorsese, released its first trailer this week. The true-rime film will premiere in theaters for a limited release on Oct. 6 before expanding wide. The film will then streaming exclusively on Apple TV+. Based on David Grann’s nonfiction...

Italian animation auteur Enzo D’Alò – whose globally known works include “The Blue Arrow,” “Lucky and Zorba,” “Momo” and “Opopomoz” – is back with Roddy Doyle adaptation “A Greyhound Of a Girl” launching from the Berlin Film Festival’s Generation Kplus section.

“Greyhound of a Girl” is about four generations of Irish women who embark on a car journey. One of them is dead, one of them is dying, one is driving, and the fourth is twelve-year old Dublin school girl Mary O’Hara. Mary shares her grandmother’s rebel spirit and love of cooking and is bravely dealing with the fact that her granny’s days are drawing to a close.

“The main theme of the book is delicate and difficult to describe, as it deals with death,” says D’Alò in his directors’ statement. “At first, the idea of tackling the notion of loss bewildered me a little,” he notes.

But...

German powerhouse Zdf Studios and U.K.-based Factual Fiction are reteaming for “#DorianGray,” an updated social media spin on Oscar Wilde’s classic, “The Picture of Dorian Gray.”

In Wilde’s original, first published as a novella in 1890 in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, the self-besotted Dorian Gray sells his soul in exchange for eternal youth, a picture painted of him recording the decay of his soul as in outward appearance he remains physically forever young.

Currently being written by Maiya John, a young London-based screenwriter, the contemporary reimagining is described by Zdf Studios as “a suspenseful ride through the life of a teenager as they construct their identity.”

While navigating sex, and gender, mental health and consent, through tweets and #instagram and Tik Tok videos, Dorian Gray, as in Wilde’s central concept, projects an image of who he’d like to be, rather than who he really is.

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the final titles for its Generation sidebar of youth and children’s films, adding the animated feature Greyhound of a Girl, which features the voices of Irish actors Brendan Gleeson and Sharon Horgan; the Ukrainian documentary We Will Not Fade Away on teenagers living in the war-torn Donbas region; and the highly-anticipated German drama Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before from director Sonja Heiss to its lineup.

Directed by Enzo d’Alò, Greyhound of a Girl is an adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s children’s book about a 12-year-old girl and her beloved, joke-cracking grandmother who is nearing the end of her life. In addition to Gleeson and Horgan, the film’s voice talents include Mia O’Connor, Charlene McKenna, and Rosaleen Linehan. When Will It Be Again Like It Never Was Before, based on the autobiographical bestseller by actor and writer Joachim Meyerhoff...

Adding to its growing roster of overseas drama titles, Germany’s Zdf Studios has snagged international distribution rights to “Clean Sweep,” a six-part Irish thriller which is set to premiere on Sundance Now and Irish public broadcaster RTÉ.

“Clean Sweep” stars Charlene McKenna, Captain Swing in “Peaky Blinders,” in a crime drama told from the point-of-view of the killer who is also, unusually, a self-sacrificing mother and wife. Filming is now underway.

McKenna, whose credits take in “Bloodlands” and “Vienna Blood,” plays Shelly Mohan, a woman living a quiet life in Western Ireland as a housewife and mother of three who kills her former partner in crime when he threatens to expose her dark past.

With her unsuspecting husband, a Garda detective, hunting for the murderer, Shelly has to contend with the pressures of a tightening noose as well as continuing to care for an ailing son, her unfaithful husband...

AMC Networks announced renewals for six series across multiple platforms: “Kin,” “Bloodlands,” “My Life is Murder,” “London Kills,” “Creepshow” and the “Slasher” franchise. The new “Slasher” installment is entitled “Slasher: Ripper” and will star Eric McCormack as ruthless tycoon Basil Garvey. The announcements were made at the Television Critics Association’s winter press tour.

“Kin,” the Irish gang drama streaming on AMC Plus, is returning for its second season. The series centers the Kinsellas, a crime family that wars with and ultimately kills powerful drug kingpin Eamon Cunningham (Ciarán Hinds). Season 2 will begin production this summer and follow the Kinsellas as they become the top dogs in Dublin but must deal with the consequences of Cunningham’s death. Charlie Cox, Clare Dunne and Aidan Gillen star. “Kin” is produced by Bron Studios and Headline Pictures. Peter McKenna serves as showrunner, executive producer, writer and creator.

Irish crime thriller “Bloodlands” has...

Theater

British Singer and TV personality Peter Andre (“I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!” “Strictly Come Dancing”) will make his West End debut as Vince Fontaine in an upcoming production of Jim Jacobs and Waren Casey’s stage musical “Grease,” playing at the Dominion Theatre starting May 17, with previews from May 3.

Directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, the show returns to the West End for the first time since playing at the Piccadilly Theater in 2007. Key casting includes Dan Partridge (“Hairspray”) and OIivia Moore (“Waitress”) as Danny and Sandy, with Jocasta Almgill (“Romeo & Juliet”) as Rizzo and Paul French (“Greese” U.K. Tour) as Kenickie.

“I’m beyond excited to be making my West End debut playing Vince Fontaine in ‘Grease’ at the beautiful Dominion Theatre,” said Andre. “’Grease’ is such an iconic musical and we can guarantee audiences will have the most...

Production

BBC Studios Germany has secured its first commission since launching in the territory this year — a local adaptation of British sitcom “Miranda” — and is co-producing the eight-part series for Zdf Neo with Studio Zentral.

“Miranda,” a BBC production written by and starring Miranda Hart, will be adapted for a German audience with the working title “Ruby” and will be directed by Natascha Beller. The screenplay is being adapted by Giulia Becker (“Kroymann”) and Anika Soisson (“Findher”) and Anna Böger (“Tatort”) plays the lead role of Ruby. Filming is currently taking place in Cologne.

The show sees Ruby facing the challenges of everyday life in a slightly clumsy way. The cast also includes Irene Rindje and Camill Jammal.

“Miranda” was previously adapted for the U.S. as “Call me Kat,” starring Mayim Bialik (“The Big Bang Theory”), by Fox Television, where it has been renewed for a second season.

BBC...

British crime drama series Bloodlands, which stars James Nesbitt and comes from Bodyguard creator Jed Mercurio, has been renewed for a second season by the BBC.

This comes after the four-part show became the British public broadcaster’s biggest drama launch ever in Northern Ireland. It launched in the UK with 8.2M viewers, making it the biggest new BBC drama launch since last June with over 50% audience share in Northern Ireland, where the show is set.

The show is set to launch on AMC Networks streamer Acorn TV in the U.S. on March 15. Acorn has the option on future seasons but has yet to commit to the second season.

The noir-ish drama follows Dci Tom Brannick, played by Nesbitt, a veteran detective who delves into his own dark past to try and solve an infamous cold case with enormous personal significance: a series of mysterious disappearances linked to a...

“Vienna Blood” is set to spill on the BBC after the U.K. pubcaster picked up the Austrian-set crime thriller, which is based on the best-selling Liebermann novels by Frank Tallis. Steve Thompson, whose writing credits include the BBC’s “Sherlock” and Fox’s international thriller “Deep State,” penned the series.

Starring Matthew Beard (“The Imitation Game”), and Juergen Maurer (“Tatort”), “Vienna Blood” is set in 1900s Vienna, a hot bed of philosophy, science and art.

Max Liebermann (Beard) is a brilliant young English doctor, studying under psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. He meets Oskar Rheinhardt (Maurer), an Austrian detective and the pair go on to tackle some of Vienna’s most mysterious and deadly cases.

The series was filmed on location in the Austrian capital. Conleth Hill (“Game of Thrones”), Charlene McKenna (“Ripper Street”), Amelia Bullmore (“Gentleman Jack”), Jessica De Gouw (“Dracula”), and Luise Von Finckh also all appear. It is produced by the U.

Flat caps were out in force on Wednesday in Birmingham, England as the town welcomed the Season 5 world premiere of gangster epic Peaky Blinders. Birmingham is home to Peaky creator and writer Steven Knight, and to the series’ Shelby family that’s led by star Cillian Murphy’s Tommy. At a screening of the first episode of the upcoming season, Knight excited the crowd, saying that much of the next season will be shot locally. He added, “We have two more series to do and we are bringing Peaky Blinders home.” Deadline last year reported that talks were ongoing with the BBC on Seasons 6 and 7, and Knight’s comments certainly make them appear likely. However, producers and the network have yet to officially confirm.

Peaky, which pulled off a rare feat of winning its first Best TV Drama BAFTA in its fourth season, moves to BBC One this year from...

The Shelby family is in for a little shakeup. The BBC has released a photo of cast member Sam Clafin, who is new to the fifth season of the Peaky Blinders TV show on Netflix and BBC One. Clafin isn't the only cast member new to the series. Joining along with him are Anna Taylor-Joy, Brian Gleeson. Neil Maskell, Kate Dickie, Cosmo Jarvis, Emmett J Scanlan, Elliot Cowan, Charlene McKenna, Andrew Koji, and Daryl McCormack.

A Netflix historical crime drama, Peaky Blinders stars Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory, Paul Anderson, Sophie Rundle, Finn Cole, Kate Phillips, Natasha O’Keeffe, Aidan Gillen, Jack Rowan, Charlie Murphy, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Harry Kirton, Packy Lee, Ned Dennehy, Ian Peck, and Benjamin Zephaniah. The early 20th Century skein unfolds in Birmingham, England, where boss Tommy Shelby (Murphy) led the “Peaky Blinders” gang. The fifth season kicks off...

In today’s TV News Roundup, Netflix releases the trailer for “Narcos: Mexico,” streaming Nov. 16.

First Looks

Watch the trailer for “Narcos: Mexico,” veering away from the first three seasons in Colombia to explore the origins of the drug war in Mexico. The new season streams Nov. 16 on Netflix.

Emmy Winning actress and activist Rachel Brosnahan will narrate “Paris to Pittsburgh,” an upcoming climate change documentary from Bloomberg Philanthropies and Radical Media. The film will be broadcast worldwide from National Geographic Documentary Films on Wed., Dec. 12 at 9pm Est/Pst.

Bravo’s “Top Chef” returns Thursday, Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. Est/Pst, hosted by Padma Lakshmi, head judge Tom Colicchio, Graham Elliot, Nilou Motamed and Gail Simmons. This season features 15 new chefs from cities across the U.S., competing in the American cities of Louisville, Lexington and Lake Cumberland before going abroad for the finale in Macau, China.

The teaser...

Exclusive: Season 5 of Steven Knight’s period crime saga Peaky Blinders has set a host of new cast, including Sam Claflin, Brian Gleeson and the previously announced Anya Taylor-Joy. The BAFTA winning drama that’s led by Cillian Murphy, Helen McCrory and Paul Anderson is currently filming with the fifth go-round for the Shelby family expected to air in 2019, moving from its previous BBC Two home to BBC One.

Also new to the series are Neil Maskell, Kate Dickie, Cosmo Jarvis, Emmett J Scanlan, Elliot Cowan (The Spanish Princess), Charlene McKenna (Ripper Street), Andrew Koji (Warrior) and Daryl McCormack (A Very English Scandal). We do not yet have character descriptions.

This year’s big name additions follow on from Season 4 which included Adrien Brody and Game Of Thrones‘ Aidan Gillen.

Claflin recently starred in...

Exclusive: The Imitation Game’s Matthew Beard is to front a European remake of Frank Tallis novels Vienna Blood, produced by Endor Productions, the company behind Mark Strong-fronted drama Deep State.

Endor has partnered with Mr Film and Red Arrow Studios International on the three-part series, which has been commissioned by Germany’s Zdf and Austria’s Orf.

Jericho and Sherlock writer Steve Thompson is adapting the series into three feature-length episodes with Robert Dornhelm (Anne Frank: The Whole Story) and Umut Dag (Cracks in Concrete) directing.

Bear plays central character Max Liebermann, the protégé of Sigmund Freud, and set in 1900s Vienna. When Liebermann comes into contact with Oskar Rheinhardt, played by Tatort’s Juergen Maurer, a detective struggling with a strange murder case, he is called to help him solve the investigation.

The three features will be based on Tallis’ first three books in the Liebermann Papers series of novels,...

Network:  Episodes: 37 (hour)Seasons: FiveTV show dates: January 19, 2013 -- TbdSeries status: EndingPerformers include: Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring, Charlene McKenna, Amanda Hale, Jonathan Barnwell, David Wilmot, and David Dawson.TV show description:      This dramatic TV show begins in April 1889 in London -- six months after the last Jack the Ripper killing. H Division is responsible for policing one and a quarter square miles of East London, a district with a population of 67,000 poor and dispossessed and also filled with factories, rookeries, chop shops, brothels and pubs. The men of H Division had hunted Jack the Ripper and failed to find him. When more women are murdered on the streets of Whitechapel, the police begin to wonder if the killer has returned.

It's time to bid farewell to Ripper Street. Today, BBC America announced the fifth and final season of the TV series will debut in March.The final season "picks up mere days after the grisly death of Detective Inspector Bennet Drake, which reunites his old friends, Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, surgeon Captain Homer Jackson and "Long" Susan Hart, to bring his murderer to justice." The cast includes Matthew Macfadyen, Adam Rothenberg, Jerome Flynn, MyAnna Buring, and Charlene McKenna.Read More…...

Becky Lea Jun 20, 2017

With characters on the run and battle lines drawn, Ripper Street series 5, airing now on BBC Two, gets off to a strong start...

This review contains spoilers.

See related Curb Your Enthusiasm: season 9 confirmed by HBO

5.1 Closed Casket

The fifth and final series of Ripper Street starts a mere three days after the final events of the fourth series, opening with the funeral of Bennett Drake. Reid (Matthew Macfadyen), Jackson (Adam Rothenberg), and Susan (MyAnna Buring) remain hidden in the sewers, still reeling from Drake’s death at the hands of the feral Nathaniel (Jonas Armstrong). Nathaniel’s brother, Augustus Dove (Killian Scott) sets about covering up his own actions as well as his sibling’s. To aid this, he brings back an old Whitechapel nemesis, Jedediah Shine (Joseph Mawle), last seen beaten into submission by Drake, as the new Chief of H division and commands him to track down Reid.

The fourth series’ climactic scenes were designed to shatter the status quo that was the investigative team of Lehman Street. Even when the relationship between Reid, Drake, and Jackson was fractious, they were united in their common desire to clean up the streets of Whitechapel by whatever means necessary. Losing Drake, and therefore the strong presence of Jerome Flynn, is a risk to the established dynamic of the show as the chemistry of the three central characters was often its strongest element.

How the series manages without Flynn in the longer term of course remains to be seen, but there is enough intrigue in this first episode that Drake’s loss is felt solely on an emotional level, rather than in Closed Casket’s construction. Time is spent with protagonists and antagonists alike, all of whom deal with Drake’s death in different ways. Though her scenes are brief, Charlene McKenna’s performance is heart-wrenching as the grief of losing her husband overcomes Rose and she runs away from her home. Macfadyen and Rothenberg are as reliable as ever, stoic and focused in their ambition to avenge their friend.

The episode itself reflects that stoicism; aside from Rose and Matilda’s respective scenes and a short moment in which Susan catches sight of Connor outside Dove’s home, the emotions are somewhat downplayed. There’s a new, more sombre version of the theme tune, befitting the mournful turn of events and used to establish the quieter tone that the episode goes for. It works well, particularly in the more sinister moments, such as Dove sweeping Connor into his arms, or Matilda coming face to face with an old foe of her father’s. When the heightened, emotional scenes do come, the contrast helps them land more effectively.

In the midst of this fallout, Closed Casket has a lot of set-up to do, as well as reminding everyone of what has gone before. Naturally, it feels a little slow as a result, a deliberate and steady attempt to move the characters into position for the coming episodes. As the dire nature of Reid, Jackson, and Susan’s respective situations become clearer and more obstacles are found to be in their way, the episode picks up pace towards a final scene that is still more about scene-setting than action, but with the added bonus of firmly establishing the opposite sides of this series’ struggle.

Introducing old faces is never an easy task , especially when they have been absent for two series. Thankfully, having an actor with the presence of Joseph Mawle is a good hand to play and the second he strides in, the memory of Shine’s awfulness comes flooding back. Shine is one of the best antagonists to cross Reid’s path and Mawle’s spitting performance is set up in perfect opposition to the ever calm and methodical Macfadyen. Though kept separate for this episode, the anticipation of their inevitable confrontation bubbles under the surface, ready to build as the series progresses.

The returning secondary characters continue to provide capable support. Thatcher finds himself in his element with Shine in control and Benjamin O’Mahoney’s cocksure attitude is undercut beautifully in the climactic scene of the episode. Anna Burnett is given some of the more emotional work to do as Matilda is faced with surviving without her father and the newfound knowledge of his violent acts. Both Armstrong and Scott remain impressive as the chalk-and-cheese Dove brothers, one struggling to control his inner animal, the other the very definition of calm manipulation.

With characters on the run, stakes raised, and battle lines drawn, it’s a strong start to the fifth series. Ripper Street has steadily become a more consistently good show during its runtime and if the current trajectory holds, it will finish its time with us on a considerable high.

Read Becky's review of the series four finale, Edmund Reid Did This, here.

This review was originally posted in October 2016.

Welcome back to Whitechapel. Below, watch the official season four trailer for the Ripper Street TV show from BBC America. The fourth season premieres Thursday, July 28, 2016 at 10:00pm Et/Pt. Spoiler Warning: We have descriptions for the first two episodes, too.Ripper Street season four picks up in the summer of 1897, with Queen Victoria celebrating her diamond jubilee. The Ripper Street TV series cast includes Matthew Macfadyen, Adam Rothenberg, Jerome Flynn, MyAnna Buring, Charlene McKenna.Read More…...

Lifetime has uttered a dismissive grunt in the direction of its pilot adaptation of The Clan of the Cave Bear.

RelatedLifetime’s Clan of the Cave Bear Casts Ripper Street‘s Charlene McKenna

Per our sister site Deadline, the cabler passed on the pilot upon being able to reach an agreement with Fox 21 Studios on the size of the episode order. Lifetime envisioned a four-hour mini, while Fox 21 covets a full series order.

Lifetime also wanted it to be titled The Unauthorized Clan of the Cave Bear Story. #kidding

Fox 21 thus is shopping the pilot to other possible homes,...

Lifetime has opted not to move forward with their planned TV series based on Jean M. Auel's "Clan of the Cave Bear" best-selling novel series.

The project was ordered to pilot over a year ago with the likes of Auel, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Allison Shearmur and Francie Calfo and writer Linda Woolverton all attached. which starred Millie Brady, Johnny Ward, Hal Ozsan and Charlene McKenna starred in the pilot.

However, the trade says that Fox 21 and Lifetime are reportedly at an impasse on an episode count. The studio wanted to do an ongoing series, the network wanted a closed-end run.

Set over 25,000 years ago, the story follows a blond, blue-eyed young woman who must fight for survival in a time when Neanderthals shared the Earth with the first early modern humans.

Source: The Live Feed...

Season 4 of Victorian era detective drama Ripper Street has begun shooting in Dublin with new faces added to the cast. Shameless star David Threlfall has boarded as a series regular joining the returning cast of Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring and Charlene McKenna. The latest season will premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Instant Video with dates to be set. Promised are “criminal and personal dramas that will revive and escalate the…...

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the entire third series of Ripper Street - now airing on BBC One

Ripper Street is swelling its ranks with the addition of some exciting new cast members.

David Threlfall is joining the period thriller for its fourth series as villain Abel Croker.

Shameless star Threlfall will be a series regular, while Harry Potter veteran Matthew Lewis - of posing in his pants fame - also joins the cast.

Ex-Robin Hood Jonas Armstrong, '71 star Killian Scott and acting legend David Warner will also appear in the new series, which has just begun filming in Dublin.

They join returning cast members Matthew MacFadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg and Charlene McKenna - while MyAnna Buring will also be back, meaning her Long Susan must have escaped the gallows!

Lucy Cohu (Deborah Goren) and Derek Riddell (Constantine) will also return, reprising their roles from the very first series of Ripper Street.

As fans are likely aware, Ripper Street was cancelled but was then revived for a third season thanks to a deal with Amazon. Do the ratings on BBC America really matter? Likely not as much as they used to but it's still fun to follow along and see how the show's doing.

This season of Ripper Street picks up four years after Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen), Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn), and Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg) split and isolated themselves from one another. Others in the cast include MyAnna Buring, Charlene McKenna, Clive Russell, David Wilmot, and David Dawson.

Read More…...

United Kingdom

David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike are in negotiations to star whilst "Belle" director Amma Asante has come aboard to direct the racial drama "A United Kingdom" at Pathe International. Filming begins in October.

Written by Guy Hibbert, the true story tale follows Seretse Khama, a member of the royal family in the country of Bechuanaland which became Botswana. Khama sparked international outrage when he married a white woman in 1948 and survived a deposition attempt by his uncle. [Source: THR]

Coco

Provocative hip-hop artist Azealia Banks has scored her first starring role in a feature film, playing the title character in RZA's second feature "Coco" for Lionsgate and Codeblack Films. Common, Jill Scott, Lucien Laviscount, Lorraine Toussaint and Hana Mae Lee also star.

In the Brooklyn-set drama, Banks plays an aspiring twenty something rapper who wants a career in hip-hop but is torn by her parents’ dreams that she finish college.

Charlene McKenna is going from A.D. to B.C. (and the B.C. stands for Bear Cave).

The Ripper Street actress, who’s currently co-starring in NBC’s A.D. The Bible Continues, has nabbed a regular role in Lifetime’s Clan of the Cave Bear pilot, TVLine has learned.

RelatedRoots Redo to Air on History, A&E and Lifetime; LeVar Burton Named Producer

The project — based on the first of Jean M. Auel’s six-book series — takes place more than 25,000 years ago, when Neanderthals shared the Earth with the first early modern humans and a band of cave...

Charlene McKenna (A.D.: The Bible Continues) has joined the cast of Lifetime's drama pilot The Clan Of The Cave Bear, from Imagine TV, Allison Shearmur Prods., Fox 21 TV Studios and Lionsgate TV. Written by Maleficent scribe Linda Woolverton based on Jean M. Auel's series of best-selling novels, Clan Of The Cave Bear draws from the first book. It takes place at a time in prehistory more than 25,000 years ago when Neanderthals shared the planet with the first early modern…...

ShortsHD is once again bringing the wildly popular Oscar Nominated Short Film program (Live Action, Animation, and Documentary) to theaters everywhere.

The theatrical release of The Oscar Nominated Short Films has met enthusiastic audiences ever since its launch 10 years ago giving people around the world an opportunity to see the nominated films prior to the Oscar Awards ceremony on February 22.

Below are the Live Action nominees’ reactions to their nominations.

Live Action

Aya

Israel & France / 39 mins

Directors: Mihal Brezis and Oded Binnun

Producers: Yael Abecassis, Hilel Rozman, Pablo Mehler

Co-writer: Tom Shoval

Production: Cassis Films (Israel), Divine Productions (France)

Two strangers unexpectedly meet at an airport. He mistakenly assumes her to be his assigned driver. She, enchanted by the random encounter, does not hurry to prove him wrong.

Boogaloo And Graham

UK / 14 mins

Director: Michael Lennox

Producer: Brian J. Falconer

Writer: Ronan Blaney

Jamesy and Malachy are over the moon...

Hit play Ghosts will be screened to over 200 cinemas in the UK and Ireland for one night only on Thursday, June 26.

The Henrik Ibsen play adaptation, directed by Richard Eyre, stars Lesley Manville and was performed at Trafalgar Studios.

Helene Alving has spent her life suspended in an emotional void after the death of her cruel but outwardly charming husband. She is determined to escape the ghosts of her past by telling her son, Oswald, the truth about his father. But on his return from his life as a painter in France, Oswald reveals how he has already inherited the legacy of his father's dissolute life.

Ghosts has been nominated for five Olivier Awards: Best Actress, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Lighting Design, Best Director and Best Revival.

Manville won the 2013 Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance as Helene Alving, while Richard Eyre was...

Review Becky Lea 10 Dec 2013 - 07:29

Ripper Street's penultimate episode is proof that it's not going to go out quietly. Here's Becky's review...

This review contains spoilers.

2.7 Our Betrayal Part 1

With the sad news that there’ll be no third series of Ripper Street, the first part of Our Betrayal serves to show that it is not going out quietly as each of our characters find themselves getting to the end of their rather desperate tethers.

It’s a theme of family this week, or rather, the fracturing of it; Susan’s gearing up to give Duggan what he really wants, Rose is hunting down a grieving Drake, Jackson’s dealing with his wayward brother and Reid is trying to keep everything together whilst wooing Miss Cobden once again. As such, the secondary plot about the defrauding of craftsmen in Whitechapel and diamonds making their way over from South Africa takes a back seat,...

The BBC has cancelled Ripper Street after two seasons on the air. The cast and crew were notified this week. The show airs on BBC America here in the states.

Ripper Street begins in Whitechapel in London's East End, six months after the infamous Jack the Ripper murders. The men of H Division had searched for the killer but didn't catch him. When more women are murdered, they wonder if the killer has returned. The show's cast includes Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, MyAnna Buring, Charlene McKenna, David Dawson, Amanda Hale, Damien Molony, Joseph Mawle, and Frank Harper.

Flynn broke the news during an interview on radio station BBC London 94.9. The actor said, "We found out this week that the third series of Ripper Street isn't going. We're all in shock. It was up against I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Spoilers consist throughout…

As Jack the Ripper is recreated as a pantomime villain of a musical play, Rose (Charlene McKenna) returns at the open, now a waitress at the music hall, playing with dreams of being on stage. But we only have moments to contemplate the meaning of her dreams and of Rose’s return, for this distasteful theme treat for an audience plunges into darkness, a prominent member of London’s council is kidnapped, and H division are called in.

For a show that centres around the formidable acting talents of Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg, in my heart I know that this episode was not theirs, it was a performance piece that hung on the great talents of MyAnna Buring (The Descent, Kill List) and Neve McIntosh (Recently in Doctor Who and previously in the fantastic channel 4 medical drama, Bodies), and they didn’t disappoint,...

Review Becky Lea 11 Nov 2013 - 22:00

Ripper Street focuses on developing its women characters this week, and is all the better for it. Here's Becky's review...

This review contains spoilers.

2.3 Become Man

When a politician is snatched from the audience in a music hall by a gang of women, Reid, Jackson and Drake are dispatched to investigate the abduction. They soon stumble across a bigger plot to do with matchbox girls, suffering the effects of their exposure to phosphorous and out for revenge against those who offered them little compensation. The case soon takes on a personal element when the gang takes Susan hostage and she becomes privy to their motives.

One of my main complaints about the first series of Ripper Street and the two episodes we have seen so far is the sidelining of the female characters who are either supportive wives or whores to be rescued. Susan...

Hannah Murray has said that she planned on saying no when she was approached about a return to Skins in the Skins Pure two-parter.

The actress played Cassie in the first two years of the E4 drama and returns this year for one of the three stories for the show's finale alongside guest stars Charlene McKenna (Ripper Street), Daniel Ben Zenou (Strike Back) and Red Madrell (Kidulthood).

> 'Skins' final series: First look images, new guest stars revealed

"I never thought I would come back. I was really clear in my head about that part of my life and playing that character being over," Murray said.

"There had been a few suggestions to bring people back and I didn't think it was her that they'd choose. I had a meeting last year and I had an inkling that Bryan was going to ask me to come back."

She added:...

Series 7 of Skins marks a departure in style with former stars Hannah Murray, Jack O'Connell, and Kaya Scodelario returning to the roles which shaped their careers in three individual stories, each broadcast in two, one hour parts.

In Skins Fire, Effy (Kaya Scodelario) has a dead end job as a receptionist for a leading London Hedge Fund. But as she stumbles across crucial financial information relating to a troubled deal and embarks on an affair with her wealthy boss, she finds out that she has bitten off more than she can chew. Her flatmate Naomi (Lily Loveless) tries to stop Effy from ruining her life, but Effy cannot be reached; until tragedy strikes.

Skins Fire is written by Jess Brittain, directed by Charles Martin and stars Kaya Scodelario, Lily Loveless, Kayvan Novak, Craig Roberts, Lara Pulver and Kathryn Prescott.

In Skins Pure, Cassie (Hannah Murray) is adrift, alone and invisible in London,...

Digital Spy has first-look images from the final Skins.

The E4 drama will return for three special films - Skins Fire with Kaya Scodelario (Effy), Skins Pure starring Hannah Murray (Cassie) and Skins Rise featuring Jack O'Connell (Cook).

Guest stars for the final run include Craig Roberts (Submarine), Lucien Laviscount (Waterloo Road), Olly Alexander (Great Expectations) and Neil Morrissey, reprising his role as Cassie's dad.

Skins - the final series in pictures:Skins Fire also stars Lily Loveless (Naomi) and Kathryn Prescott (Emily) - plus guest stars Lara Pulver and Kayvan Novak - and will see Effy's life spiral out of control as she uncovers evidence of a major financial fraud and embarks on an affair with her wealthy boss.

Skins Pure will follow a lonely Cassie in London as she strikes up a "strange and poignant" friendship, only for her new relationship to come under threat. Charlene McKenna (Ripper Street...

An ambitious, multi stranded tale of existential angst and organised crime set in Northen Ireland during New Years Eve, Jumps tells the story of Greta (Nichola Burley), the daughter of a Derry gangster (Lalor Roddy), rescued from committing suicide by Pearce (Martin McCann), fresh from being roughed up by her father's thugs for looking into his brother's disappearance. Finding solace in each other, they set in motion a series of events that impact not only their lives, but the lives of Greta's friends Marie (Charlene McKenna) and Dara (Valene Kane), and traumatised thug Johnny (Richard Dormer). Working from the stage play by Lisa McGee, director Kieron J. Walsh (When Brendan Met Trudy) juggles the multiple story lines with ease, throwing in some chronological slight of hand for good measure. It moves at a great pace, grabbing the audiences interest from the opening frame, and switching between the three stories effortlessly.

The final episode of Ripper Street’s first series seemed like it would be a tense mismatch of Captain Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg) seeking his freedom, following being set up by his former arch-nemesis Frank Goodnight (Edoardo Ballerini) to make it seem that Jackson was Jack the Ripper all along, and Edmund Reid (Matthew Macfadyen) finally having an episode focused upon the loss of his daughter, possibly even reaching a conclusion over her disappearance.

The episode opens with H Division divided. Many mourning the death of young Hobbs (Jonathan Barnwell), Jackson imprisoned, the usually symbiotic duo of Reid and Drake (Jerome Flynn) broken. Reid seeks solace in the bed of Miss Goren (Lucy Cohu) whilst his righthand-man Drake seeks solace in the bottom of many pints and Jackson is left in his cell alone apart from his thoughts and occasional visits from Reid. Everything is in tatters, for the stability...

"Ripper Street," the British police procedural set during the reign of Jack the Ripper, will be back for a second season on BBC America. A co-production between the U.S. network and BBC One, "Ripper Street" is currently in the midst of its first season on BBC America, airing on Saturday nights. The second season will, like the first, consist of eight episodes, and is set to premiere in 2014. The show, which was created by Richard Warlow, stars Matthew Macfadyen as Detective Inspector Edmund Reid, who runs a Victorian-era police department in East London. Jerome Flynn, Adam Rothenberg, McAnna Buring, Charlene McKenna, David Dawson and Amanda Hale make up the rest of the cast. Read More: Jerome Flynn Talks 'Ripper Street,' How 'Game of Thrones' Changed His Life and His Era as an Accidental Pop Star In a statement, Warlow said, "I am enormously grateful to...

Finally, Ripper Street had an episode entirely dedicated to my favourite character, Detective Sergeant Bennet Drake (Jerome Flynn). Drake usually takes his place as Di Edmund Reid’s (Matthew Macfadyen) right hand man, the muscle to Reid’s intellect, but this week he was liberated from his position behind Reid, he was at the forefront of the episode. It revolves around Drake’s secret pasts, hinted in the second episode (In My Protection) as being rooted in Egypt, and a traumatising event that took place whilst he was there.

The episode opened with the intercut shots of Drake shaving and applying aftershave, ready to go on a date with the prostitute Rose (Charlene McKenna), and the scene of a man preparing his rifle in a military grade routine of precision and efficiency. At the end of the sequence the gunman takes aim at his target – the horse pulling a carriage.

On the 9th of January, the London Underground celebrated its 150th anniversary, it wasn’t long before Ripper Street’s forth episode, ‘The Good of this City’, portrayed the birth of the electric railway to coincide with its exploration of Victorian culture. The birth of the electric railway occurred in 1890 but I’m sure we can overlook the fact the narrative takes place in 1889, so far in this sensational shows run we have seen scientific procedures, telegraphs, video photograph, autopsies and policing that stands on the brink of revolutionary during the Victorian age; this is part of what entertains and intrigues us whilst viewing.

The Good of the City opens with brothel owner, and love interest of our resident American wonder-surgeon Captain Homer Jackson (Adam Rothenberg), Long Susan (MyAnna Buring) showing around a prospective employee telling her of the houses ability to offer her protection that she would lack in the outside world.

“How do you keep law in a lawless town,” the question is asked. The 1889 H division of East London is the answer we are given; the antidote to the chaos of Whitechapel.

On Sunday the 30th January, BBC1′s Ripper Streets burst onto our screens; the first episode of an eight-part series of a Victorian age, police procedural set in London’s East End. Created by the writers Richard Warlow (Mistresses, Waking the Dead), Julie Rutterford (Life on Mars, Shameless), Declan Croghan (Waking the Dead, The Body Farm) and Toby Finlay who have sculpted the story in the aftermath of the Whitechapel murders, six months following Jack the Ripper’s last murder. The main cast is headed by Matthew Macfadyen (Spooks, Pride & Prejudice, Anna Karenina), a talented stage and screen actor who fills the boots of Detective Inspector Edmund Reid; based on his real life namesake, head of H Division...

'Footballers' Wives' star Cristian Solimeno and 'Torchwood' actress Amy Manson are among the new cast members who have began shooting 'Raw' series five in Dublin. The British stars join returning cast members Aisling O'Sullivan, Charlene McKenna, Damon Gameau, Keith McErlean, Tara Lee, Sam Keeley, Kelly Gough and Ger Ryan on the Octagon Films/Ecosse Films production for RTÉ.