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Aimee Lou Wood is having quite the moment right about now. Having burst onto our screens back in 2019 as budding baker Aimee Gibbs in Netflix’s Sex Education, the Mancunian’s star has been on the rise ever since. And now, hot on the heels of a top billed trip to The White Lotus with Walton Goggins for Season 3 of Mike White's bougie satire, Wood is getting ready to release Film Club, an original half-hour BBC romantic comedy-drama co-starring, co-written, and co-created by herself alongside House Of The Dragon and Big Boys star Ralph Davis.

In the show, set to air on the BBC later this year, Wood and Nabhaan Rizwan play Evie and Noa, inseparable besties who run a weekly film club from out of Evie's mum's garage (and may or may not have more than friendship on their minds.) Now, we here at Empire like to think...

The drama series Miss Austen, which explores why Jane Austen letters were burned after her death by her sister Cassandra, is ready for its debut on the BBC this coming Sunday, and it features some big British names. The cast of the show, launching in the year marking the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth, includes Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Line of Duty, It’s a Sin) as Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra or Cassy, Synnøve Karlsen (Last Night in Soho, Clique) as young Cassy, Patsy Ferran (Living, Hot Milk) as young Jane, Liv Hill (The Serpent Queen, Elizabeth Is Missing) as young Mary Austen, Madeleine Walker as young Eliza Fowle, Jessica Hynes (Life After Life, Years and Years) as Mary Austen, Rose Leslie as Isabella Fowle (The Good Fight, Downton Abbey, Death on the Nile, Vigil), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey, Shetland) as Mrs. Austen, Max Irons (Condor, The Wife) as...

“Sometimes, the best stories are the ones that never get finished,” a line that perfectly sums up the bittersweet end of The Serpent Queen on Starz. Fans were just beginning to sink their teeth into the tantalizing drama of Catherine de’ Medici’s reign when the unthinkable happened: the series was canceled after just two seasons.

Sigh, it just wasn’t meant to be!

Liv Hill in The Serpent Queen | Credits: Starz

The show, which aired its first season back in 2022, was based on Leonie Frieda’s book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France, and centered around the life of the power-hungry, politically savvy queen, portrayed by Samantha Morton. Think of it as Game of Thrones but with fewer dragons and more poisoned goblets.

The first season captured hearts, and in October 2022, it earned a green light for a second season, which premiered in the summer of 2024. So far,...

The BBC released a trailer for upcoming drama series Miss Austen, with Keeley Hawes (Bodyguard, Line of Duty, It’s A Sin) starring as Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra, on Tuesday and unveiled a Sunday, Feb. 2 launch date.

In the U.S., the series will air on Masterpiece on PBS from Sunday, May 4.

All four episodes will become available on its BBC iPlayer streaming service from 6 a.m. London time that day, and the series will begin airing weekly episodes on BBC One that evening. Adapted from Gill Hornby’s best-selling novel of the same name, the drama is produced by Bonnie Productions for Masterpiece, in association with the BBC.

Miss Austen has been adapted for television by BAFTA-winning writer Andrea Gibb (Elizabeth Is Missing, Mayflies). It “takes a literary mystery – Cassandra Austen notoriously burning her famous sister Jane’s letters – and reimagines it as a fascinating, witty and heart-breaking story of sisterly love,...

The Starz series The Serpent Queen is a historical drama that centers on Catherine de Medici, the Queen of France from 1547 to 1559, exploring who she really was behind closed doors. Starring Samantha Morton as the elder Catherine and Liv Hill as teenage Catherine, the series explores her reign beginning with her youth, when she was first betrothed to King Henry II. Using cunning manipulation and cutthroat tactics, Catherine stops at nothing to secure her legacy to the French throne.

Airing for two seasons, The Serpent Queen is rife with political intrigue and historical anachronisms, yet there is still an outline of truth in its characterization of historical figures and events. Season 1 of the show has Catherine narrating her story to a servant girl, Rahima, which cleverly leaves room for interpretation. As to who was the Serpent Queen, and how she earned the nickname, the series aspired to showcase how Catherine...

Sex Education‘s Aimee Lou Wood’s BBC romantic comedy series Film Club has built out cast.

She is penning Film Club with Ralph Davis (House of the Dragon), who is also starring in the show, and added to the cast are Suranne Jones and Nabhaan Rizwan, whose Netflix drama Kaos was recently cancelled. Adam Long and Liv Hill are also starring.

Film Club has commenced filming in Manchester and will air next year on BBC iPlayer and BBC Three and later on ZDFneo in Germany. Gaumont UK is producing, with Fremantle handling international sales. Show was first announced back in February.

Plot follows Evie (Wood), who hasn’t left her home in six months after a ‘wobble’. She runs a film club in her garage as an escape with her best friend Noa (Rizwan) and whoever else turns up.

The BBC on Tuesday unveiled casting additions for its upcoming romantic comedy-drama series Film Club, including Suranne Jones (Doctor Foster, Gentleman Jack, Vigil) and Nabhaan Rizwan (Kaos, In Camera, 1917).

The screenwriting debut from actors Aimee Lou Wood (Daddy Issues, Sex Education, White Lotus season 3) and Ralph Davis (House of the Dragon season 2, Othello) is described as a “piercingly funny and utterly heart-warming” six-part series by Gaumont for BBC iPlayer and BBC Three. Fremantle is handling global sales.

“Film Club Week 198. Evie hasn’t left the house in six months after a ‘wobble’, and Film Club is her escape,” reads a synopsis. “A weekly chance to create a world of wonder, deck the garage out in whatever the movie calls for and spend a few uninterrupted hours with Noa – her best friend and one of the few mates who still shows up.

But tonight, things are different. Noa’s got big news.

“Kaos” star Nabhaan Rizwan has set his next project following the cancellation of the Greek mythology-inspired Netflix series.

He has joined the cast of upcoming BBC rom-com drama “Film Club” alongside “Doctor Foster” lead Suranne Jones. The show follows members of a film club as they find solace in their shared passion of cinema every week until one day some big news shakes things up.

“Sex Education” star Aimee Lou Wood was previously announced as the series lead Evie, who is recovering from a low period with the help of the club. Wood co-wrote the series alongside Ralph Davis (“House of the Dragon”), who will also appear in the show as Film Club newcomer Dominic. Adam Long (“Happy Valley”) and Liv Hill (“The Serpent Queen”) also join as Evie’s boyfriend Josh and her sister Izzie, respectively.

Rizwan will play Noa in the show, a close friend of Evie’s...

Apple TV+’s new psychological thriller, Disclaimer, takes its audience into a tense, layered world where truth and deception blur between personal histories and manipulative narratives. Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, the series stars Cate Blanchett as Catherine Ravenscroft, a journalist whose life is upended by a mysterious novel that seems to mirror a traumatic chapter from her own past. As she faces accusations, estranged family bonds, and the resurgence of buried secrets, Disclaimer delves deeply into the complex web of relationships—between husband and wife, parent and child, victim and accuser. With a cast featuring Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Lesley Manville, the show explores how storytelling can be wielded as a weapon, reframing personal history with a hauntingly distorted lens.

In this article, we will explore the twists and turns of Disclaimer (2024), uncover the truth about Catherine’s horrifying dark secrets, and determine whether she was...

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Disclaimer episodes 1 & 2.

Apple's new mystery thriller series Disclaimer is told over several overlapping timelines that combine into one overarching story. Cate Blanchett leads a talented ensemble cast of Disclaimer as Catherine Ravenscroft, a hard-working and acclaimed television documentary journalist out of London, England. Catherine's world unravels once a mysterious novel titled The Perfect Stranger arrives at her doorstep, bringing up memories of one of her deepest and darkest secrets. Disclaimer also stars Sacha Baron Cohen as Robert, Catherine's husband, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nicholas, Robert and Catherine's son, and Kevin Kline as Stephen Brigstocke, a local London man who has lost his wife and son.

Disclaimer is based on the 2015 book of the same name written by Rene Knight. The Apple series marks Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarn's first return to television since 2014's Believe. Cuarn has won two Best Directing Academy Awards, one for 2013's Gravity...

[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Disclaimer” Episode 1 (“I”) and Episode 2 (“II”).]

It takes a certain kind of storyteller to start their story with a warning about how they’re going to tell it. Lucky for us, Alfonso Cuarón is exactly that kind of raconteur. Confident in his abilities to portray complicated characters via innovative techniques, the four-time Oscar winner behind “Y tu mamá también” and “Roma” is back with an ambitious new project, “Disclaimer,” about a mysterious book that’s discovery and dispersion wreaks havoc on the lives of its subject, her family, and quite possibly its authors, as well.

“Beware of narrative and form. Their power can bring us closer to the truth, but they can also be a weapon with a great power to manipulate.” These words, spoken at a dinner honoring Catherine Ravenscroft (Cate Blanchett), are shared as Cuarón’s camera lingers in close-up on the recipient’s inscrutable reaction. Is she… nervous? Angry? Simply uncomfortable in the spotlight?...

Alfonso Cuarón’s potboiler Disclaimer, an adaptation of the Renee Knight’s 2015 novel of the same name, begins with famed documentarian Catherine (Cate Blanchett) being fêted at an awards ceremony. Scenes of Catherine and her husband, Roger (Sacha Baron Cohen), living a posh life in their gorgeous London rowhouse are intercut with a storyline about a pair of students, Jonathan (Louis Partridge) and Sasha (Liv Hill), having a gap-year escapade in Italy. Meanwhile, a gloomier third narrative tracks Stephen (Kevin Kline), a widowed schoolteacher who seems to have lost every reason for living except for the drive to exact vengeance on Catherine for a crime that he believes she got away with.

These plot strands are at first loosely knit together, but Cuarón pulls the strings tighter and tighter throughout the first few episodes. Catherine receives a novel, The Perfect Stranger, privately published by Stephen, which seems to mirror a...

Filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón has been nominated for many Academy Awards over the course of his career, and has even won a few Oscars along the way, including the Best Director awards for both Gravity and Roma. Now he has created and directed a seven-part limited series called Disclaimer for Apple TV+, and it has just been announced that the first two episodes of the show will premiere on Friday, October 11th. They will be followed by new episodes every Friday through November 15th.

Starring Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett (who took home the gold for her performances in The Aviator and Blue Jasmine) and Kevin Kline (who won for his performance in A Fish Called Wanda), Disclaimer is said to be “a gripping psychological thriller” and is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Renée Knight. Here’s the synopsis: Acclaimed journalist Catherine Ravenscroft (Blanchett) built her...

Miss Austen is headed to PBS. Based on the novel about Jane Austen’s sister, the series has started production in the UK.

Starring Keeley Hawes, Rose Leslie, Patsy Ferran, Alfred Enoch, Max Irons, Calam Lynch, Jessica Hynes, Mirren Mack, Phyllis Logan, Kevin McNally, and Liv Hill, the four-part series is adapted by writer Andrea Gibb and based on Gill Hornby's novel. Set in 1830, the series tells the story of Cassandra Austen, who infamously burned her sister Jane's letters.

Read More…...

Just days after the death of legendary TV producer Norman Lear at age 101, the new entertainment special “Norman Lear: A Life on Television” will air on CBS this Friday at 8 p.m., in addition to streaming on Paramount+.

The hourlong special, presented by “Entertainment Tonight,” will feature new interviews with Jimmie Walker of “Good Times” and Mackenzie Phillips of “One Day at a Time,” along with other stars of the comedies Lear created. An interview with Lear and “Entertainment Tonight” host Kevin Frazier to celebrate Lear’s 100th birthday a few years ago will also be featured. In the interview, Lear discussed his lengthy career in depth.

As a screenwriter and producer, Lear produced, wrote, created and developed over 100 shows, including “Sanford and Son,” “All in the Family” and “One Day at a Time” for CBS.

In other TV roundup news:

First Looks

Apple TV+ has released first look images from “Constellation,...

Samantha Morton as Catherine De Medici in Starz’s ‘The Serpent Queen’

Starz’s The Serpent Queen starring two-time Oscar nominee Samantha Morton as Catherine de Medici has been renewed for a second season. The official renewal was announced as season one of the popular drama is set to wrap up on October 30, 2022.

“The Serpent Queen is distinctly modern, darkly comedic, and completely unexpected,” stated Kathryn Busby, President, Original Programming, Starz. “Catherine De Medici’s story is the perfect complement to our female-forward slate, and Samantha Morton’s brilliant portrayal of this ruthless, charming and savvy queen anchors the whole production. We’re thrilled to unveil more of her incredible life and reign in season two, which promises to be even more provocative and sublime.”

The first season also features Liv Hill, Charles Dance, Ludivine Sagnier, Colm Meaney, Kiruna Stamell, Barry Atsma, Alex Heath, and Amrita Acharia. Enzo Cilenti, Antonia Clarke,...

“The Serpent Queen” is not slithering away from our screens anytime soon: The Starz period drama about the ruthless Catherine de Medici (Samantha Morton) has nabbed an early Season 2 renewal for eight episodes ahead of its Season 1 finale, which will air Oct. 30.

The critically acclaimed series currently holds a 100 critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, in addition to an 87 audience score. Starring two-time Oscar nominee Morton, “The Serpent Queen” is billed as a historical drama with edge, presenting a modernized tale of de Medici who against all odds, became one of the most powerful and longest-serving rulers in French history. The story begins with a 14-year-old, orphaned Catherine who marries into the 16th-century French court and must quickly learn the ropes of loyalty and trust, all while outmaneuvering anyone who underestimates her determination to survive at any cost.

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From writer and executive producer Justin Haythe and director and executive producer Stacie Passon (based on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda), Starz's latest period drama The Serpent Queen tells the story of one of history's most complex and complicated figures, Catherine de Medici, who ascends in power and status to become one of France's longest-serving rulers. As an orphan, Catherine (Liv Hill) marries into the French court at a young age, but quickly learns that she must counter — and in some instances, outmaneuver — her political opponents, many of whom would rather see her dead than on the throne. What makes the series even more intriguing is that it's Catherine herself (Samantha Morton) telling her own story, in her own words, to her newest maid and confidant Rahima (Sennia Nanua). The upcoming series also stars Colm Meaney, Ludivine Sagnier, Kiruna Stamell, Barry Atsma,...

Some people have all the luck.

Then again, if it weren't for bad luck, some people wouldn't have any luck at all.

What's all this talk of luck, anyway?

It seems that Aabis, the pretty girl that she is, has found herself in a bit of an unwelcome predicament.

Well, it's unwelcome from her point of view.

Getting called to the King's bed can be a blessing or a curse.

If you were to ask Angelica, getting tossed up in the King's business could be a pretty cushy gig.

You could get a place of your own, live rent-free, and who knows what other benefits could come of it.

But Aabis is in much deeper than she'd care to be, and she reveals she's pregnant with the King's child.

She doesn't even seem to be averse to the pregnancy so much as she is averse to the idea of caring for something,...

Why did Starz turn away from the British Tudors and to the world of French Queen Catherine de Medici for their new series “The Serpent Queen”?

“Sometimes it’s because somebody’s so bad that they really make a dent in history,” Nancy Goldstone, author of “The Rival Queens,” a biography on de Medici, said. Goldstone talked to IndieWire via Zoom and explained that de Medici was not only a fierce strategist, but a brutal and bloody queen with a bevy of murders under her hat.

“The Serpent Queen” attempts to showcase de Medici’s (Samantha Morton) ruthlessness, as well as highlight the humor in a story of an unappealing young Italian woman sent to France to become Queen. Filled with fourth-wall breaks, and a joke that feels pulled directly from Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” “The Serpent Queen” almost feels like the anti-historical drama. But sometimes fact and fiction collide — below,...

While abiding by the tropes of the period drama, there is something brilliantly modern about The Serpent Queen, bringing a touch of Fleabag to the 16th century. To mark the show’s launch, on Starzplay – we had the pleasure in speaking to several of the leading cast-members, such as Liv Hill, Ray Panthaki, Nicholas Burns and Danny Kirrane. You can watch all four interviews in their entirety below, as we discuss the interesting tonality of the film, as well as the collaboration process with the likes of Samantha Morton and Charles Dance.

Liv Hill

Ray Panthaki

Nicholas Burns & Danny Kirrane

Synopsis

The Serpent Queen is a cunning account of one of the most influential women ever to wear a crown. Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs,...

[Warning: The following contains Major spoilers for The Serpent Queen series premiere, “Medici Bitch.”] We’ve seen the Medici family in Netflix‘s eponymous drama and Catherine de Medici in The CW‘s Reign. Now Starz has made a bold new biographical series about Catherine’s life — from teen years to adulthood — in The Serpent Queen. Samantha Morton (Tales of The Walking Dead) leads as the adult Catherine in the series, which premiered Sunday, September 11, but her younger counterpart, 22-year-old Liv Hill, is the main event of the series premiere as the 14-year-old Italian royal. The Serpent Queen tracks the monarch who, against all odds, became one of the most powerful and longest-serving rulers in French history. Born in 1519, she grew to be a cutthroat and power-hungry monarch during her rule. At the same time she was also known for her support of the arts, influence in fashion, being the mother of three French kings (Francis II,...

Historical figure Catherine de Medici gets the period-drama-with-a-twist treatment in Starz’s “The Serpent Queen,” as the show finds a unique way to tell the story of the Italian-born French queen, who influenced the politics of her adopted nation for decades.

Starring Samantha Morton as the grown-up queen, Catherine tells her story to a young woman employed in the kitchen at her court – Rahima (Sennia Nanua) – explaining to her (and the audience) how she’s survived, found agency and even thrived in a court initially unfriendly to a young Catherine (played by Liv Hill), and always dangerous. But while breaking the fourth wall, or at least turning and talking to camera, which often stands in for Rahima, may feel fresh for a television series, it is inspired by classic theater works.

“Direct address, it’s been around since the ancient Greeks and Shakespeare, but it makes something incredibly urgent,” executive producer Justin Haythe told TheWrap.

There's not much to talk about this week, so bask in this time of easy decision-making.

It's not going to last!

Find out what we recommend to watch this week below before the premiere season wallops us next week!

Saturday, September 10

Marry Go Round (Hallmark)

Abby has a future planned with Edward. Her wedding is right around the corner.

Luke and Abby get called into court, only to discover their decades-old marriage is still alive and kickin’.

When a family secret is revealed, it sends Abby reeling. Will she fall back into Luke’s arms, the man she once thought was her soul mate?

Sunday, September 11

8/7c Chesapeake Shores (Hallmark)

It’s Chesapeake Shores Sea Side Days! Residents call it the most romantic day of the year.

Members of the O’Brien family are skeptical, especially when Luke finds and dusts off the Mr. Mystic fortune-telling machine. It’s got messages of love for everyone!

If you were to see the trailer or basically any promotional material for “The Serpent Queen,” Starz’s new series about the infamous life of one Catherine de Medici, you’d be forgiven for assuming it’s a showcase for Samantha Morton in a historical drama with modern touches, following in the footsteps of her recent turn in “Harlots.” Even its arresting opening credits sequence, which sees Morton stride to a throne to a heavy guitar lick as snakes slither out and toward her, suggests a show preoccupied with being Edgy and Different — a show that would consider itself to be not like Starz’s many other historical drama girls, as it were.

However: as adapted from Leonie Frieda’s biography by Justin Haythe, this perception proves to be only somewhat the case. In fact, the first few episodes of “The Serpent Queen” — which premieres Sunday, Sept. 11 — feature Morton sparingly,...

Catherine de Medici is one of the lesser known Queens despite how her family has impacted popular culture centuries later.

It's high time this misunderstood woman, the longest-reigning monarch in France's history, gets a rich and entertaining adaption of her life.

A historical drama with an edge, based in part on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda and brought to life by writer and showrunner Justin Haythe, The Serpent Queen puts a contemporary spin on conventional storytelling to tell the tale of Catherine de Medici's (Samantha Morton) rise to power.

Catherine's role in history may be as an evil queen, but in the series premiere, "Medici Bitch," Catherine’s tale unfolds through flashbacks as she defends her actions and imparts the lessons she’s learned to her new servant confident, Rahima (Sennia Nanua).

The story starts with Catherine at 14 (Liv Hill), when she's plucked...

A poisoner. A dabbler in the dark arts. A murderess. Catherine de Medici (Samantha Morton/Liv Hill), Queen of France in the 16th Century, has a reputation for being a deadly, devious ruler in Starz‘s The Serpent Queen. This twisty drama takes a deeper look at the royal, a mathematician and polyglot, who in her time was called “the most powerful woman in Europe.” It’s a fresh, edgy take (including raucous rock riffs; and costumes that give a nod to avant-garde couture fashion) and is based on the nonfiction book by Leonie Frida, Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France. (Credit: Starz) Morton addresses the “serpent” moniker in the title: “From a very early age she’s had to play the long game, knowing that she has to survive,” says the actress, who appears in all the episodes, but takes over the main role from Hill about halfway through the series.

From writer and executive producer Justin Haythe and director and executive producer Stacie Passon (based on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda), Starz's latest period drama The Serpent Queen tells the story of one of history's most complex and complicated figures, Catherine de Medici, who ascends in power and status to become one of France's longest-serving rulers. As an orphan, Catherine (Liv Hill) marries into the French court at a young age, but quickly learns that she must counter — and in some instances, outmaneuver — her political opponents, many of whom would rather see her dead than on the throne. What makes the series even more intriguing is that it's Catherine herself (Samantha Morton) telling her own story, in her own words, to her newest maid and confidant Rahima (Sennia Nanua). The upcoming series also stars Colm Meaney, Ludivine Sagnier, Kiruna Stamell, Barry Atsma, Alex Heath,...

The Serpent Queen is coming soon to Starz. The cable channel has set a premiere date and released a trailer teasing the new historical drama.

Starring Samantha Morton, Sennia Nanua, Liv Hill, Charles Dance, Ludivine Sagnier, Colm Meaney, Kiruna Stamell, Barry Atsma, Alex Heath, Amrita Acharia, Enzo Cilenti, Antonia Clarke, Adam Garcia, Beth Goddard, Raza Jaffrey, Ray Panthaki, Nicholas Burns, Danny Kirrane, and Rupert Everett, the series was created by Justin Haythe. The story focuses on the Queen of France, Catherine de Medici (Morton), and her rise to power.

revealed more about the new series in a press release.

“Starz released today the trailer and key art for the wicked new drama series "The Serpent Queen" set to premiere on Sunday, September 11. The new series stars Golden Globe(R) winner, two-time Academy Award(R) and two-time BAFTA Award-nominated actress, Samantha...

Starz has unveiled the trailer for the upcoming historical drama “The Serpent Queen” starring Samantha Morton as Catherine de Medici. The wicked new drama series will premiere on Sunday, September 11th.

A historical drama with an edge, “The Serpent Queen” puts a contemporary spin on conventional storytelling to tell the tale of Catherine de Medici’s (Morton) rise to power. In the series premiere, “Medici Bitch,” Catherine’s tale unfolds through flashbacks as she defends her actions and imparts the lessons she’s learned to her new servant confident, Rahima. At 14, the young, orphaned Catherine marries into the 16th-century French court. Despite her commoner status, her uncle Pope Clement, has negotiated a large dowry and a geopolitical alliance in return for the union, and with it comes the expectation of many heirs. However, on her wedding night, Catherine learns that her new husband is in love with Diane de Poitiers,...

Starz has cast Ray Panthaki in its upcoming Catherine De Medici drama series The Serpent Queen. He will act alongside Samantha Morton, who stars as the monarch.

Based on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda, the eight-episode series hails from writer and executive producer Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road).

Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Morton’s Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs, only to discover that her husband is in love with an older woman, her dowry is unpaid and she’s unable to conceive. Yet, only with her intelligence and determination, she manages to keep her marriage alive and masters the bloodsport that is the monarchy better than anyone else, ruling France for 50 years.

Stacie Passon will direct multiple episodes, including the premiere episode.

Starz has set Catherine de Medici’s (Samantha Morton) royal court. Amrita Acharia (Game of Thrones), Enzo Cilenti (Free Fire), Barry Atsma (The Hitman’s Bodyguard), Nicholas Burns (Emma) and Danny Kirrane (Pirates of the Caribbean) join Morton as series regulars in The Serpent Queen original series, from Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment. Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Ludivine Sagnier (8 Women), Liv Hill (Three Girls), Kiruna Stamell (The New Pope) and Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) have been cast in recurring roles in the 16th Century drama.

Based on the book Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda, the eight-episode series hails from writer and executive producer Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road).

Considered an immigrant, common and plain, Morton’s Catherine de Medici is married into the 16th century French court as an orphaned teenager expected to bring a fortune in dowry and produce many heirs,...

Maud (Glenda Jackson) can’t trust her own mind to be honest with her, and its rapid deterioration isn’t just frustrating; it’s downright infuriating.

At first, she’s able to keep her head in one piece by stuffing her pockets with scribbled notes. Soon enough, though, they become reminders of the fact that she can’t remember much of anything at all. As her dementia worsens, Maud gets lost in the wilds of her memories. Her perspective shifts with such alarming elasticity that it becomes more and more difficult — for her and the viewer both — to understand what’s happening to her and what’s already happened.

“Elizabeth Is Missing,” a bracing movie that aired Jan. 3 in the U.S. on PBS Masterpiece, initially frames itself as a pair of parallel whodunits. In the present day, Maud is trying to track down her friend Elizabeth (Maggie Steed), who seems to have disappeared.

The film will shoot in England and Wales.

Asa Butterfield and Penelope Wilton have signed to star in Grans Gone Wild, the second feature from Jellyfish director James Gardner.

The film is aiming to shoot in September this year, providing the Covid-19 restrictions allow it. Shooting locations are near the M25 in England, and in Wales, including Aberystwyth, an important location to the story.

Katie Dolan is producing for her and Gardner’s UK company Cosmik Pictures; talks with independent financiers and producers are ongoing.

The film is a black comedy about two estranged elderly sisters who reconnect on a no-holds-barred bender that goes awry.

Liv Hill as Sarah Talor in Jellyfish Photo: Dan Atherton Edinburgh International Film Festival has announced a call for this year's Works In Progress.

Running since 2016, Eiff Works in Progress supports UK filmmakers in their ambitions to reach completion, festival selection and distribution. Each year Eiff selects 10 projects to be presented to an audience of international sales agents, distributors, producers and festival programmers.

The festival also announced a new partnership with post-production facility One Bright Dot to award the most promising project with £20,000 in-kind grading services to use against a future film production.

A cash award of £2,500 is also presented to the winning project, which will be selected based on showing the most promise, originality and clarity of vision.

Milly Ali, Commercial Director for One Bright Dot said: “We're thrilled to be the official sponsor of Edinburgh International Film Festival's Works in Progress industry initiative. We are passionate about encouraging the work of independent filmmakers.

Oscar-winner Glenda Jackson, who picked up Academy Awards for 1971’s Women In Love and 1974’s A Touch Of Class, returns to the screen for the first time in 25 years in BBC drama Elizabeth Is Missing.

The actor, who swapped film and TV for politics in 1992 when she became a Labour MP, was persuaded back to screen by Aisling Walsh after the Maudie director signed up to helm the 90-minute drama adaptation of Emma Healey’s dementia mystery.

Walsh told Deadline, “I thought of Glenda immediately when I read the script and knew she was no longer an MP and had seen her in King Lear and wondered if this was something she might fancy doing. We got in touch, I went to New York to meet her and we had a chance to talk about it. If you’re lucky you get the actor you first thought of.”

Jackson plays...

Hynes’s debut as writer and director is an engaging story about a woman facing her daughter’s fears – and her own – in the ring

Everybody remembers being bullied at school, but nobody remembers being a bully. That maxim occurred to me during this stark, sober, flawed movie with which Jessica Hynes makes her worthwhile debut as writer-director. It feels like a very personal film, well acted by the A-list cast that Hynes has assembled: a cathartic meditation on the need to heal, the need to confront those who do wrong and to confront yourself when you’ve done wrong.

Hynes stars as Tina, a care-home nurse with an unhappy relationship with her elderly parents, strongly and sympathetically played by Anita Dobson and Christopher Fairbank; Shaun Parkes gives a warm and likable performance as Tina’s partner, Mick. Their sensitive daughter Emma (Sennia Nanua) is being bullied at school by...

Joe Cornish returns with his second feature.

Joe Cornish’s sophomore feature The Kid Who Would Be King opens in UK cinemas this weekend, with Warner Bros’ sequel The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part currently holding the number one spot.

Cornish previously directed 2011 inner city sci-fi Attack The Block starring Screen Star of Tomorrow 2011 John Boyega. The film opened to £1.1m in May 2011 with a £3,221 screen average, going on to hit £2.5m in the UK.

Fantasy adventure The Kid Who Would Be King stars Louis Ashbourne Serkis (son of actor Andy Serkis) as a young boy who discovers he...

Liv Hill is astonishingly good as a teenage carer whose talent for comedy transforms her troubled life

Tracey Emin, who once told the story of fleeing the stage during a disco-dancing competition as teenager in Margate after men shouted “slag” at her, has got to be an inspiration for this impressive zero-budget social-realist drama set in Margate that features a similar act of cruelty against its teenage heroine. The film begins in kitchen-sink-grim mode, then multiplies in interest as it transforms into the origins story of a female talent – here in standup comedy rather than art. It’s a striking directorial debut by James Gardner, and has an astonishingly good performance by Liv Hill as Sarah, a 15-year-old written off by teachers as lazy and anti-social.

Related: From Three Girls to Jellyfish: Liv Hill, the young star giving a voice to outsiders...

She first made a splash in the drama about the Rochdale child abuse scandal. Now, she has received rave reviews for her portrayal of a young carer turned standup

Comedians like to trade stories about the bladder-squeezing agony of walking on to a stage to perform standup for the first time. For Liv Hill, the experience had extra layers of terror. First, she is not a comedian; she was acting the part in Jellyfish, a Ken Loach-ish drama from director James Gardner. Hill – who was 16 at the time – plays Sarah Taylor, a gobby, disadvantaged Margate teenager whose raw comedy talent is spotted by her drama teacher. Second, the film’s tiny budget didn’t stretch to extras, so the crew pulled in 50 people off the street to be the audience. Then, as if that wasn’t bad enough, on the morning of the shoot, Hill woke up to five new pages of script.

This evening the 2019 Critics Circle Award were held at the May Fair Hotel in London. Each year the ceremony brings together the finest in modern film and 2019 continues to focus a wider spotlight than the glitzier events.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ cruelty-saoked period drama The Favourite is rightly, well – the favourite for many of the awards. Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War joins Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here, Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma and Rupert Everett’s The Happy Prince with five nominations apiece.

As well as the winners (indicated in Bold) below we were on the red carpet to speak with the nominees and guests at the event.

We spoke to Richard E. Grant (Star Wars Episode IX), Anya Taylor-Joy, Fionn Whitehead (Back Mirror Bandersnatch, Dunkirk & many more this evening the 2019 Critics Circle Award, which were held at the May Fair Hotel in London. Each year the ceremony brings together...

Zak Brilliant’s Republic Film Distribution to release title in Feb 2019.

Republic Film Distribution has picked up UK rights to James Gardner’s festival hit Jellyfish from Bankside Films.

The film will have a platform release in UK cinemas from February 8.

Republic is the UK label run by Zak Brilliant, former head of distribution at the now-defunct Icon Film Distribution. Republic also recently handled the UK release of Tom Edmunds’ Dead In A Week: Or Your Money Back.

Bankside has also sealed a UK home entertainment deal for the film with Signature Films. Vertical Entertainment previously bought Us rights.

Jellyfish...

“The Favourite” proved to be just that at the 2018 British Independent Film Awards, winning a whopping 10 categories including Best Picture. Coming into the evening with a lucky 13 nominations, it lost just two races: Best Film Editing to “American Animals” and Best Sound to “You Were Never Really Here,” which also took home the prize for Best Music. “The Favourite” had two nominees in Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz won over, among others, co-star Emma Stone. (Scroll down to see the complete list of winners and read the full report on the BIFAs)

To be eligible for consideration, films had to be intended for theatrical release, produced or co-produced by a British company and have budgets of under 10 million pounds. This year’s ceremony took place at the Old Billingsgate market.

Discuss All the Oscar contenders with Hollywood insiders in our notorious forums

Best Picture

“American Animals”

“Beast”

“Disobedience”

X – “The...

Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and/or own this week via various Digital HD providers such as cable Movies On Demand, FandangoNOW, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical Searching The Little Stranger     Digital HD: Rent from $4-$7 or own from $13-$20 (HD may cost more than Sd). Check with your favorite Digital HD provider to see if the same movies listed above on cable Mod are also available) FandangoNOW The House with a Clock in Its Walls (fantasy...

Television isn’t hurting for lack of angry women right now, but it’s still startling to make direct eye contact with them as one must with “Snatches.” BBC America’s new series of short films — eight in total — honors the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote in England by centering furious, aching, excited, miserable women from various crucial points in the country’s recent history. Entirely written and directed by women, each episode of “Snatches” (an unfortunate double entendre of a title) stars actors like Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”), Antonia Thomas (“The Good Doctor”), and Siobhan Finneran (“Downton Abbey”); each holds their own on a sparse set, giving lengthy monologues directly to camera.

While it makes logistical sense that BBC America aired all eight back-to-back (each installment runs an efficient 12 to 15 minutes long), watching “Snatches” all at once is a jarring, even upsetting experience — but then again, that’s the point.

Nominations for the 21st British Independent Film Awards were announced on Oct. 31 in London. To be eligible for consideration, a film must be intended for theatrical release, produced or co-produced by a British company and have a budget of under 10 million pounds. This year’s contenders are led by “The Favourite” with a lucky 13 nominations followed by “American Animals” with 11, “Beast” with 10 and ““You Were Never Really Here” with eight. All four of these compete for Best British Independent Film as does “Disobedience.” (Scroll down to see the complete list of nominations)

Because “The Favourite” counts both British and American companies among its producers, it was also eligible for the Gotham Awards where it reaped three bids. While those kudos are honoring the cast as a whole, the BIFAs singled out leading lady Olivia Colman and supporting players Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz for nominations. Weisz also earned a Best...

Yorgos Lamthimos’ twisted period piece “The Favourite” led all films in nominations for the British Independent Film Awards (Bifa), which were announced on Wednesday in London.

The black comedy, which stars Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz in a tale of 18th century palace intrigue in England, was nominated in 13 categories, two shy of the record set last year by “Lady Macbeth.”

Its nominations come on the heels of three nominations and one award at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, which means that the film from a Greek director has been accepted as an American independent film by one awards body and as a British indie by another.

Also Read: 'The Favourite' Film Review: Emma Stone Plays an 18th Century Eve Harrington in a Twisted Historical Farce

Bart Layton’s “American Animals” was runner-up with 11 nominations, while Michael Pearce’s “Beast” received 10 and Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here...

Yorgos Lanthimos’ acclaimed period drama “The Favourite,” and Bart Layton’s heist movie “American Animals,” have landed the most British Independent Film Award nominations this year, with 13 and 11 apiece. “You Were Never Really Here” also put in a strong showing with 8 noms.

Bifa has made strides to ensure its voters for its awards are mindful of their influences and this year instigated a BFI-backed unconscious bias program for its voting members, juries, committees, and board.

In a record year for female representation – over 40% of nominations in the individual categories are women – Olivia Colman is nominated for best actress for her role as Queen Anne in “The Favourite.” Her co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz are both up for best supporting actress. The latter also landed a best actress nom for her performance in “Disobedience.”

“The Favourite” also puts in an impressive performance in the technical categories and is nominated...

Yorgos Lanthimos comedy to compete against American Animals, Beast, Disobedience and You Were Never Really Here.

The nominations for the 2018 British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) were revealed today (October 31), with Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite leading the field with 13 nominations.

The historical comedy is up for best British independent film, best director and best screenplay. Olivia Colman is nominated for best actress, and her co-stars Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz have both been nominated for best supporting actress.

The Favourite will compete for best film against Bart Layton’s American Animals (11 nominations), Michael Pearce’s Beast (10 nominations), Sebastián Lelio...

Annual talent showcase spotlights the hottest up-and-coming actors and filmmakers in the UK and Ireland.

Screen International has revealed its Stars of Tomorrow 2018, spotlighting the hottest up-and-coming actors and filmmakers in the UK and Ireland.

Now in its 15th year, the annual talent showcase spotlights up-and-coming actors, writers, directors and producers from the UK and Ireland who are primed to make their mark in the industry in the years to come.

The annual showcase has established itself as a key identifier of emerging UK and Ireland talent, both in front of and behind the camera.