News

Lee Mack and Chris McCausland star in festive comedy Bad Tidings. Here’s the trailer for the upcoming Sky TV production.

Comedians Chris McCausland and Lee Mack are building up quite a portfolio of work together. They previously collaborated on an episode of the latter’s hit sitcom Not Going Out last year, in which McCausland played a passenger travelling in the same carriage as Lee’s family. They also presented at the BAFTAs together, and McCausland appears alongside Mack on game show Would I Lie To You.

They are now starring together in festive film Bad Tidings for Sky. The synopsis reads as follows:

This year’s Sky Original Christmas special revolves around grumpy home-security expert Neil (Mack) and his neighbour Scott (McCausland), who insists on keeping his Christmas lights illuminated all-year-round. And mixing up their bins, criticising Neil’s ‘project’ car and generally winding him up. Basically, Scott’s a git.

Die britische Version der preisgekrönten Comedyserie „Der Tatortreiniger“ wird um eine dritte Staffel verlängert.

Greg Davies ist „The Cleaner“ (Credit: Shuk)

„The Cleaner“ geht in die Verlängerung. Wie die Studio Hamburg Produktion Gruppe, deren britischer Ableger Studio Hamburg UK die britische Version von Mizzi Meyers preisgekrönter Comedyserie „Der Tatorreiniger“ mit Bjärne Mädel in der Hauptrollefür BBC One und BBC iPlayer produziert, heute mitteilt, wird es eine dritte Staffel geben, die Tom Marshall inszenieren wird. Als Produzent fungiert Sam Ward, ausführende Produzentin ist Vivien Muller-Rommel.

In der Hauptrolle des Tatortreinigers Paul „Wicky“ Wickstead steht erneut Greg Davies, der auch das Drehbuch geschrieben hat, vor der Kamera. Er erklärt: „Ich bin sehr froh endlich wieder durch Blut stapfen zu dürfen. Wir haben es geschafft, dass Wicky in dieser Serie mit einigen skurrilen Figuren zu tun haben wird. Ich freue mich darauf, in einem Tatort-Anzug zu schwitzen und den Ohrring zu tragen, den meine Nichten so schrecklich finden.

Chris McCausland and Lee Mack will star as feuding neighbours in Sky Max Christmas comedy Bad Tidings.

Comedians Chris McCausland and Lee Mack are building up quite a portfolio of work together – they previously collaborated on an episode of the latter’s hit sitcom Not Going Out last year, in which McCausland played a passenger travelling in the same carriage as Lee’s family, and they also presented at the BAFTAs together, as well as McCausland making appearances on Mack’s game show Would I Lie To You.

They are now starring together in festive film Bad Tidings for Sky Max. The synopsis reads as follows:

This year’s Sky Original Christmas special revolves around grumpy home-security expert Neil (Mack) and his neighbour Scott (McCausland), who insists on keeping his Christmas lights illuminated all-year-round. And mixing up their bins, criticising Neil’s ‘project’ car and generally winding him up. Basically,...

Chris McCausland & Lee Mack Set For Sky Festive Special

British comedians Chris McCausland and Lee Mack will front Sky festive special Bad Tidings, about two perpetually feuding neighbors in Northern England who become unlikely heroes after saving their street from notorious burglars with wacky booby traps and British banter. Laurence Rickard & Martha Howe-Douglas are writing, with production commencing this month at Sky Studios Elstree. Also cast are Rebekah Staton, Sarah Alexander, Ben Crompton, Emily Coates, Josiah Eloi, Millie Kiss, Tupele Dorgu, Sunil Patel, Susan Kyd and Donna Preston. Sky Studios is producing, with Tim Kirkby directing. Adnan Ahmed from Sky Studios is the producer and Ail Gupta exec produces. Sky’s Comcast stablemate NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution will handle international sales. Bad Tidings is the latest Sky original festive special, following last year’s The Heist Before Christmas, 2022’s Christmas Carole and 2021’s The Amazing Mr Blunden.

This article contains spoilers for all episodes of The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies.

In the world of true crime, scammers are the new murderers, so audiences may well lap up the latest BBC 1 drama The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies. In it, Alistair Petrie’s sleazebag serial scammer, Robert, engages in a game of cat and mouse with Alice (Rebekah Staton), the abandoned ex-wife who thought he was dead, and Cheryl (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) the successful fantasy author who he is currently attempting to extort money from.

The show begins with a chance encounter where Alice happens to spot Robert on the streets of Oxford. Not in fact dead, Robert has restyled himself as Dr Robert Chance (not his name and he’s not a doctor), an Oxford educated explorer who runs a climate change foundation out of Greenland. Needless to say he has not attended Oxford,...

The Following Events are Based on a Pack of Lies is a new BBC drama series which begins on August 29th, and to mark its launch, we had the pleasure of speaking to two of its leading stars, in Alistair Petrie, and Rebekah Staton, who, alongside Marianne Jean-Baptsite, bring a real touch of quality to this already compelling tale.

They talk about their long-standing friendship, the great complexities and depth to their characters, and we even delve into their musical tastes. Spoiler alert: Taylor Swift is mentioned. You can watch both interviews in their entirety below.

Alistair Petrie

Rebekah Staton

Synopsis

Two very different women, formidable Pa Alice and best-selling fantasy author Cheryl, become trapped in a complex triangle with Rob, an eccentric, celebrated eco entrepreneur who may be trying to destroy them both.

The Following Events Are Based On A Pack Of Lies begins on BBC One and iPlayer...

When you’re deep in among the cocktail parties and dinners or meeting up with much missed contacts at Mipcom this week, it might be easy to forget why everyone is there: the shows. To help you remember, we bring you Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best TV being sold in Cannes in 2022. You may hear whispers along the Croisette about the next big global hit, and The Hot Ones is our pick of a wealth of programing, featuring some of the biggest names in television from the top players in distribution.

Here are two more dramas:

The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies

BBC Studios

Length: 5 x 60’

Producer: Sister

As the cameras were preparing to roll for BBC drama The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies, a plethora of jaw-dropping con man docs dropped on Netflix to much acclaim.

Mipcom promises to be busier than ever with record levels of attendance as the world returns to 2019 levels of dealmaking following the pandemic. Variety’s top picks reflect global content in its myriad forms: From disgraced princes and gymnasts to religious leaders, dinosaurs and precocious children, these shows are a microcosm of the world in 2022, much like Mipcom itself. While the world lurches from crises to conflicts, there is a reassuring constant — the business of entertainment.

Blowing L.A.

(Fifth Season)

Ted Gibson and Kim Vō are big names in celebrity hairdressing and the show goes behind the scenes at high-profile hair salons — Starring Ted Gibson and Kim Vō Salon — catering to the famous and fabulous. The stakes are high, the stylists are ambitious, and this being Los Angeles, a famous client can make or break the establishment. With a glimpse into the rarefied world of 2,400 haircuts, the series goes behind...

When you’re deep in among the cocktail parties and dinners or meeting up with much missed contacts at Mipcom next week, it might be easy to forget why everyone is there: the shows. To help you remember, we bring you Deadline’s The Hot Ones, our guide to some of the best TV being sold in Cannes in 2022. You may hear whispers along the Croisette about the next big global hit, and The Hot Ones is our pick of a wealth of programing, featuring some of the biggest names in television from the top players in distribution.

Here are three dramas to kick things off:

The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies

BBC Studios

Length: 5 x 60’

Producer: Sister

As the cameras were preparing to roll for BBC drama The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies, a plethora of jaw-dropping conman docs dropped on Netflix to much acclaim.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste (“Boxing Day”), Alistair Petrie (“Sex Education”), Romola Garai (“The Hour”) have joined BBC drama series “The Following Events Are Based On A Pack Of Lies.”

Rounding out the cast are Rebekah Staton (“Raised by Wolves”), Derek Jacobi (“Last Tango in Halifax”), Julian Barratt (“The Mighty Boosh”), Karl Johnson (“Hot Fuzz”) and Ellie Haddington (“Enola Holmes”).

Robbie McKillop (“Guilt”) and Nicole Charles (“Hair Power: Me and My Afro”) will split directing duties on the series, which was created and written by Penelope Skinner and Ginny Skinner.

Production has already begun on the series, which will be distributed internationally by BBC Studios.

“This is the story of two very different women and the conman they have in common; a dark, funny, and unpredictable thriller about three remarkable characters trapped in a tangled triangle of complexly layered half-truths and lies of epic proportions,” reads the logline.

The series is produced by...

ITV Studios Sets Up Shop In Spain With Netflix Exec

Cattleya, the ITV Studios-backed Italian producer behind Gomorrah, is launching Spanish subsidiary Cattleya Producciones and has hired Netflix’s Arturo Díaz as managing director. The company will be ITV Studios’ first scripted producer in Spain. Díaz was a director of local language originals at Netflix, working on shows including Las Chicas de Cable, the streamer’s longest-running non-u.S. series. Cattleya Producciones will be overseen by Cattleya founder and co-ceo Riccardo Tozzi, alongside his co-CEOs Giovanni Stabilini and Marco Chimenz. Lisa Perrin, managing director of international production at ITV Studios, will also have oversight of the outfit. ITV Studios will distribute its drama series internationally.

Sky Sets Cast For ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’

Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard), and Max Beesley (The Outsider) are to lead the cast of Sky’s modern-day adaptation of John Wyndham’s sci-fi novel The Midwich Cuckoos. The...

The Bodyguard’s Keeley Hawes and Max Beesley have joined the cast of the dark, disturbing modern-day reimagining of ‘The Midwich Cuckoos’.

The eight-part series is will see Hawes take on the role of gifted psychotherapist Dr Susannah Zellaby, while Beesley plays Local officer Dci Paul Kirby.

Aisling Loftus (A Discovery of Witches), Ukweli Roach (Blindspot), Synnøve Karlsen, Lara Rossi (Robin Hood), Lewis Reeves (I May Destroy You), Rebekah Staton (Raised by Wolves) and Anneika Rose (Line of Duty) will also star.

The series is described as an unnerving fable for our turbulent times, a thrilling, strange and at times horrifying journey into parenthood, which lays bare any parent’s worst fear: that the thing most precious to us – a child – might desire our destruction.

Also in news – Mark Rylance & Simon Pegg to star in Channel 4 series ‘The Undeclared War’

Hawes stated: “I’m absolutely delighted to be working...

Exclusive: NBC has handed a put pilot commitment to Home, a single-camera comedy about an American couple who take in a Syrian refugee. It is based on the British series, which was created by Rufus Jones and originally aired on Channel 4 in the UK. The adaptation will be written/executive produced by former Black-ish Ep Stacy Traub and directed/executive produced by Ben Stiller.

It marks the second project to emerge out of Lionsgate and BBC Studios’ development deal and comes on the back of CBS nabbing an adaptation of BBC One comedy Ghosts.

Home follows a new couple, Mark and Melanie, who go on a long weekend trip to a cabin in the woods with Melanie’s son Jonah. Their plan to come back with a tan and some happy memories is interrupted when they return with Jay, a Syrian refugee who moves in with them, and the cobbled-together...

The story of a bunch of dreamily self-admiring friends hanging out in the suburbs and talking about aliens is oppressively self-indulgent

This film stars Alexa Davies, and no one who saw her as Aretha in Caitlin Moran’s great Channel 4 comedy Raised By Wolves could fail to be a fan. But in the middle of this insufferable film I was longing for Aretha’s mum Della, played by Rebekah Staton, to come on and give all the dire emo self-harmers here a piece of her mind. It is so oppressively self-indulgent that it feels like getting a knitting needle slowly jammed into your ear canal.

Davis plays Lucidia, a dreamily self-admiring teenager hanging out with a bunch of other dreamily self-admiring teenagers in a suburb close to an army base. They are into Twilight vampirism, eyeliner, Bdsm-lite and hanging around talking interminably about aliens and life on other worlds.

While Channel 4 cancelled the Raised by Wolves TV show after two seasons, the British sitcom starring Rebekah Staton, Helen Monks, Philip Jackson, and Alexa Davies, may still return. Back in August, creators Caitlin Moran and Caroline Moran launched the #UpTheWolves social media-based campaign, in order to save the show.Now the Moran sisters have established a Kickstarter campaign. To bankroll another episode, they need to raise £320,000 by their Christmas Eve deadline. What's that in Us dollars? The Kickstarter page indicates a $389,292 Usd goal. To date, they've raised $113,680. The Morans says if they get more money, they will make additional episodes.Read More…...

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As Raised By Wolves concludes its ace second series on Channel 4, we tip our caps to a cleverly written sitcom…

On the long list of things to like about Raised By Wolves—witty writing, new indelible comic archetypes, frank outlook and the nerdiest stream of Game Of Thrones references this side of our comments section—how much The Daily Mail dislikes it has to be somewhere near the top. You know you’re onto a good thing when your pilot episode gets a sneering one-star review from that quarter.

It’s little wonder the Mail failed to see the funny side of this Channel 4 sitcom. Raised By Wolves’ candid perspective is working class, female and mouthy, a combination loathsome to some but that sings hallelujah to the rest of us.

It’s not political tub-thumping that makes Raised By Wolves such reliable fun though. (As...

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Channel 4's Raised By Wolves returns for series two on Wednesday the 2nd of March at 10pm. Here's the new trailer...

The brilliantly funny Raised By Wolves returns this week for a second six-part series.

The first run of Caz and Caitlin Moran's semi-autobiographical, Midlands-set sitcom introduced the Garry family: fast-talking, patio-building Della, bath-farting, Heat Magazine-reading Grampy and kids Germaine (sex pest), Aretha (intellectual), Yoko (psychic), and babbies Wyatt and Mariah.

It was a tale of adolescent sexual awakening, Diy, and self-pleasure to the theme music from Newsnight. And it was ace.

Series two, which starts this Wednesday the 2nd of March at 10pm on Channel 4, promises to have just as many riotous laughs. Here's the new trailer...

Channel 4

See related  Caroline Moran interview: writing Raised By Wolves Raised By Wolves interview: class, comedy & sex 24 great comedy shows that deserve more love Check...

Caitlin Moran has confirmed that her sitcom Raised by Wolves is returning for a second series.

The comedy is a modern-day fictionalised version of Moran sisters Caitlin and Caroline's childhood, and their experiences with no-nonsense mother Della (Rebekah Staton).

Moran confirmed the Channel 4 show would return on Twitter, writing: "Hurrah for us! Raised By Wolves is coming back for a second series! W**k away the pain!"

Helen Monks and Alexa Davies play the central sibling duo of Germaine and Aretha Garry.

Hurrah for us! Raised By Wolves is coming back for a second series! Wank away the pain!

— Caitlin Moran (@caitlinmoran) June 8, 2015

Newcomers Molly Risker, Caden Ellis Wall, Lucie Brown and Kaine Zajaz also star in the show.

Watch Caitlin and Caroline Moran fondly recall their unorthodox childhood in a behind-the-scenes look at Raised by Wolves below:...

Caitlin Moran and sister Caroline Moran fondly recall their unorthodox childhood in an exclusive look behind-the-scenes on Raised by Wolves.

The series follows six home-schooled siblings and their no-nonsense mother Della (Rebekah Staton) - and is based on the Moran sisters' own upbringing.

Caitlin and Caroline have a laugh as they remember their own home-school experiences - and classic '80s cartoon The Family-Ness - in the DS exclusive clip.

Raised by Wolves is out to own on DVD on Monday, April 27.

Raised by Wolves isn't a normal sitcom: 'I had to w**k in episode 5'

Caitlin Moran's How to Build a Girl to be adapted into movie...

Raised By Wolves' co-writer chats about mining her childhood for comedy and why The Imperial Death March is the perfect writing motivator...

Tonight, the first series of Caitlin and Caroline Moran's sitcom, Raised By Wolves, comes to an end. Heavily inspired and based on their own adventures growing up in the West Midlands - although this particular writer veers geographically more towards Dudley than Wolverhampton - the six episodes have also given Rebekah Staton in particular a standout role as the kind of mum telly doesn't get very often.

Ahead of the series finale tonight, Caroline put down her pen/quill/word processor/Game Of Thrones boxset to spare us some time to talk about it...

It's a basic question, perhaps, but I'm interested in the answer. How has it been having your own sitcom on the television for the past month? How closely are you monitoring feedback and reaction to it?...

Raised by Wolves has debuted a preview of tonight's (April 13) episode.

The fifth instalment of Caitlin and Caroline Moran's comedy series sees Della (Rebekah Staton) and the kids rally round after Grampy (Philip Jackson) suffers a loss.

Raised by Wolves follows a group of six siblings and their mother living on a Wolverhampton council estate. Despite not attending school, the family are intellectual and full of wit.

The series is a modern day fictionalised version of the Moran sisters' childhood.

Newcomers Alexa Davies, Molly Risker, Caden Ellis Wall, Lucie Brown and Kaine Zajaz also star.

Raised by Wolves continues tonight at 10pm on Channel 4.

C'mon, the babbies. Here's a new clip from tonight's episode of Channel 4's deeply funny new sitcom, Raised By Wolves...

Tonight at 10pm sees the third episode of sharp, funny and hugely enjoyable Midlands-set sitcom Raised By Wolves arrive on Channel 4.

After raiding the local common for sustenance in week one and raiding the local Primark for pants in week two, it's time for the Garry siblings to meet one of the clan's cousins and spark a romantic rivalry in episode three, Mehmesis.

Take a look at an exclusive clip from the episode below, in which fast-talking Della (Rebekah Staton) - a woman who rivals even Joyce Summers with an axe in the kick-ass motherhood stakes - lays out the laws of the deck to the babbies. All to a classic Santana soundtrack.

Read our interview with Raised By Wolves' Helen Monks and Alexa Davies, here.

Raised By Wolves,...

Look, if Caitlin Moran and her sister Caz Moran are going to team up to write a sitcom together, then it's a pretty safe bet that it's not going to be your normal type of sitcom. And sure enough, Raised By Wolves is anything but - nothing is taboo and the family unit is unlike any other on screen.

The show's a modern-day take on the Morans' upbringing - putting just a little bit of pressure on Helen Monks (who plays Caitlin's counterpart Germaine) and Alexa Davies (she's Caz's alter ego Aretha). So we sat down with the duo to talk about w**king on screen, unapologetic horn, smelly fat suits, bed forts and much more...

1. Helen was so ready for this role.

"I'm very similar to Germaine in a lot of ways in the sense that I have kind of - in a slightly creepy way - based my...

Caz and Caitlin Moran’s semi-autobiographical sitcom, Raised By Wolves, feat. Helen Monks and Alexa Davies, starts tonight on Channel 4…

After some deliberation, Alexa Davies carefully picks a favourite line from her character in new Channel 4 sitcom Raised By Wolves:

“I fear some intellect does not look good in shorts”.

And her co-star?

“I like ‘wank away the pain’” nods Helen Monks, beaming.

There’s your capsule image of Aretha and Germaine Garry, teen sisters played by Davies and Monks in the Midlands-set comedy - two diametrically opposed peas in a crowded, chaotic and very funny pod.

Caitlin Moran, who co-wrote the autobiographically inspired sitcom with sister Caz (their teenage years providing the respective templates for horny, fanciful Germaine and bookish cynic Aretha), has described the pair as life-long rivals in the mould of Batman v the Joker, Sherlock v Moriarty, Badger v…

“Bodger?” offers Monks. Close enough.

We asked Den Of Geek’s writers to recommend brilliant comedy shows that deserve to have more of a fuss made about them. Here they are...

Banging a drum about stuff we love is more or less our remit on Den Of Geek - hence what many readers have started referring to as the ‘inexplicably regular' appearance of Statham, squirrels and Harold Bishop from Neighbours on these pages.

To that end then, we asked our writers which comedy shows (past and present, UK or otherwise, on TV, radio, or online…) deserved more praise, and here are the ones they chose. You might already like them too, or you might discover something new to dig out and enjoy. That’s the fun of it.

Please note that this list isn’t ranked in any order, nor is it exhaustive. It’s compiled from the opinions of a group of different people,...

Channel 4 has announced a full series order of brand new comedy Raised By Wolves, written by bestselling author and award winning columnist Caitlin Moran, with her sister Caroline Moran, which stars Helen Monks and Screenterrier Face to Watch in 2014 Alexa Davies as the two sisters.

Set on a Wolverhampton council estate, Raised By Wolves is a modern day re-imagining of Caitlin and Caroline’s childhood – loads of kids, no money, home-schooled, and educating themselves on mankind’s great bounty of books, films, TV and pop music.

Produced by Big Talk Productions, a pilot was screened as part of Channel 4’s 4Funnies season last year starred Rebekah Staton (Pulling), Philip Jackson (Poirot), Helen Monks (The Archers) and Alexa Davies alongside young newcomers Molly Risker, Caden Ellis Wall, Lucie Brown and Kaine Zajaz.

The six x 30 minutes episodes will go into production later this year for broadcast in 2015.

Caitlin Moran...

Channel 4 has unveiled two clips from its brand new comedy Raised by Wolves.

Caitlin Moran has co-written the sitcom with sister Caroline, which is a modern day fictionalised version of their real childhood.

Raised by Wolves follows a group of six siblings and their mother living on a Wolverhampton council estate. Despite not attending school, the family are somehow intellectual and full of wit.

The female children are all named after strong women - Germaine, Aretha, Yoko, Mariah and baby Cher - while brother Wyatt is named after Kevin Costner's character Wyatt Earp.

Germaine is in love with local buffoon Lee Bacon, while Aretha studies Carl Jung and Barack Obama. The pair are constantly at odds but look out for one another.

Rebekah Staton (Spy, Pulling), Philip Jackson (Poirot) and Helen Monks (The Archers) are among the cast. Newcomers Alexa Davies, Molly Risker, Caden Ellis Wall, Lucie Brown...

Caitlin Moran's semi-autobiographical sitcom Raised by Wolves has been given the greenlight for a pilot on Channel 4.

The Big Talk Productions project has completed filming and Moran has described the show as a chance to showcase "intellectuals living on a council estate".

"Set on a Wolverhampton council estate, Raised By Wolves is a modern day reimagining of us, when we were growing up - loads of kids, no money, home-schooled, and educating ourselves on mankind's great bounty of books, films, TV and pop music," said Moran.

"Do you remember when people used to go on about the notion of a progressive working class? When admitting you were on benefits didn't immediately mean that you were morally incontinent scrounger scum? Yeah, neither could we. It's been ages.

"Telly never has any smart, amusing intellectuals living on a council estate. That's why we wrote the sitcom. Well, that and the...

ITV has axed the sitcom Great Night Out after one series, according to star Lee Boardman.

The actor - who played Paddy Hodgkinson in the comedy - tweeted that the show had not been recommissioned for a second run.

Dear all,Great Night Out won't be returning to your screens. It has not recommission. Thank you all for watching. X#greatnightout

— lee boardman (@leeboardman) April 30, 2013

Great Night Out aired six episodes in January and February this year. It scored decent ratings throughout its run, averaging over 3 million viewers per episode on Friday nights.

Based in Stockport, the show followed four former school friends, played by Boardman, William Ash, Craig Parkinson and Stephen Walters. Ricky Tomlinson and Rebekah Staton were among the supporting cast.

Watch a teaser for Great Night Out's first episode below:...

Sky1 comedy Spy will not be back for a third series.

Darren Boyd, who stars as MI5 agent Tim in the sitcom, confirmed the news on Twitter this morning.

Boyd told fans: "I have handed in my badge and gun."

Spy also starred Robert Lindsay, Mathew Baynton, Rebekah Staton and Jude Wright as Tim's son. Boyd won a BAFTA for his performance in the show.

The final episode was a Christmas special in 2012.

ABC in America is currently remaking Spy with Rob Corddry in Darren Boyd's role as Tim and The Hangover star Ken Jeong taking on Lindsay's role as the Examiner.

Watch our interview with the cast of Spy below:...

Mandy Moore is to star in a Us remake of BBC comedy Pulling.

Moore will play man-hungry Louise, who is desperate to land a husband, according to Deadline.

The original Pulling aired on BBC Three from 2006 to 2009 and starred Irish actress and comic Sharon Horgan as lead character Donna, with Rebekah Staton playing Louise.

ABC's remake will be helmed by Pitch Perfect director Jason Moore and the pilot episode has been written by Bad Teacher scribes Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky.

Last year, Moore was attached to another ABC comedy pilot, but her sitcom Miss Most Likely was not picked up to series.

Original Pulling star Horgan is also developing at pilot at ABC this season, with plans to co-write and star in the workplace comedy Bad Management.

> ABC pilots: Network greenlights Pulling adaptation, three new dramas

Watch a clip from the original Pulling below:...

The newly knighted Kenneth Branagh returns as grizzled and brooding Swedish detective Kurt Wallander to UK screens soon (best guess is July) for a third series of "Wallander" based on two of the novels and one of the short stories by Henning Mankell.

Speaking about the three telemovies with The Guardian, the main arc for this series will be Wallander's relationship with his adult daughter after the death of his father (David Warner).

Branagh says he hopes to turn the remaining two key novels - 'The White Lioness' and 'The Troubled Man' - into the basis for a fourth and final series.

"We've been talking of doing The Troubled Man [Mankell's recent and final Wallander mystery] in two parts, maybe with The White Lioness as well. That might provide a strong arc over what would probably be the final three English Wallanders. That would be my instinct" says Branagh.

"The Avengers" star Tom Hiddleston...

Sky1 has renewed its comedy Spy for a second series. The broadcaster ordered ten more episodes of the show as well as a one-hour Christmas special, Broadcast reports. Spy, which premiered in October, stars Darren Boyd as a man who is inadvertently hired by MI5. Robert Lindsay plays his boss The Examiner, while his son Marcus is played by young actor Jude Wright. The cast also includes Mathew Baynton, Rebekah Staton, Tom Goodman-Hill, Dolly Wells and Ed Coleman. Sky's head of comedy Lucy Lumsden said: "Finding smart (more)...

New 6-part comedy series Spy starts on Sky1 on Fri 14th October 2011 at 8:30pm on Sky1.

Newcomer Jude Wright stars as nine year old Marcus, the young son of trainee spy Tim, played by Darren Boyd, alongside Robert Lindsay as the Examiner.

Spy is the story of Tim, a single father trying to win back the respect and affections of his horribly precocious nine year old son, Marcus. In the hope of proving that he is not a complete loser, Tim quits his dead-end job but his life changes forever when he is accidentally recruited as a trainee spy for MI5.

Supervising Tim at work is irrepressible MI5 boss, The Examiner, who teaches the recruits his own unorthodox approach to the espionage game.

Adding to the chaos of Tim's life are his acidic ex-wife, Judith, her enthusiastic new boyfriend Philip and his anti-social friend Chris.

And romance may be...

Way back in the Wilderness Years of Doctor Who, fans could find some sort of consolation with a range of books called The New Adventures. The range continued the adventures of Sylvester's Doctor, except that they were now more suited to frustrated spotty 6th form students rather than kids who would probably frown in puzzlement at tales that purported to be deeper and broader than what they were used to on TV.

In other words, there was a higher quota of sex and violence. Whether or not Mary Whitehouse chanced upon a copy of one of these books in her last few years of blue rinse, self-righteous moral cleansing remains an unanswered question – I don't think she would have regarded the series as wholesome Sunday Afternoon escapism somehow.

Anyway, there's probably about a thousand and one differences between the book and the TV adaptation, so much so that I'd probably...

Sky have announced the latest addition to their growing comedy slate, Spy, which will transmit this Autumn on Sky 1 HD. The series tells the story of Tim (Daren Boyd – pictured above), a single father trying to win back the respect and affections of his horribly precocious nine year old son, Marcus. In the hope of proving that he is not a complete loser, Tim quits his dead-end job but his life changes forever when he is accidentally recruited as a trainee spy for MI5.

Tim (Darren Boyd – Case Sensitive, Green Wing, Dirk Gently) struggles as he attempts to juggle family life and his professional life without his secret being discovered, least of all by Marcus, (newcomer Jude Wright). Supervising Tim at work is irrepressible MI5 boss, The Examiner, played by Robert Lindsay (My Family) who teaches the recruits his own unorthodox approach to the espionage game.

Adding to the chaos...

Here’s a list of some of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases this week we’re particularly interested in. Plus, some old favorites (and not so favorites) coming out this week for the first time on Blu-ray.

Movies

About Last Night… ~ Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, James Belushi (Blu-ray)

Alien Trespass ~ Eric McCormack, Dan Lauria, Robert Patrick, and Jenni Baird (DVD and Blu-ray)

Blue Thunder ~ Roy Scheider, Warren Oates, Candy Clark, and Daniel Stern (Blu-ray)

Chaos ~ Jason Statham (Blu-ray)

The Class (Entre Les Murs) ~ François Bégaudeau, Agame Malembo-Emene, and Angélica Sancio (DVD)

Cutthroat Island ~ Geena Davis, Frank Langella, Matthew Modine (Blu-ray)

Eagles Over London ~ Van Johnson, Frederick Stafford, Francisco Rabal, and Luigi Pistilli (Blu-ray)

Gigantic ~ Zooey Deschanel, Paul Dano, John Goodman, and Ed Asner (DVD)

I Love You, Man ~ Paul Rudd, Jason Segal (DVD and Blu-ray)

Katyn ~ Artur Amijewski, Maja Ostaszewska, and Andrzej Chyra (DVD)

Michael Jackson: Moonwalking – The...

BBC Two's new female-driven comedy Home Time has started production in Coventry, the broadcaster has announced. The six-part, 30-minute series revolves around 29-year-old Gaynor Jacks, who returns to live with her parents 12 years after leaving home. Gaynor soon comes into contact with old friends, enemies and boyfriends. Ideal's Emma Fryer, co-writer of the show with Neil Edmond (Where Are The Joneses?), will lead the ensemble cast. Joining her are Hayley Jayne Standing (My Dad's The Prime Minister), Kerry Godliman (Extras), Rebekah Staton (Pulling), (more)...