British Telly

Raye has already made headlines with seven nominations. Plus, Sofie Gråbø’s gripping prison drama continues. Here’s what to watch this evening

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Two months out from the big event, UK contestant Alexander reveals the video for his song. Plus: it’s Snatch Week in RuPaul’s Drag Race!

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It kicks off a brilliant series exploring justice, education and health facilities. Plus: TikTok comic Lucia Keskin’s first series. Here’s what to watch this evening

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cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/8444673

Created and written by Ryan J. Brown, Wreck series two is set in the months after the events of series one’s shocking blood-soaked conclusion. We re-join Jamie, Vivian and their found family of survivors back on land, as they strike back against Velorum, the corporate murder machine that claimed Jamie’s sister. In a daring and desperate attempt to bring the Company down, the gang go undercover to infiltrate Velorum’s newest venture – an exclusive ‘wellness’ festival for millionaires in the remote Slovenian countryside. Relationships fray, blood pours, and not everyone will be making it out alive. It’s going to be a cleansing experience…

IMDb

Bill Bailey’s strangely addictive acting competition heads to Birmingham. Plus: more witchy love on Domino Day. Here’s what to watch this evening

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New Model Agency shows how the industry is navigating trends and calls for increased diversity. Plus: The Hairy Bikers carry on riding west. Here’s what to watch this evening

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The Jury: Murder Trial shows how jurors’ backgrounds influence their decisions. Plus: Rosie Jones’s gameshow is top ranking. Here’s what to watch this evening

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The natural history legend presents a feast of sight and sound. Plus: a beloved character faces the music in Call the Midwife. Here’s what to watch this evening

Turn up the volume for David Attenborough’s wonderful symphony of nature’s acoustics. The three-part series follows eight animals per episode and is filmed in 4k ultra-high definition with 360-degree sound, for an experience that fully immerses us in the natural world. It starts with buff-tailed bumblebees using the “sonic assault” of their wings to loosen pollen, and that master of silence the great grey owl, whose uneven ears enable it to hear the rustle of voles in the snow. There are also musical performances from whistling and squeaking bottlenose dolphins, tap-dancing kangaroo rats and roaming, roaring lions. Hollie Richardson

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The Killing star plays a prison officer in an award-winning new show. Plus, it’s quarter finals time in the Gladiators’ arena. Here’s what to watch this evening

The Killing’s Sofie Gråbøl leads BBC Four’s latest award-winning European drama to get stuck into. The Danish series follows the lives of four prison officers, including Gråbøl’s Miriam, as they deal with a jail plagued by bad press, power struggles and a drug trade. There’s also the small issue of the potential closure of the institution. So they band together on a risky investigation to save their jobs. Hollie Richardson

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Director of BBC Drama Lindsay Salt unveiled the drama orders as part of a speech outlining her vision for the U.K. public broadcaster’s drama offering.

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The Ministry of Time

The BBC says the six-part series is “based on Kaliane Bradley’s hotly anticipated debut novel of the same name, adapted by Alice Birch (Normal People, The End We Start From, Dead Ringers)” and will be produced by A24 (Beef, Such Brave Girls, Dreaming Whilst Black) for flagship channel BBC One and streaming service BBC iPlayer.

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Dear England

This is a new drama about Gareth Southgate and the England men’s soccer team, based on James Graham’s (Sherwood, The Way, Quiz) National Theatre play of the same name. Fiennes will star in the four-part show as Southgate.

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Film Club

The BBC has also ordered this six-part romantic comedy-drama, which marks the screenwriting debut of actors Aimee Lou Wood and Ralph Davis (SAS Rogue Heroes, Life After Life, Othello). It will be made by Gaumont (Locked In, Obsession) for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer. “Co-creator Aimee Lou Wood, who won a BAFTA for her role in Sex Education, will star in Film Club as Evie,” the BBC said.

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Mint

Described as “a darkly comic and unconventional drama about what it means to be part of a crime family, from writer and filmmaker Charlotte Regan who garnered huge critical acclaim for her recent, BAFTA-nominated film Scrapper,” the eight-part series comes from Fearless Minds (Soul Mates) and House Productions (Sherwood).

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Lions (working title)

The six-part drama about two men across the decades is written and created by writer and performer Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer, Sex Education). Set and filmed in and around Glasgow, it is made by Mam Tor Productions, a Banijay label, for BBC One, BBC Scotland and BBC iPlayer.

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This City Is Ours

An eight-part crime drama created by writer Stephen Butchard (The Good Mothers, The Last Kingdom) will be set and filmed by Left Bank Pictures for BBC One and BBC iPlayer in Liverpool. Sony Pictures Television will distribute the series internationally.

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Blue Lights

The BBC has also ordered two more six-part seasons, namely seasons 3 and 4, of the Belfast-based police drama from Two Cities Television for BBC One and iPlayer. The news comes ahead of the second season that will air this spring. Co-created and written by Declan Lawn and Adam Patterson, Blue Lights is “an authentic, gripping and darkly funny drama about ordinary people doing an extraordinary job,” the BBC says. Season 1 followed three new Police Service of Northern Ireland probationary recruits as they navigated their way through their first few months in a complex place.

Reunion

Positioned as “an emotional thriller of revenge and redemption, which follows the journey of Brennan, a deaf man determined to right his wrongs, while unraveling the truth behind the events that led him to prison,” the four-parter is produced by Warp Films for BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

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The Split Up

This new six-part series is set in the world of Manchester’s divorce law circuit, “where one family of lawyers, the Kishans, reigns supreme,” according to the show description.

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The Dream Lands

This six-parter from production firm Sister (This Is Going to Hurt, Gangs of London) is described as “a coming-of-age story with a twist,” based on Rosa Rankin-Gee’s novel Dreamland. Brought to life for BBC One and BBC iPlayer by Kayleigh Llewellyn, the BAFTA-award-winning creator and writer of the series In My Skin, it is set in the near future against a backdrop of soaring inequality.

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We Go Again (working title)

From writer Janice Okoh (Sanditon, Hetty Feather), the six-part series is based on her play Three Birds, winner of the Bruntwood Playwriting Prize, and will be made for BBC Three and BBC iPlayer by Banijay label The Forge Entertainment (The Buccaneers, Help, Ackley Bridge).

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The Listeners

Starring Rebecca Hall, this drama is based on the novel by Jordan Tannahill, who also wrote the adaptation. Produced by Element Pictures (Normal People, The Favourite, Poor Things), a Fremantle label, it was directed by Janicza Bravo (Zola, Poker Face, Mrs America) for BBC One and BBCiPlayer.

The Line of Duty actor and Phil MacHugh go skiing and meet the country’s youngest MP. Plus: The Great Escape: The True Story. Here’s what to watch this evening

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Hard-to-hear but essential accounts from former gymnasts who allege they were abused by their coaches. Plus: timeless wisdom from the Big Yin. Here’s what to watch this evening

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Inseparable Sisters explores a father’s dilemma over whether his twin daughters should be separated. Plus: a bombshell in post in Alice & Jack. Here’s what to watch this evening

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It’s part of the comedian’s campaign to stop water company sewage leaks. Plus, the Hairy Bikers look west to Lancashire for culinary inspiration. Here’s what to watch this evening

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Sheen stars in and directs The Way, set in his home town of Port Talbot. Plus, Jed Mercurio’s enraging pandemic series. Here’s what to watch tonight

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1970s show challenged attitudes by defying gender stereotypes and boldly addressing topical issues, broadcaster says

They may be best remembered for wacky props such as their oversized flat caps and a bicycle made for three as well as their banging theme tune “Goodies, goody goody yum yum”.

But it may be time to reassess the surreal 1970s and early 80s sketch show The Goodies and regard it not just as silly fun but as a catalyst for social change.

David Tennant hosts a particularly tense awards night. Plus, a brilliant documentary about the miners’ strike. Here’s everything to watch this evening

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Katia de Vidas’s documentary about the troubled musician. Plus: it’s the Masked Singer final! Here’s what to watch this evening

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The foul-mouthed furry friend continues his antics in high school. Plus: the queens must create three fairytale fits in RuPaul’s Drag Race. Here’s what to watch today

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Abandoned dogs are matched with new owners at a north London shelter in The Dog House. Plus: the fearless Rob and Romesh have a go at F1. Here’s what to watch this evening

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Coincidentally came up in a post on US remakes of British TV shows but I thought was worth a separate post (but go and check that other thread out too):

In 2007, an American adaptation of The IT Crowd was said to be in the works, with Ayoade reprising his role as Moss alongside Joel McHale as Roy, Jessica St. Clair as Jen, and Rocky Carroll as Denholm. Produced for Universal Media Studios with Steve Tao as executive producer, the series also credited Linehan as an executive producer, although he later clarified his lack of direct involvement.

Since its debut in 2006, the show has become a cult classic, with its catchphrases and memorable moments permeating popular culture. However, when a British television show becomes successful, creators often attempt to recreate its magic overseas for American audiences. With the exception of a couple of American adaptations, these shows don’t usually translate well.

In 2007, an American adaptation of The IT Crowd was said to be in the works, with Ayoade reprising his role as Moss alongside Joel McHale as Roy, Jessica St. Clair as Jen, and Rocky Carroll as Denholm. Produced for Universal Media Studios with Steve Tao as executive producer, the series also credited Linehan as an executive producer, although he later clarified his lack of direct involvement.

Despite filming a pilot in January 2007 and receiving an order for a full series slated for the 2007–08 season, a September 2007 report from The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the show would not proceed to production after it failed to resonate with the new NBC chairman. Later appearing on The Graham Norton Show, Ayoade appeared to shed light on why the show never made it onto the small screen.

Appearing as a guest on the show, the comedian admitted that it wasn’t a very good idea, and that he was glad it didn’t come to fruition in the end. He explained, “I was the only one [of the original cast] dumb enough to do it. It was deeply weird. It was a bit like a play where everyone else had left. It was very odd.”

While the network has hinted at potential plans for a second go at adapting the beloved sitcom, it’s uncertain whether this will come to fruition. As demonstrated by numerous past endeavours to remake versions of popular shows, sometimes such projects just aren’t meant to be.

Mad Men writer Victor Levin brings love triangle Alice & Jack to Channel 4. Plus: After the Flood’s suspect is on the loose with a gun. Here’s what to watch this evening

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Yet, amid this very welcome Gaiman-is-suddenly-everywhere trend, we’ve somehow all managed to ignore the project of his that’s most overdue for a lavish, expensive on-screen reimagining: Neverwhere. An urban fantasy that follows the story of an everyday young man who finds himself transported to the mysterious world of London Below when he stops to help an injured girl who turns out to be more than she seems, Neverwhere is peak Gaiman, grounding its wildly fantastical story in a familiar world that feels all too normal and human, only with a dusting of the magical on top.

London Below embraces the lost elements of the city we’re all familiar with—bits of forgotten lore and history, broken objects, fractured or lost souls who have fallen through the gaps in our reality, whether by choice or accident—and mixes them with otherworldly literalism to create an intriguing underworld that exists just beneath the city’s streets.

But although Neverwhere was first published in 1996, it did not begin its life as a novel. In an odd (and uncommon) reversal, it was first a six-part BBC television series for which Gaiman wrote the screenplay alongside Sir Lenny Henry. The book that followed was Gaiman’s first solo novel (Good Omens, co-written with Terry Pratchett, hit shelves six years earlier) and was meant to serve as an official novelization of the TV show. It turned out to be a bit more than that. The novel expands and reshuffles some of the lore introduced in the television series, adds new scenes, and restores various elements of Gaiman and Henry’s original idea that had to be changed or cut for the TV version. (The author has spoken before about how the absence of specific things in the show was one of the reasons he wrote the book in the first place.)

To be clear, it’s not like the 1996 Neverwhere series is bad. Far from it, in fact. Sure, it feels more than a little dated now, but the show worked wonders with what was clearly a very limited budget, unabashedly embracing the high fantasy elements and sprawling, complicated fictional universe that have proven so popular today but which were frequently and openly sneered at in the late 1990s. (Sorry, guys, the nerds did inherit the Earth, eventually.)

Wildly imaginative and full of inventive, entertaining characters—Paterson Joseph’s over-the-top Marquis de Carabas, Peter Capaldi’s exquisitely coiffed Angel Islington, and the devilishly creepy evil assassin duo of Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandermar are just a few of the reasons to tune in—it’s evident from the story’s opening frames that Neverwhere is something special, even if the final product doesn’t quite manage to live up to the scope of Gaiman and Henry’s vividly imagined original world.

The BBC Radio 4 adaptation from 2013 comes a bit closer to capturing some of that magic, bolstered by the specific, indescribable alchemy that is radio drama in general, the power of listener imagination, and a truly stacked voice cast that includes big name stars ranging from James McAvoy and Natalie Dormer to Benedict Cumberbatch, Bernard Cribbins, and Christopher Lee. But even at its most affecting, it’s hampered by the fact that it’s not the visual, onscreen version we all wish it was. (Just imagine Cumberbatch rocking that Capaldi-style Islington hair.)

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Henry has spoken before about his and Gaiman’s issues with the original and the fact that the moment for a remake might finally have arrived. “We’ve both got problems with the show. It was a bit wobbly sets, it was shot on video and we would, of course, have liked it to look like a Bond film. What we were given to make it, I think we did really well,” he told Den of Geek in 2017. “I remember showing the trailer to the guy who was running BBC Two at the time, and it blew him away! But..I think now with things like Netflix and Black Mirror and the reboot of Doctor Who, they’d have a better sense of it now. Maybe its time has come?” (Gaiman, for the record, has indicated his interest in seeing a new version of Neverwhere as recently as November of 2023.)

A deeply moving Storyville follows a former journalist and his wife as they navigate his condition. Plus: the fall of tennis champion Boris Becker. Here’s what to watch this evening

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A three-part examination of the disintegration of Columbia, which killed seven astronauts. Plus, big clues in True Detective: Night Country. Here’s what to watch tonight

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