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The Resort is a mystery dark comedy-drama series created by Andy Siara. The Peacock series follows Noah and Emma, a young couple on a vacation for their 10th anniversary in the Mayan Riviera. They feel their marriage is in a rut, but they soon come across an exciting mystery involving a disappearance fifteen years ago. The Resort stars William Jackson Harper, Cristin Milioti, Luis Gerardo Méndez, Skyler Gisondo, Nina Bloomgarden, Gabriela Cartol, and Nick Offerman. So, if you loved the thrilling mysteries, biting drama, and compelling characters in The Resort, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Signal Credit – Netflix

Signal is a South Korean supernatural crime drama series created by Choi Jin-hee and Park Ji-young. The tvN series is set in two different time periods, and it follows Park Hae-young, a criminal profiler who comes across a mysterious walkie-talkie,...

There’s an elite tier of TV dramas that stay with you, vividly, for decades after they air, and seventies-set sci-fi crime drama Life on Mars was the perfect example. So fervent was the show’s fanbase, that even 15 years after it aired – introducing us to detective Sam Tyler (Grace’s John Simm), who has a car crash in 2006 and wakes up mysteriously trapped in 1973 – the news of a planned revival during a lockdown live tweet-along in 2020 was enthusiastically received.

This revival was later fittingly dubbed Lazarus – once again named after a David Bowie song, like Life on Mars and its sequel Ashes to Ashes – but we’ve now received the sad confirmation from the show’s creators that the reboot won’t be going ahead after all:

It is with a heavy heart that the creators of #LifeOnMars have confirmed that the highly anticipated revival show, #Lazarus, will no longer be moving forward.

The planned Life on Mars sequel series Lazarus is dead in the water. Life on Mars, which aired on the BBC in 2006, followed a man who is sent back to 1973 after a mysterious accident and received a 2008 sequel series titled Ashes to Ashes. In 2020 it was announced that a third sequel titled Lazarus was in production with original stars John Simm and Philip Glenister returning as Detective Inspector Sam Tyler and Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt.

This weekend, the Life on Mars Twitter account posted an unfortunate update on the status of the Lazarus sequel series.

It is with a heavy heart that the creators of #LifeOnMars have confirmed that the highly anticipated revival show, #Lazarus, will no longer be moving forward. Many thanks to Matthew Graham & Ashley Pharoah for these past 3 years in your efforts to reunite Sam Tyler & Gene Hunt...

Life on Mars was one of the UK’s most popular dramas when it aired a decade and a half ago, and its many fans were geared up for the highly anticipated revival show Lazarus.

However, the show’s creators Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah have announced this will no longer be happening. The team took to social media on Saturday to report to fans:

It is with a heavy heart that the creators of #LifeOnMars have confirmed that the highly anticipated revival show, #Lazarus, will no longer be moving forward.

Many thanks to Matthew Graham & Ashley Pharoah for these past 3 years in your efforts to reunite Sam Tyler & Gene Hunt...

This list applies to UK streaming services

When I find myself in times of trouble/Streaming channels come to me/Speaking words of wisdom/ Watch TV/Watch TV-eeee/Watch TV-eeee/There will be an answer: watch TV (repeat to fade).

Go on, do it, it’s good advice – we all need a bit of escapism now and then. All of the below are British dramas currently available on UK streaming services, some free-to-air, some subscriber-only, some short, some long, some old favourites and some new arrivals, all in pleasing alphabetical order.

We’ll keep this list updated as new series are added and taken away. If you’ve children to entertain, then here’s our list of the top kids’ shows currently available on UK streaming services, and if you’re in need of a laugh, here’s our collection of the best British comedy TV shows. Sorted.

A Discovery of Witches...

“Eiffel,” “Around the World in 80 Days” and “The Last Duel” were among the winners at the Digital Creation Genie Awards announced at an awards ceremony held Wednesday in the Centre des Arts in Enghien-les-Bains, Paris. The awards were held as part of the 8th edition of Pids Enghien, which runs Jan. 26-29.

Best visual effects for a feature film was awarded to VFX supervisor Olivier Cauwet and VFX producer Justine Paynat-Sautivet of Pierre Buffin’s Paris-based visual effects powerhouse Buf for their work on “Eiffel,” directed by Martin Bourboulon.

Starring Romain Duris (“Mood Indigo”) and Emma Mackey (“Sex Education”), the visually spectacular historic epic about Gustave Eiffel is co-produced and repped by Pathé, which distributed it in France, garnering more than 1 million admissions. Blue Fox Entertainment has nabbed U.S. rights. Buf has also recently provided VFX work on “The Matrix Resurrections,” and the TV series “Foundation” and “The Nevers.

If any new trends catch on in 2022, one should insist on every film or television series justifying its existence beyond its potential to make a profit — especially when it comes to adaptations of IP previously adapted in multitudes. Under those terms, given the eight-episode end product that premieres tonight on PBS, there’s little explanation for this new adaptation of “Around the World in 80 Days,” Jules Vernes’ most adapted work. Any new take on Vernes’ classic, even after taking into account that 2022 marks the 150th anniversary of its original publishing, ought to be as adventurous and inventive as the story that inspired it. This one most certainly is not.

PBS’ version opens with three Englishmen of obvious privilege in conversation around a table in a members-only men’s club, wagering whether the pre-passenger-flight-era feat of human ambition and technological marvel implied in the title is achievable. It’s not Elon Musk,...

A dynamic Victorian trio team up to circumnavigate the globe in this colorful reimagining of Jules Verne’s 1872 adventure novel. Although this telling from writer–exec producer Ashley Pharoah, filmed in South Africa and Romania, is injected with a modern sensibility, it keeps the setting and basic story: A posh, middle-aged British gentleman, Phileas Fogg, reads a newspaper article about advances in travel and makes a bet with friends that he can circle the earth in record time. “It’s a moment of madness,” Tennant says. “He’s ill-equipped to go on this kind of adventure. But Ashley has given him more of a backstory.” His added motivation: He’s just received a postcard from his long-lost love bearing only one word—“coward.” As in the book, Fogg is joined by valet Jean Passepartout (Ibrahim Koma), now a street-smart, resourceful, courageous ladies’ man—everything Fogg is not. Nixed is the character of Detective Fix,...

Scottish actor David Tenant’s upcoming series ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ has not yet hit screens but the makers have already greenlit a second season, with Ashley Pharoah returning as showrunner. According to variety.com, Tenant is almost certain to reprise his role as adventurer Phileas Fogg for Season 2. He stars alongside Ibrahim Koma […]...

Around the World in 80 Days, the upcoming series adaptation of Jules Verne’s novel starring David Tennant, will be returning for a second season.

Producers Slim Film + Television and Federation Entertainment confirmed the news, also announcing that they teaming on another adaptation of a Verne classic, Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

Both series will be produced by Simon Crawford Collins for Slim Film + Television and Lionel Uzan for Federation, with Ashley Pharoah showrunning.

The first season of Around The World In 80 Days, also starring Ibrahim Koma and Leonie Benesch, is set to launch in January on BBC One in the UK and Masterpiece PBS in the U.S. Further broadcasters include France Télévisions, Zdf, Rai (the European Alliance), and Rtbf.

The second season will again see Phileas Fogg (Tennant) and his team take another perilous challenge to traverse the globe. Deals have not been completed...

A new trailer for the upcoming series ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ starring David Tennant has been unveiled by Masterpiece PBS.

Tennant fronts the hour-long 8 episode drama that follows an outrageous bet, Fogg and his valet, Passepartout, take on the legendary journey of circumnavigating the globe in just 80 days, swiftly joined by aspiring journalist Abigail Fix, who seizes the chance to report on this extraordinary story.

Joining Tennant to complete the valiant trio are rising French star, Ibrahim Koma, who takes on the role of the mercurial Passepartout; an irrepressible chancer who falls into the role of Fogg’s ‘valet’, little knowing it will change his life forever; and Leonie Benesch playing Abigail Fix, the young journalist determined to make her mark in a man’s world and emerge from the long shadow of her British establishment father.

The series, which is adapted by Ashley Pharoah and Caleb Ranson, stars...

David Tennant’s upcoming series “Around the World in 80 Days” hasn’t yet hit screens but producers are so confident in the show they’ve already greenlit a second season, with Ashley Pharoah (“Life on Mars”) returning as showrunner.

Variety also hears Tennant is almost certain to reprise his role as adventurer Phileas Fogg for season 2. He stars alongside Ibrahim Koma (“As Far as I Can Walk”) as Passepartout and Leonie Benesch (“The Swarm”) as Abigail.

Production companies Slim Film + Television and Federation Entertainment confirmed the series will return for another season as well as unveiling another Jules Verne adaptation, “Journey to the Centre of the Earth,” with Pharoah also on board as showrunner.

“Journey to the Centre of the Earth” tells the story of geology professor Professor Lidenbrock who mounts an expedition to the earth’s core in a bid to unlock the secrets of humanity and its future.

Making its world premiere on Sunday in an Out of Competition slot at Canneseries (Oct. 8-13), the French-u.K. production of “Around the World in 80 Days” has been updated for the 21st century, as lead actor David Tennant (“Doctor Who”) explains.

In an interview on the Canneseries’ website, Tennant speaks with journalist Thomas Destouches about the new series, produced by Slim Film Plus Television and Federation Entertainment for France Télévisions, Zdf and Rai. Season 1 is composed of eight episodes of 52 minutes each.

Tennant responded to British screenwriter Ashley Pharoah (“Life on Mars”) and Caleb Ranson’s (“First Light”) update of the classic novel, written by Jules Verne.

First published in French in 1872, the original story follows an eccentric Englishman, Phileas Fogg (Tennant), who responds to a wager at his posh British Reform Club to circumnavigate the world in 80 days.

In this version, he’s accompanied by a female journalist,...

Exclusive: Forced to halt production after just three weeks of shooting in South Africa when the Covid pandemic struck back in March 2020, and picking up again in Romania seven months later, Around The World In 80 Days is due to have its world premiere at Canneseries on October 10.

Star David Tennant, who plays English gentleman-turned-adventurer Phileas Fogg, is expected on the Riviera to unveil the first two episodes of this mega-adaptation of the Jules Verne classic. An airdate has yet to be set, but is likely around the holidays via such outlets as France Télévisions, PBS/Masterpiece, the BBC, Rai and Zdf. Check out the first-look teaser above.

Joining Tennant in the eight-part adventure are French actor Ibrahim Koma (Oss 177) as Fogg’s irrepressible valet, Passepartout, and Leonie Benesch (The Crown) as determined journalist, Abigail ‘Fix’ Fortescue.

A Slim Film + Television and Federation co-production for the European Alliance, the series boasts a new spin on Fogg.

Life On Mars creator and 80 Days head writer, Ashley Pharoah says, “We wanted Fogg yes to be a preposterously upper middle class over-educated Englishman, but I wanted to give him a sort of childlike sense of wonder because he’s never traveled, he’s never left London or his club. As soon as I hit on that, I thought it’s a love letter to the world, if that isn’t a bit pretentious. He goes to Paris and India and Hong Kong and Yemen and he’s so excited to see a camel, the different colors and cultures. It felt like resetting our relationship with traveling and seeing the world like that.”

In terms of scoring Tennant for the lead, former Kudos boss Simon Crawford Collins, who runs Slim Film + Television, says, “We wanted somebody who could believably do the action adventure, could play the stiff-upper-lip Englishman, but at the same time you never fall out of love with him and you really want to get under the veneer of that and go, ‘Wow, this is actually a complex man.’ David manages that so brilliantly.”

Pharoah, who is also an executive producer, hints at more Fogg adventures to come. “We are in the early stages of wondering — if this goes well — if we could do it again. Taking those three characters and doing a different adventure with them.” Hopefully not under the same conditions, however, which Pharoah recalls as “a really hard shoot.”

It was also expensive, as pandemic-related issues added about £4M in costs, Crawford Collins tells Deadline. “The first lockdown was a killer, but once we got going again we felt very blessed.” Production in South Africa was originally stopped in March 2020 and picked up again in November in Romania. “In an ideal world we would have carried on filming in South Africa where our sets were, but South Africa was coming out slowly so we did the big shift to Romania,” adds the executive producer. This year, production was able to move back to South Africa and the result is “very vibrant and cinematic.”

Around The World In 80 Days counts co-production partners Masterpiece in the U.S., Peu Communications in South Africa, and Belgium’s Be-films and Rtbf. Daro Film associate produces. Seven West Media has also backed the production and will broadcast in Australia. The series has further been acquired by the BBC in the UK and Rts in Switzerland.

While there are myriad partners on the series, Crawford Collins says development and production were “very straightforward.” France Télévisions “came back saying, ‘We love this and really want to make it and we don’t want to be the secondary broadcaster.’ They wanted to be lead, so immediately put in a sizable amount of money. It was a wonderful building block and they then brought the Alliance partners on board.”

The entire process (apart from the shutdown), “was incredibly stress free… We never had any big disagreements… The specter of Europudding still sort of lives heavily in our minds and we all know those days. But I think the trouble with that is when you have a project originated just to secure financing then it really shows through. The difference is that we had a clear vision of what we wanted to say, but just knew we needed a lot of people to help fund it.”

Also starring as series regulars in 80 Days are Jason Watkins (Des) and Peter Sullivan (Poldark). Guest actors include Lindsay Duncan (A Discovery Of Witches), Dolly Wells (Dracula), Richard Wilson (Merlin), Faical Elkihel (The Spy), Anthony Flanagan (The Terror), Gary Beadle (Patrick Melrose) and Giovanni Scifoni (Doc – Nelle Tue Mani).

Around The World In 80 Days is adapted by a team of writers led by Pharoah and Caleb Ranson (Child Of Mine). Steve Barron (The Durrells) directs with Brian Kelly (Downton Abbey) and the late Charles Beeson (The Mentalist).

Federation Entertainment handles distribution rights. Exec producers are Crawford Collins for Slim, Lionel Uzan and Pascal Breton for Federation, Winnie Serite for Peu and Susanne Simpson for Masterpiece.

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

On top of that, there’s plenty of true crime, thrillers, a new...

Charles Beeson, the British television director who helmed episodes of The Mentalist and worked on the upcoming adaptation of Around The World In 80 Days, has died.

Actor Jim Beaver, who collaborated with Beeson on The CW’s Supernatural among other shows, revealed the news on Twitter. Beeson’s agent also confirmed his passing when contacted by Deadline.

“Rip my great friend Charles Beeson,” Beaver wrote. “A sweeter and more gently gregarious fellow you couldn’t meet.” In reply to a question from The Mentalist executive producer Ashley Gable, Beaver said Beeson suffered a heart attack.

Rip my great friend Charles Beeson, who started directing on EastEnders and worked as a genial and genuinely lovely friend directing many episodes of Supernatural, Revolution, and Timeless that I worked on. A sweeter and more gently gregarious fellow you couldn’t meet. pic.twitter.com/SXW9H45RGO

— Jim Beaver (@jumblejim) April 27, 2021

In a statement,...

Legendary Entertainment and The Spanish Princess showrunners Emma Frost and Matthew Graham have launched the joint-venture production company Watford & Essex, which is already in development with 10 projects, including a remake of ABC’s 1960s TV series Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea.

The new outfit will be based in Bristol, south-west England, and has hired Christine Healy, the head of production at Catherine The Great producer New Pictures, as its chief operating officer. It will work with Legendary’s TV division, which is behind shows including Amazon’s Carnival Row, to develop projects with international scale. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Frost and Graham’s The Spanish Princess is currently airing on Starz and follows The White Princess and The White Queen. Frost’s other credits include penning the screenplay for Ron Howard’s Jennifer Lawrence movie Zelda, while she has worked on TV shows including The Man in the High Castle...

Legendary Entertainment and “The White Queen” and “Life on Mars” writers/showrunners Emma Frost and Matthew Graham have launched a U.K. drama production company with a slate of 10 projects.

Frost and Graham, whose credits include “Ashes to Ashes,” “The Spanish Princess,” “Doctor Who” and “The Man In The High Castle,” will serve as joint CEOs of Watford & Essex, which will team with Legendary Entertainment’s television division and focus on television production and financing projects for the international market.

Christine Healy has been named COO, joining the venture from New Pictures where she was head of production since 2016.

Watford & Essex’s current list of projects in development include “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” based on

the Irwin Allen television series from the 1960s, developed and written by BAFTA-nominated Chris Lunt and Michael Walker (“Devils”), and “Hail Satan!,” a dark social comedy-drama created by Frost and Graham, in development with U.

After production was halted on David Tennant drama Around The World In 80 Days amid the escalating coronavirus pandemic last March, filming has resumed in Romania. In all, the shoot will be spread across locations and studios in Romania and South Africa over a five-month period.

A Slim Film + Television and Federation co-production for the European Alliance, the project has also been boarded by co-production partners Masterpiece in the U.S., Peu Communications in South Africa, and Belgium’s Be-films and Rtbf. Daro Film associate produces.

Joining Tennant in the eight-part adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic adventure are French actor Ibrahim Koma (Oss 177) as Phileas Fogg’s irrepressible valet, Passepartout, and Leonie Benesch (The Crown) as determined journalist, Abigail ‘Fix’ Fortescue.

Also starring as series regulars are Jason Watkins (Des) and Peter Sullivan (Poldark).

Guest actors now joining the cast include Lindsay Duncan (A Discovery Of Witches...

“Around the World in 80 Days,” the David Tennant-starring adaptation of the beloved classic by Jules Verne, is set to resume shooting in Romania and South Africa, Variety has learned. Production was suspended by the coronavirus pandemic in March.

Production restarts next month in Romania before traveling to South Africa, which last week announced that international flights into the country will resume on Oct. 1 for the first time since March. International film production returned to Romania in June.

Tennant plays explorer Phileas Fogg, who, following an outrageous bet, takes on a challenge to circle the globe in just 80 days. He’s joined on the journey by his valet, Passepartout, played by rising French star Ibrahim Koma, and the aspiring journalist Abigail Fix, played by Leonie Benesch (“The Crown”), who jumps at the chance to tell the extraordinary story.

“Around the World in 80 Days” is a Slim Film + Television and Federation co-production,...

The first look image of the upcoming series ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ starring David Tennant has been unveiled.

Tennant fronts the hour-long 8 episode drama that follows an outrageous bet, Fogg and his valet, Passepartout, take on the legendary journey of circumnavigating the globe in just 80 days, swiftly joined by aspiring journalist Abigail Fix, who seizes the chance to report on this extraordinary story.

Joining Tennant to complete the valiant trio are rising French star, Ibrahim Koma, who takes on the role of the mercurial Passepartout; an irrepressible chancer who falls into the role of Fogg’s ‘valet’, little knowing it will change his life forever; and Leonie Benesch playing Abigail Fix, the young journalist determined to make her mark in a man’s world and emerge from the long shadow of her British establishment father.

Released Wednesday 16th September at Festival de la Fiction de la Rochelle – Paris, France.

On top of the many British dramas returning this year, below are the many, many, many new UK TV series we can expect to see arrive in 2020 and beyond. Almost all of them starring David Tennant, by the looks of it – no bad thing.

You’ll find original drama from Russell T. Davies, a new space-set sci-fi from Sky, true crime series, contemporary thrillers and the usual hefty number of literary adaptations and period dramas coming your way. Here’s the same for all the new British comedy on its way in 2020.

We’ll keep this list updated as new commissions, casting news, broadcast details and release dates arrive. Obviously, with Covid-19 halting production on all continuing and new dramas since mid-March, there will now be serious delays, but we’ll keep you posted as news arrives.

All Creatures Great and Small (Tbc) All Creatures Great And Small (Audible)

Filmed...

Back in February (remember February? Pubs and high streets and butterflying blithely in and out of shops and cafes as carefree as a 19th century Parisian flaneur? I digress), Den of Geek ran an interview with Life on Mars co-creator Matthew Graham.

Speaking with us to mark the forthcoming tenth anniversary of the Ashes to Ashes finale, Graham revisited his and Ashley Pharoah’s cult BBC sci-fi crime shows, and bemoaned the lack of a proper ending for John Simm’s character Di Sam Tyler.

“We never got to tie up John,” said Graham, referencing John Simm’s premature exit from the role after two series.

A revival idea however, that would give Di Sam Tyler a final exit and close the Life on Mars door for good, was in the works.

During a Twitter watch-along of Life on Mars’ first episode by Graham and Pharoah held last night at...

In this week’s jam-packed International TV Newswire, Variety catches you up on HBO’s first Danish original series “Kamikaze,” the first deal between ViacomCBS-owned broadcasters since the merger, David Tennant’s upcoming 80-day global circumnavigation, an un-scripted deal between Japan’s Nippon TV and the U.K.’s The Story Lab. Also on the mix: Eccho Rights’ newest global pickup from Sweden, U.K. Creative Content Eis Fund’s first investment, and the Nordisk Film & TV Fond Prize’s jury announcement.

HBO Europe Announces First Danish Original Series

For HBO it’s always been about quality, not quantity, so it’s no surprise that HBO Europe has enlisted an all-star team for its first Danish original series, “Kamikaze.” The series will be directed by “Borgen” director Annette K. Olesen and executive produced by Hanne Palmquist, and Steve Matthews and Antony Root.

Based on the novel “Muleum” by Norwegian writer Erlend Loe,...

David Tennant as Doctor Who.

David Tennant will play explorer Phileas Fogg in a big-budgeted TV adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic Around the World in 80 Days co-commissioned by the Seven Network.

Set to shoot in South Africa and Romania in February, the eight-part drama is from the UK-based Slim Film + Television, which is majority-owned by Seven West Media.

Following an outrageous bet, Fogg and his valet Passepartout (French actor Ibrahim Koma) embark in 1872 on the legendary journey of circumnavigating the globe in just 80 days.

They are joined by aspiring journalist Abigail Fix (The Crown’s Leonie Benesch), who seizes the chance to report on this extraordinary story.

Steve Barron (The Durrells) will be lead director with Charles Beeson (The Mentalist) lined up to direct a number of episodes. The writing team includes Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars) and Caleb Ranson (Child of Mine).

Budgeted at about €3 million ($4.7 million) per episode,...

Exclusive: David Tennant is to play explorer Phileas Fogg in an adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic Around the World in 80 Days.

The Doctor Who and Broadchurch star is fronting the eight-part drama, which is produced by Slim Film + Television.

Following an outrageous bet, Fogg and his valet, Passepartout, played by rising French actor Ibrahim Koma, take on the legendary journey of circumnavigating the globe in just 80 days, swiftly joined by aspiring journalist Abigail Fix, played by The Crown’s Leonie Benesch, who seizes the chance to report on this extraordinary story.

The series is being adapted by writers including Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars) and Caleb Ranson (Child of Mine) and filming is set to start in February 2020 principally in South Africa and Romania ahead of its launch at the end of 2020.

Steve Barron (The Durrells) will be lead director with Charles Beeson (The Mentalist) also lined...

Debra Richards.

Newly-anointed Netflix director production policy for the Apac region Debra Richards will be joining New Zealand’s Spada (Screen Production and Development Association of New Zealand) conference in November.

Spada 2019 will be held at Auckland’s Aotea Centre across November 20-21 and will be officially opened by New Zealand’s Minister of Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media, the Hon Kris Faafoiand.

Richards, a veteran of the Australian screen industry will bring her 30 year experience working with Ausfilm, Astra and the ABC to the conference. The event will mark the former Ausfilm CEO’s first public New Zealand address since joining Netflix in early September.

Special international speaker Simon Crawford Collins, the founder of UK drama production house Slim Film & TV will also take stage, joining the international guest speaker list led by headliner, Orange is the New Black showrunner Jenji Kohan.

Slim Film & TV is currently working with...

(L-r) Ashley Pharoah, Ahmed Sylla and Simon Crawford Collins.

The Seven Network and three European public broadcasters have commissioned a big budgeted, eight-part re-imagining of the Jules Verne classic Around the World in 80 Days.

A co-production between Seven West Media’s London-based Slim Film + Television and Paris-based Federation Entertainment, the series will be filmed around the world, budgeted at about €3 million ($4.7 million) per episode.

A leading British actor yet to be announced will play Phileas Fogg, a rich but solitary gentleman who sets off in 1872 to circumnavigate the world in 80 days to win a £20,000 bet with fellow members of the Reform Club.

French actor Ahmed Sylla will play Passepartout, his valet who accompanies him on the adventure of a lifetime. The lead female role, newspaper reporter Abigail Fix, who joins the travellers in an attempt to make her mark in a man’s world and to emerge from...

The Alliance, the new partnership formed by leading European pubcasters to counter the growing power of Netflix and other players, is revving up with two new international dramas, “Around the World in 80 Days” and “Mirage.”

The Alliance was formed last year by France Televisions, Germany’s Zdf and Italy’s Rai. The partners unveiled their two new ambitious shows Wednesday at Series Mania in Lille, France.

For France Televisions in particular, the series are part of a wider move into high-end international drama that also includes French series like “Germinal,” based on Emile Zola’s classic novel, and the adaptation of Guillaume Musso’s bestseller, “La jeune fille et la nuit,” both of which France Televisions is developing outside of the Alliance.

The French pubcaster’s push has been spearheaded by Nathalie Biancolli, an industry veteran who helped created Snd, the commercial division of M6 network, and worked at...

Drama commissioning club unveils roster at La Screenings.

Atrium TV, the drama commissioning club with member companies in Europe, Latin America and Asia, has unveiled a development slate including projects from David Simon, Michael Douglas and Michael Hirst.

The four projects on the slate – described by UK- and Us-based Atrium as being in “advanced development” – were pitched to representatives from the club’s members at this week’s La Screenings event.

The members include the UK’s BT TV, Latin America’s Televisa, Viaplay from the Nordic region, France’s Orange, Movistar+ from Spain, Deutsche Telekom from Germany, Iflix from Asia,...

Drama “commissioning club” Atrium TV has launched a second slate of projects with new dramas from Michael Douglas, Ava DuVernay, David Simon and the producers of Sherlock.

Atrium is the brainchild of former Sony Chairman Howard Stringer, Drg CEO Jeremy Fox and Mtg Evp/Head of Programming and Content Development Jakob Mejlhede. Based in London and Los Angeles, the team develops projects then shares them with club members who decide if they want to invest. If they buy into a project, members can license the series for their territory and can exploit it in their local market. Sales in the rest of the world are handled by Drg. Members, including Televisa, Viaplay, BT TV, and Deutsche Telekom, gathered in L.A. on Sunday at the La Screenings to get a first look at the high-profile new slate.

The four high-end dramas – all currently in advanced development – included Michael Douglas-produced Silo,...

Atrium TV, the drama-commissioning club for pay-tv platforms and telcos, has set out a new slate that includes shows from Michael Douglas, Ava DuVernay, David Simon, and the producers of “Sherlock.” “Quasimodo,” which was shown to Atrium members last October, will also move forward, joining the already-announced moon-landing project “One Giant Leap” from veteran producer Mike Medavoy.

Atrium TV was created by former Sony boss Howard Stringer and Jeremy Fox and is owned by Mtg’s London-based distributor Drg. It has members from different regions who are presented with projects that they can co-fund and market locally as originals. The members, including Televisa, Viaplay, BT TV, and Deutsche Telekom, gathered in L.A. on Sunday to get a first look at a new slate of projects.

The streets of San Francisco will look very different in Michael Douglas-produced “Silo,” one of the new shows in Atrium’s lineup. A high-concept drama,...

The Living and the Dead TV show premieres on BBC America, on October 27, 2016, in a Halloween week "binge-a-thon." In UK, the show premiered on BBC One in June of this year. In mid-August, The Living and the Dead was cancelled by the BBC.From Ashley Pharaoh the six-episode supernatural period drama stars Colin Morgan and Charlotte Spencer. The Living and the Dead TV series cast also includes: Malcolm Storry, Kerrie Hayes, Tallulah Rose Haddon, Joel Gillman, Elizabeth Berrington, Chloe Pirrie, Amber Fernée, Marianne Oldham, Pooky Quesnel, Ben Fox, Sarah Counsell, and David Oakes.Read More…...

Perhaps they should have called it The Quick and the Dead. The The Living and the Dead TV show has been cancelled by The BBC. The first and only season of the spooky supernatural series is slated to premiere on BBC America sometime this fall. In UK, Ashley Pharoah's six-episode drama aired on BBC One between June 28 and August 2, 2016. The British network has confirmed The Living and the Dead TV series will not be renewed for a second season, Digital Spy reports.The Living and the Dead stars Colin Morgan and Charlotte Spencer as newlyweds Nathan and Charlotte Appleby, and Nicholas Woodeson as Reverend Matthew Denning. The cast also includes: Malcolm Storry, Kerrie Hayes, Tallulah Rose Haddon, Joel Gillman, Elizabeth Berrington, Chloe Pirrie, Amber Fernée, Marianne Oldham, Pooky Quesnel,...

Louisa Mellor Jul 27, 2016

Ghostbusting doesn’t make Nathan Appleby feel good in the penultimate episode of The Living And The Dead…

This review contains spoilers.

The Living And The Dead delivered the perfect Halloween special this week. Episode five was a typically handsome hour (is there a better-looking show on at the moment?) dripping with classic horror moments.

It was the week that saw Shepzoy’s sceptics get what for. Spirits rampaged around the village dripping ghost-blood on the carpets and sending the locals scattering. Even the most rational-minded villager couldn’t convince themselves that a murderous troupe of dead Civil War soldiers was just a trick of the light.

Reverend Denning, for one, was shaken out of his existential certainty by a levitating daughter and a ghostly forest fire (you’d think a man of the cloth would be at home with burning bushes). The same goes for Charlotte Appleby,...

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Episode one of handsome new BBC supernatural period drama The Living And The Dead feat. Colin Morgan ends on a gripping hook…

This review contains episode 1 spoilers.

Ashley Pharoah, the creator of The Living And The Dead, made his name writing genre TV with a twist. He and Matthew Graham added a time travel mystery to the police procedural in Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes, then spliced the supernatural with court drama in Eternal Law.

Pharoah’s new series The Living And The Dead plays the same game. It’s a traditional Victorian ghost story with Something Else Going On. Two events in the first episode alert viewers to this fact – the vapour trail of a modern airplane in the 1894 Somerset sky and the closing sight of a twenty-first century woman, iPad in hand, walking around the nineteenth-century farmhouse in which the story is set.

Could the BBC be headed back to Mars? Life on Mars co-creator Ashley Pharoah recently spoke to Digital Spy about a possible revival of the BBC One series.

The UK drama followed Sam Tyler (John Simm), a Manchester policeman who is hit by a car in 2006 and wakes up in 1973. The series also starred Philip Glenister and Liz White. A sequel series, Ashes to Ashes, aired from 2008 to 2010.

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We chatted to the writer and cast of new BBC supernatural period drama starring Colin Morgan, by the co-creator of Life On Mars...

On the wall of Ashley Pharoah’s office hangs the bullet-riddled driver-side door of a red 1983 Audi Quattro. It’s a set-souvenir from Ashes To Ashes, the time-travel police drama he co-created to follow Life On Mars. Somewhere nearby is a sepia photograph of a young man looking justifiably disturbed by the sack-headed, creepily masked figures who surround him. That’s Pharoah’s souvenir from the set of The Living And The Dead, an eerie period supernatural drama launching in 'box-set' form on BBC iPlayer tomorrow.

Set in 1894 Somerset, The Living And The Dead is in the tradition of the dark English pastoral. It pits the rural customs and rites of an ancient way of life against the modern ingress of industry and technology.

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All 6 episodes of The Living And The Dead, from the co-creator of Life On Mars, will debut this Friday the 17th of June on BBC iPlayer...

In a repeat of last year's successful online-box-set-then-traditional-broadcast-release (snappier name required) of Peter Kay's Car Share, the BBC is launching its first original drama 'box-set'.

All six episodes of spooky new period drama The Living And The Dead, created by Life On Mars' Ashley Pharoah and starring Merlin's Colin Morgan and Glue's Charlotte Spencer, will be available to watch from this Friday the 17th of June on BBC iPlayer. The episodes will then receive a weekly airing starting from Tuesday the 28th of June at 9pm.

It's a smart move from the BBC, one that will transform iPlayer into more than simply a catch-up service. Traditional viewers won't lose out on week-by-week viewings, while those more used to gulping down entire series whenever it suits them can do just that.

The Living And The Dead is in the tradition of the dark English pastoral, a creepy countryside tale of the strange goings-on that beset a young psychologist (Morgan) and his photographer wife (Spencer) when they move back to his childhood West Country home in 1894.

We'll have more for you on the show later this week.

See related  Life On Mars: revisiting a terrific UK crime drama Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: the best UK fantasy in years 31 scary TV episodes that truly terrified us 25 upcoming Us TV shows: sci-fi, fantasy, horror, thrillers TV News Louisa Mellor The Living And The Dead 15 Jun 2016 - 10:00 Life on Mars Colin Morgan...

[caption id="attachment_50007" align="aligncenter" width="590"] The Living and the Dead TV show on BBC America, season one. Charlotte Spencer as Charlotte Appleby. Colin Morgan as Nathan Appleby. © BBC/ Photographer: Robert Viglasky./caption]

“What lies beneath should be left beneath.” BBC America has announced The Living and the Dead TV series will premiere in fall, 2016. The British supernatural Victorian-era period drama was created by Ashley Pharoah who executive produces with Matthew Graham.

Set in 1894 Somerset England, The Living and the Dead stars Colin Morgan and Charlotte Spencer as newlyweds Nathan and Charlotte Appleby. Watch an interview with Spencer, below.

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[caption id="attachment_44112" align="aligncenter" width="385"] via DeborahHarkness.com/caption]

Deadline reports the Bad Wolf production company is adapting Deborah Harkness' novel, A Discovery of Witches as a TV series. This is the first volume of the All Souls historical fantasy trilogy.

According to the report, Life On Mars’ Ashley Pharoah will adapt the story for TV, with Harkness writing several episodes. A Discovery of Witches was first published February 8, 2011. The other two volumes in the All Souls Trilogy, Shadow Of Night and The Book of Life, were published in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

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A TV show adaptation of Deborah Harkness fantasy novel A Discovery of Witches is in the works, HitFix has confirmed. Deadline first reported the news. On the team developing it for TV is Julie Gardner — Whovians know her as an executive producer for Doctor Who and Torchwood. Greenlighting its development makes sense after the early success of The Magicians (the Syfy series got a season 2 renewal today). Much like Magicians is adapted from a book that’s a darker, more adult alternative to Harry Potter, Harkness’ novels are the more mature answer to the Ya vampire/supernatural craze. Discovery of Witches has both the romance of stately old libraries — main character Diana Bishop is researching at Oxford — and the romance of forbidden love (Diana, a witch, falls for Matthew, a vampire — a big no-no in this world where vampires and witches have been enemies for generations). Harkness has also come...

Former "Doctor Who" producers Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner and their Bad Wolf production company have scored TV rights to Deborah Harkness' historical fantasy novel "A Discovery Of Witches".

The first installment in the All Souls Trilogy which has sold more than 3.5 million copies around the world, the story follows a young scholar at Oxford who is a descendant of the Salem witches.

When she accidentally unlocks an enchanted manuscript, she is compelled to embrace the magic in her blood and enters a forbidden romance with charming 1,500-year-old vampire.

"Life On Mars" producer Ashley Pharoah will adapt the novel for the screen while Harkness will also pen several episodes. Tranter and Gardner are executive producing.

Should the project be a success, all three books in the series are to be adapted. The project was previously in development at the BBC, but no longer. Warner Bros. Pictures retains the film rights.

Exclusive: Deborah Harkness' historical fantasy novel, A Discovery Of Witches, is the first installment in the All Souls Trilogy which has sold more than 3.5M copies around the world. I've learned that Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner's UK/U.S. Bad Wolf production shingle has acquired TV rights and is developing a drama based on the book with a view to adapting all three in the series. Life On Mars' Ashley Pharoah is adapting the novel for the screen while Harkness will…...

Colin Morgan fans won't have long to wait for their next fix now that Humans is over.

The former Merlin star will lead the cast of BBC One's haunting new series, The Living and the Dead.

A supernatural drama set in 1890s Somerset, the six-parter has been created by Life on Mars creator Ashley Pharoah.

If that wasn't exciting enough, Glue standout - and BAFTA nominee - Charlotte Spencer is also on board.

Morgan will play Nathan Appleby - a young man faced with dangerous supernatural phenomena - with Spencer cast as his wife Charlotte.

"The Living and the Dead is one of those scripts that you read and are instantly compelled and engaged by," Morgan said. "It's intelligent, chilling and engrossing, it's going to be very special and I can't wait to start working on it with the wonderful creative team."

Spencer added: "It's always been a dream...

Jason-Isaacs-in-Case-Histories

Within the crowded field of British detective shows, Case Histories truly stands out as one of the very best contemporary dramas in recent years. It’s not as gloomy as Vera, not as gory as Luther, and it lacks the frivolity of Midsomer Murders. What it does offer is a realistic central character played brilliantly by Harry Potter bad-guy Jason Isaacs. Jackson Brodie (Isaacs) is broody but he’s positively jovial when compared with Wallander. He’s something of a lady’s man and could be described as Scotland’s answer to Jim Bergerac only with a penchant for cigarettes rather than booze. Brodie has his demons and he’s not immune to the odd cock-up but he’s a good guy at heart and he usually unravels the perplexing mysteries that land in his lap.

Case Histories ran for two seasons each comprised of three feature length mysteries.

Androids, magic, parallel worlds, ghostly crime, and the apocalypse. Here’s a raft of new forthcoming UK sci-fi and fantasy TV…

The superhero genre may be taking up residence in cinemas for the foreseeable, and Game Of Thrones and The Walking Dead are leading Us TV's genre output, but what can fans of UK sci-fi and fantasy look forward to seeing on television over the next year?

There’s Doctor Who of course, which appears to be in rude health and going nowhere, a Christmas Special from Black Mirror, and a hint of new Red Dwarf on its way. (And of course, if there’s anything like justice in the world, the terrific In The Flesh will be recommissioned for a third series.)

If though, you’re thirsting for something new, 2015 is promising to deliver a handful of geek TV gems. We’ve scoured the new UK commission announcements for anything spooky,...

BBC America and BBC One have announced the new series The Living and the Dead, written by Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham, co-creators and writers of Life on Mars, Ashes To Ashes and Eternal Law.

The synopsis:

Somerset, England, 1888. A land and a community on the edge of monumental change, on the great hinge between ancient traditional ways and an industrial, scientific future. A land of ghosts and myths, poltergeists and demons - if there was ever a time for those ghosts to rise out of the ground, this would be that time.

The post New BBC Series Explores The Living and the Dead appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

Emerald City

NBC has opted not to move forward with "Emerald City," a ten episode modern and dark reimagining of the classic L. Frank Baum Oz tales said to be more akin to the likes of "Game of Thrones" than the 1939 MGM film.

Matthew Arnold and Josh Friedman's project would've drawn from Baum's original fourteen books and featured more battles, political maneuvers and a very different take on the infamous wizard. Though ordered straight to series, the plan has been scrapped due to a "difference in vision" between the network and show runners. [Source: Variety]

The Living and the Dead

"Life on Mars" and "Ashes to Ashes" co-creators Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham are re-teaming for the six-part supernatural period drama series "The Living and the Dead" for The BBC .

Set in the English countryside in 1888, the story follows a gentleman farmer who is obsessed with proving the existence of the afterlife.

BBC America and BBC One have joined forces for the new series "The Living and the Dead," and it promises to be "very, very scary." Sign us up! If you're on board as well, read on for the details.

From the Press Release:

New 6 X 60’ drama series "The Living and the Dead" is written by Ashley Pharoah and Matthew Graham, co-creators and writers of "Life on Mars," "Ashes to Ashes," and "Eternal Law." It is co-produced by BBC Wales Drama Production and BBC America in association with Monastic Productions for BBC One.

Somerset, England, 1888. A land and a community on the edge of monumental change, on the great hinge between ancient traditional ways and an industrial, scientific future. A land of ghosts and myths, poltergeists, and demons - if there was ever a time for those ghosts to rise out of the ground, this would be that time. At the...