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Hulu has announced that filming begins this month on Rivals season two, which will continue the adaptation of the best-selling novel by Dame Jilly Cooper. The drama returns with an extended season of twelve episodes – and even more wit, desire, and dramatic twists.

Set against the backdrop of the stunning Cotswolds countryside and the glamorous, high-stakes world of 1980s British television, Rivals season two will see the return of the all-star cast that won the hearts of fans and critics alike, as well as introduce brand new faces.

Careers, marriages, and reputations hang in the balance as personal and professional lives collide in a world where secrets can’t stay hidden for long.

Bold, emotionally charged, and filled with unforgettable moments, Rivals is a thrilling ride through a landscape of breathtaking beauty, fierce competition, and life-changing decisions, where the cost of success could be everything.

Reprising their iconic roles are...

With only one year under her belt as Studiocanal’s executive managing director of TV series, M-k Kennedy, who joined from Netflix, is leveling up the scripted ambitions of the French pay TV group’s production arm.

After spearheading Studiocanal’s first in-house international series, “Paris Has Fallen” — which broke rating records on Canal+ and topped the charts on Amazon U.K. and Hulu in the U.S. — Kennedy reveals to Variety that the highly anticipated second season of the anthology, “Apollo Has Fallen,” has started filming. Rather than taking place in a single location, the eight-part series will hop from country to country, unfolding everywhere from the Libyan coast to the streets of Madrid, with principal photography taking place across the U.K., Marta and Spain. The series is produced by Studiocanal, Urban Myth Films, Millenium and G-Base, who were also behind “Paris Has Fallen,” which sold to more than 170 territories worldwide.

Exclusive: The Faroe Islands’ GRÓ Studios and the UK’s Three River Fiction are bringing a crime thriller, Reyna, to Series Mania next week.

Based on an original idea from UK writer Chris Ould, the series will follow a British detective, Jan Reyna, whose family ties to the Faroe Islands draw him back to the country. It’s being billed as “a Nordic noir crime thriller through a fresh and unconventional British-Faroese lens.”

Plot details are scarce, but it will involve themes of identity, genealogy, biotech and generational trauma, alongside thriller tropes and the rugged beauty and haunting atmosphere of the Faroe Islands. Casting will be unveiled at a later date.

London-based Three River Fiction is known for BBC and Virgin Media Television drama series Dead and Buried, which starred Annabel Scholey and Colin Morgan, while the Faroe Islands’ GRÓ Studios is a joint venture between creator, writer and executive...

If you liked The Couple Next Door season 1 on Channel 4 (in the UK) and Starz (in the U.S.), then you'll be happy to know that a second season is on the way. Though as we've previously reported, unfortunately neither Outlander actor Sam Heughan or the rest of the main Og cast are returning since the network decided to do an anthology-ish sort of format going into season 2.

Filming and news about The Couple Next Door season 2 first came back in November 2024, and now there's an update! Production has officially wrapped in Belgium, and there's some first-look images to look forward to, per a press release. No release date on Channel 4 has been set yet though, and it's not clear if Starz will choose to broadcast the second season in the U.S.

There's going to be a new set of actors, but I think the story sounds very...

If you were hoping for more of The Couple Next Door on Starz today, we're sorry to say that the season is over. The finale was released last week on Feb. 21 with episode 6, "Crimes of Passion." It was a pretty anticlimactic end to the story if I'm being honest. But, here we are.

That does mean that there is no episode 7, as well as no more new episodes going forward since season 1 was only six total. Perhaps you enjoyed the show more than me, which is great. So if you're looking forward to more, the good news is that The Couple Next Door season 2 is happening. However, there's a catch.

Courtesy: Starz

None of the main foursome - Outlander actor Sam Heughan as Danny, Jessica DeGouw as Becka, Eleanor Tomlinson as Evie, and Alfred Enoch as Pete - will be reprising their roles in the second season. I mean, I...

I don't know about all of you, but the biggest draw for me personally in The Couple Next Door is the fact that Outlander star Sam Heughan is one of the leads in it. That's why I started watching - to support our favorite actor and also have something to tune in to during Droughtlander. With the finale now out and that let's say interesting ending, you might be wondering about the show's future.

Yes, there will be The Couple Next Door season 2. The psychological thriller was co-produced by Starz and British network Channel 4, having aired across the pond first before we got it here in the U.S. Back in November 2024, Channel 4 announced that it had renewed the show for a second season. But, there's some bad news.

Courtesy: Starz Sam Heughan will not be in The Couple Next Door season 2

If you were hoping to see more...

Droughtlander is almost upon us Outlander fans, but don't worry! There's a new show coming to Starz starring Sam Heughan that will help tide us over for a little bit as we wait for our favorite show to return. We love supporting the actors in their other ventures, and this time is no different. The Couple Next Door makes its debut in the U.S. this week. So here's 4 things you need to know about the show before it's on.

Episodes will be released weekly

The Couple Next Door premieres Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 on Starz. Even though the season is only six episodes long, there will only be one episode released each week. You can either start streaming at 12 a.m. Et Fridays through the Starz app, or tune in later in the evening at 9 p.m. Et on the Starz channel. We shared the episode release schedule and titles below:...

Two years on from the third and final series, formidable family lawyer Hannah Defoe (Nicola Walker) and her family are back and have gathered for a beautiful wedding at a magnificent vineyard, nestled in Catalonia’s wine region. The weekend will introduce audiences to a host of new characters, including Toby Stephens as Archie Moore, and glamorous hosts Alvaro (Manu Fullola) and Valentina (Romina Cocca).

Fans of The Split will also be reunited with returning cast including Nicola Walker, Stephen Mangan, Annabel Scholey, Fiona Button, Deborah Findlay, Ian McElhinney, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Elizabeth Roberts and Alex Guersman.

We were lucky enough to sit down for a series of chats with the cast and creator Abbie Morgan to chat about the special and what can be expected from this new story.

The post The cast and creator of hugely popular BBC drama The Split, chats to HeyUGuys about the latest one-off special...

Channel 5 is doubling down on post-Christmas escapism with the premiere of “The Serial Killer’s Wife,” a four-part thriller that asks the age-old question: how well do you really know your spouse? Annabel Scholey and Jack Farthing star as Beth and Tom Fairchild, a seemingly idyllic couple whose world implodes when Tom, a respected doctor, […]

The Serial Killer’s Wife: New Channel 5 Drama Explores a Marriage Built on Secrets...

Sam Heughan and Outlander fans, we have good news to share with you! Of course we love to see the actor as the one and only Jamie Fraser, but that doesn't mean we don't also love supporting the cast in other projects. One of the intriguing ones us in the U.S. have been waiting to see is The Couple Next Door starring Heughan himself. There's finally a premiere date, but it's a little longer than promised.

In July 2024, Starz shared that the psychological drama was set to begin streaming and airing in winter 2024. So perhaps a December release is what was assumed. However, The Couple Next Door will premiere Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 on Starz. Now, look. I know the wait is not that much longer than what we'd been anticipating. I'm just so excited to see the show, and it's a little annoying the debut is being pushed slightly. But,...

The Couple Next Door is moving in again.

Channel 4 has renewed the psychological drama for a second season after the first became the UK network’s biggest scripted streaming launch on record, with episode one garnering more than a million views in its first seven days.

Channel 4 co-produced Season 1 of The Couple Next Door with Starz, but the Lionsgate brand was not mentioned in the press release for Season 2. Deadline has asked about Starz’s involvement.

Season 2 will feature a new cast, led by Sam Palladio (Nashville), Annabel Scholey (The Split), Aggy K Adams (The Witcher), and Sendhil Ramamurthy (One Piece). Hugh Dennis (Outnumbered) will return. Production is underway in Belgium. Season 1 starred Eleanor Tomlinson and Sam Heughan.

Here’s the logline: “Heart surgeon Charlotte Roberts (Scholey) and her husband, consultant anesthetist Jacob (Palladio) are a high-flying busy married couple. But things soon turn upside down when their mysterious...

Janis Pugh’s debut feature Chuck Chuck Baby won two awards at last night’s Bafta Cymru ceremony, which took place in Cardiff and is a celebration of the Welsh film and TV industries.

Pugh’s feature won in the breakthrough and feature/TV film categories. The BFI, Ffilm Cymru Wales and BBC Film-backed musical romance world premiered at the 2023 edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival ahead of playing at last year’s Toronto.

Chuck Chuck Baby filmed in north Wales, where Pugh is from, and Cheshire.

It follows a woman stuck in a rut, working in the local chicken factory,...

Janis Pugh’s debut feature Chuck Chuck Baby wastes no time in establishing itself as a non-conformist. Behind the camera is Pugh, taking on directing and writing duties, crafting an intimate story of self-discovery. She brings together a talented pair of leads in Louise Brealey and Annabel Scholey. Brealey plays Helen, living an unfulfilling life in small-town Wales until the return of her old neighbor Joanne, played by Scholey, rekindles long-buried feelings.

Pugh breathes new life into familiar tropes of romance and musicals. Rather than rigidly sticking to formula, she allows her characters’ emotions to shine through in creative ways. Scenes transform delightfully as they passionately lip-sync classic tunes that reflect their feelings.

Pugh also crosses genres with ease, infusing drama, comedy, and coming-of-age themes into a heartfelt LGBTQ love story. While touching on universal ideas of empowerment and acceptance, the intimate portrayals feel refreshingly genuine.

From the outset, Pugh...

BBC’s latest Northern Ireland-set thriller miniseries, Dead and Buried, hinges upon a terrible tragedy/crime that happened seventeen years prior to the timeline of the show. Both leads—Cathy and Michael—were affected by that incident, and their lives have never been the same since. The show essentially becomes a long-drawn confrontation between the two where the drama is so palpable that it leaves the audience in a serious dilemma about whose side is to pick—Michael or Cathy? Here in this article, we’re going to do a summary of it before sharing our thoughts on Dead and Buried.

Spoilers Ahead

What Happens in the Show?

What would you do if you randomly came across the man who killed your brother at the local supermarket? Sure, it happened as long as almost two decades ago, and the man who murdered Cathy’s brother has already done his time,...

In the series premiere of Dead and Buried, Cathy (Annabel Scholey), a woman with a young son, has a fateful encounter outside a supermarket with Michael (Colin Morgan), the man convicted of brutally murdering her brother 20 years earlier. Ignoring her best friend’s advice, Cathy becomes fixated on Michael and uses social media to uncover […]

Dead and Buried: Series Premiere...

Chuck Chuck Baby is one of those fabulously rare feel-good movies that stays with you long after you leave the theater. In the vein of other soul-stirring films like Before Sunrise, The Way Back, Billy Elliot, The Full Monty, and even Tarsems deeply moving The Fall, writer/director Janis Pugh manages to capture our hearts while colorfully revealing the ever-shifting emotional kaleidoscope of regular life.

Theres the longing for something better, the deep comfort of having great friends, and the unbridled joy that emerges from a surprise reunion that can open our hearts so wide that it literally takes our breath away. Its all here in this powerful and entertaining musical comedy/drama that celebrates the female working class.

Steered by a resilient cast featuring Louise Brealey (Sherlock) and Annabel Scholey (The Split), Chuck Chuck Baby may have a catchy tagline "a film of love, loss, and music set amongst...

‘Kneecap’, the name of the Irish hip hop group, and the music biopic about — and starring — the groundbreaking trio, opens today on 700+ screens, following up a U.S. tour last fall and leading into another one.

The hybrid documentary, which was a buzzy Sundance title when Sony Pictures Classics nabbed it, recently swept the Galway Film Fleadh and was named Ireland’s Oscar International Feature submission.

Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, it features group members — Naoise Ó Cairealláin “Móglaí Bap”; Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh “Mo Chara”; and JJ Ó Dochartaigh “Dj Provaí” as themselves, but it’s scripted, and actors, including Michael Fassbender, play their younger selves and family members. With Josie Walker, Fionnuala Flaherty, Jessica Reynolds, Adam Best and Simone Kirby.

The film follows Belfast schoolteacher JJ into the orbit of self-confessed “low-life scum” Naoise and Liam Og. When they come together as three, the needle drops on...

This post contains spoilers for "Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play."

"The Simpsons" has a wide-ranging cultural influence, but how many episodes of the long-running series can say they inspired an entire postmodern play? At least one: "Cape Feare," the classic season 5 outing in which Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) stalks Bart and forces the Simpsons family into witness protection.

Originally well-received, the episode has only grown in public estimation in the years since it aired, landing on many lists of the show's best episodes and earning an undeniable place in the hallowed halls of pop culture history. It's only fitting, then, that when playwright Anne Washburn decided to dream up a story about a post-apocalyptic world in which entertainment junkies clung to fragments of their favorite TV shows, putting them on as plays that would ultimately shape the mythology of the new world, "Cape Feare" took center stage. Washburn's thought-provoking postmodern play,...

Working class British dramas historically — and still — often fall into a box-ticking exercise of certain tropes and clichés. Musicals have certainly helped shift certain portrayals and representations, with stage adaptations of Billy Elliot, The Full Monty, Kinky Boots and, most recently, West End production Standing At The Sky’s Edge often elevating underrepresented perspectives and voices. While writer/director Janis Pugh’s North Wales-set jukebox musical Chuck Chuck Baby can, at times, fall into those tropes, it proves a welcome female-led addition to the canon.

Despite the oppressive nature, there’s a moving vulnerability juxtaposed with endearing humour at the heart of the central performances.

With a mix of gritty, melodramatic social realism, fairy tale and musical whimsy, Chuck Chuck Baby can, at times, be quite tonally jarring. But the heartfelt and moving performances from Louise Brealey and Annabel Scholey elevate the plucky proceedings, with a sweet and affecting sapphic...

Annabel Scholey and Louise Brealey in Chuck Chuck Baby. Janis Pugh: 'Bel came in and the chemistry between her and Lou was lovely' Photo: Studio Soho Distribution Janis Pugh’s Chuck Chuck Baby finally makes it to cinemas this week, almost a year after its world premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival. It’s generally upbeat nature makes it perfect for a summer release. It charts the story of Helen (Louise Brealey), whose life is at a low ebb. Her spoilt and unpleasant husband Gary (Celyn Jones) has moved his much younger girlfriend into their house, while still expecting his wife to look after his ailing mum Gwen (Sorcha Cusack). She takes refuge among the camaraderie at the chicken factory where she works and allows her emotions to flood out while listening to songs. Pugh mixes the sort of northern humour fans of Victoria Wood and Caroline Ahearn will...

Louise Brealey plays Helen, a chicken factory worker who gets a second chance at love, in Janis Pugh’s uplifting crowdpleaser

There is a terrific warmth and emotional generosity to this romantic comedy-drama from the Welsh film-maker Janis Pugh, and if the storytelling in the end hits some familiar C-major chords, it’s not before a lot of inventive entertainment with quasi-musical sequences showing people singing along to the radio or the stereo morphing into full-on fantasy. I can imagine this being a stage musical crowdpleaser with serious ker-ching potential, packing the audiences in like something by Tim Firth or Willy Russell.

Louise Brealey and Annabel Scholey give seductive lead performances. Brealey plays Helen, a gentle soul living in a small town on the Welsh border with Merseyside, working at a local chicken factory. Her personal life is a deeply unhappy mess: her bullying and emotionally damaged husband has brought...

"We could be so much more than what they think we are." Studio Soho has revealed an official trailer for a British indie comedy titled Chuck Chuck Baby, set for release in UK cinemas this July. The film originally premiered at both the 2023 Edinburgh and Toronto Film Festivals last year, though it still doesn't have a US release confirmed yet. Helen lives with her ex-husband, his 20-year-old girlfriend, their new baby - and his dying mother Gwen. Her life is stuck in a grind, and like all the other women she toils around with at the local chicken factory, is spent in service of the clock. Via TIFF: "The more serious themes of finding strength through community and the quest for female autonomy are intertwined with joyous, observant humour, and [a few] spontaneous musical numbers that the characters find themselves pulled into, capturing the blissful catharsis of art and the way it empowers us to be brave.

The BBC has released first-look images for Dead and Buried, an upcoming psychological drama series. The show is a joint commission by BBC Northern Ireland and Virgin Media Television in association with All3Media International. Starring Annabel Scholey and Colin Morgan, the four-part thriller explores the complex dynamics between Cathy (Scholey), a woman reeling from a […]

Dead and Buried: First Look Pics From New BBC Thriller Starring Colin Morgan & Annabel Scholey...

Studio Soho Distribution has announced the UK and Irish release date of the 19th of July for the British movie ‘Chuck Chuck Baby’ alongside its new poster.

Set in present-day industrial North Wales, Helen spends her nights packing chickens and her days caring for a dying mother-figure Gwen. Helen’s world takes an unexpected turn with the return of Joanne. Twenty years ago, they were the objects of the other’s unspoken teenage passions. One night, Helen encourages Joanne to start a playful wooing game that re-awakens their youthful feelings.

As they fall in love and lust, Helen’s zest for life returns but Joanne feels the walls closing in as she faces something much darker from her past. Helen’s world is shattered when Gwen dies and Joanne’s painful memories cause her to flee. Separated and alone, will both women reflect on their unfulfilled chance to break their...

The 2024 BAFTA TV Awards very much celebrated the best of British TV tonight as the majority of big-name stars and more recognizable shows fell away to British shows and stars. The likes of “Succession” and “The Last of Us” went home empty-handed at the Royal Festival Hall. “Top Boy,” “The Sixth Commandment,” and “Such Brave Girls” claimed the three big prizes at the ceremony hosted by comedians Romesh Ranganathan and Rob Beckett.

“Top Boy,” Netflix’s hit show about two London drug dealers dealing with gang violence in East London, won Best Drama Series over “The Gold,” “Happy Valley,” and Emmy hopeful “Slow Horses.” Producers Charles Steel and Alasdair Flind came backstage to discuss their victory, which came for the fifth and final season of the fan favorite.

“The talent in front of the camera and behind the camera feels like a family. A lot of them started on ‘Top Boy...

The Yellow Affair has sold Janis Pugh’s debut Chuck Chuck Baby to a slew of territories, including Dark Star Pictures in North America and Studio Soho for UK-Ireland.

The Edinburgh premiere, which also played at Toronto, has also sold to Scandinavia and Baltics (NonStop), Germany and Austria (Salzgeber), Spain (Yoda Films) and for airlines (Aardwolf).

LA-based Dark Star Pictures has a theatrical release planned for this summer.

Anne Beresford, Adam Partridge, Andrew Gillman and Peggy Cafferty produced the UK feature. The cast includes Louise Brealey, Annabel Scholey, Sorcha Cusack, Celyn Jones and Emily Fairn.

Chuck Chuck Baby takes place in the present day,...

Shōgun is one of the best beautiful and intense action drama series ever. Based on a 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell, the FX series is adapted for television by Rachel Kondo and Justin Marks. Set in the year 1600 in Japan, the historical series follows the story of Lord Yoshii Toranaga as enemies unite and come to take his life, but he sees an opportunity when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a village nearby. Shōgun has a brilliant ensemble cast including Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, Anna Sawai, Néstor Carbonell, and Fumi Nikaido. So, if you loved the beautiful imagery and ruthless action of Shōgun, then you should check out these shows next.

Medici: Masters of Florence (Netflix) Credit – Rai

Medici: Masters of Florence is not big on action but if you loved all the politics and scheming in Shōgun, then it might be right up your alley.

Saudi’s Joy Awards Honors Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Costner & More

The likes of Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Costner and Mark Wahlberg were honored at Saudi Arabia’s Joy Awards 2024 on Saturday. Jean Reno, Eva Longoria, Salman Khan, Martin Lawrence, Quincy Jones, Alia Bhatt, Georgina Rodriguez, Anthony Anderson, Sam Worthington and Paul Anderson were also either celebrated or in attendance in Riyadh, along with the likes directors Zach Schneider and Doug Liman, and global sports stars Tyson Fury, John Cena and Francis Ngannou. The awards are part of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 program and recognize major names in music, cinema, television, sports, and more from the Arab world. Hopkins, Costner and Jones were among several recipients of Lifetime Achievement honors, while industry awards went to Bollywood star Bhatt, Schneider and Bad Boys actor Martin Lawrence among others. Mbc Group, the Middle East’s largest broadcast and media firm, co-hosts the awards, which...

Hot Hosts Head For Hota

Australian actor Rebel Wilson has been named as the emcee of the 2024 edition of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) awards. Wilson will take to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Two days earlier, on Feb. 8, singer and actor Harry Connick Jr. will be the host of the Aacta Industry Awards. Both hosts will be joined by some of the industry’s most dynamic stars presenting at the ceremonies. And both ceremonies, presented by Foxtel Group, will be held at the Home of the Arts (Hota) on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

Shorts To Features

Writer-director-actor Alice Englert, producer Jodi Matterson, director David Michôd, and producer Jamie Hilton, will be among the speakers at Flickerlab 2024 on Thursday. Pitched as a one-day journey from shorts to features, the Bondi, New South Wales-located event is backed by the Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs...

Annabel Scholey & Angela Griffin are interviewed for The Serial Killer’s Wife. Annabel Scholey leads as Beth, along with Jack Farthing, Luke Treadaway, Angela Griffin, Julie Graham, Shobna Gulati, Hari Dhillon, Morgana Robinson.

The series will be released on Paramount+ on the 15th of December, 2023. Linda Marric asks the questions.

The Serial Killer’s Wife Cast Interviews

Plot:

The Serial Killer’s Wife is set in a picturesque English village, and begins with Beth Fairchild (Annabel Scholey) preparing a surprise birthday party for her husband Tom (Jack Farthing), who is the much-loved local Gp. However, the celebrations come to an abrupt end when the police arrive and, in front of most of the village, arrest Tom for the murder of his former assistant. Outraged, Beth is convinced of her husband’s innocence but she soon makes some shocking discoveries that make her question her judgment. As she confides in Tom’s best friend,...

As the calendar turns to October, BritBox is adding even more Brit hits to its platform. It’s a big month at the British entertainment streamer for fans of Olivia Colman, with the Oscar winner starring in two of the soon-to-be-available titles: the Emmy-winning serial “The Night Manager” led by Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie and “Flowers,” the Channel 4 black dramedy.

Also coming to the platform are multiple North American premieres, the debut of the new BritBox series “Payback,” and more.

Check out The Streamable’s top picks for what is coming to the platform this month (and what’s already here)!

7-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month BritBox.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to BritBox in October 2023? “The Sixth Commandment” | Wednesday, Oct. 4

Timothy Spall and Anne Reid star as Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin in the British true-crime drama that explores their deaths and subsequent events,...

Britbox's thrilling line-up of content from across the Atlantic.

The streaming service will debut The Sixth Commandment on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.

TV Fanatic scored an exclusive first look at the premiere.

The Sixth Commandment tells the story of an inspirational teacher, Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall), and a charismatic young student, Ben Field, who meet and bond over their love of books and involvement with the Church of England.

However, their friendship soon takes a deadly turn that comes to light after Ben turns his attention to Peter's deeply religious neighbor, Ann Moore-Martin.

The result is a series of stunning revelations, culminating in a high-profile trial.

This series, written by Sarah Phelps and directed by Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings), is inspired by the critically acclaimed and BAFTA-nominated documentary Catching A Killer: A Diary From The Grave.

The cast also includes Annabel Scholey, Sheila Hancock, and Ben Bailey Smith. 

The cast...

Exclusive: BritBox International is stacking the shelves with more high-profile UK drama series.

The streamer has acquired North American rights to The Sixth Commandment and U.S. rights to This England. Both series, which are based on real events, have made significant noise in the UK and their acquisition follow on from BritBox’s July captures of cop series Granite Harbour and psychological drama The Ex-Wife.

The Sixth Commandment will play as a BritBox Original. The series, written by Sarah Phelps and directed by Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings), is inspired by the BAFTA-nominated documentary Catching A Killer: A Diary From the Grave.

It follows one of the most complex criminal cases in recent British history and tells the story of inspirational teacher Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall), and charismatic young student Ben Field (Éanna Hardwicke), who meet and bond over their love of...

When attending a UK film festival, you inevitably run into films that display some very tired clichés about the British Working Class. As the latest word from director Janis Pugh, Chuck Chuck Baby deserves to put them all to shame as a film scripted entirely from tired tropes and ideas. As though she asked ChatGPT to write a queer romance after feeding it ten years’ worth of The Sun.

So, we have a film that bizarrely tries to mix musical theatre and social realism, telling the story of Helen (Louise Brealey) an utterly downtrodden factory worker, relegated to the status of handmaiden by her gammon-faced ex-husband Gary (Celyn Jones). Lodging in Gary’s spare room to care for his ailing mother Gwen (Sorcha Cusack), Helen’s been rendered all but invisible by the spectre of his new baby with a younger woman. Which is great for thematic resonance but terrible for building a compelling protagonist.

Helen (Louise Brealey) wakes in a bright, all-pink room, but the reality of her life is nothing like the whimsical room she's awoken in. She lives with her ex-husband Gary (Celyn Jones) and his girlfriend Amy (Emily Fairn in a hilarious performance evoking "Little Britain"). She's not moved out as she has a strong connection to Gary's mother Gwen (Sorcha Cusack), who she cares for when not working night shifts at the local chicken plant. Leaving is all too tempting -- in the opening scene, she takes a suitcase out from under her bed but doesn't go through with packing. Her friends at the plant, Lynn (Emily Aston), Clare (Cat Simmons), and Paula (Beverly Rudd) try and get her to open up, but she seems resigned to the predictable monotony of her life in a small Welsh town.

That all changes when Joanne (Annabel Scholey) re-appears in their quiet town after years away.

The importance of laughter during times of loss is often undervalued. With her feature directorial debut, Janis Pugh showcases the significance of friendship and humor when grief strikes. A musical rom-com drama, “Chuck Chuck Baby” underscores the power of female companionship through the ups and downs of life.

Premiering as part of the Edinburgh International Film Festival’s LGBTQ Stories section and also headed to Toronto Film Festival, “Chuck Chuck Baby” follows the life of Helen (Louise Brealey), a chicken factory worker in a small industrial town in northern Wales, whose life is mired in quotidian details, packaging chickens and caring for her ailing mother-figure Gwen. Helen’s life is turned upside down, however, with the unexpected arrival of her former high school love Joanne (Annabel Scholey), who inspires a renewed appreciation in Helen of her hometown, her life and herself. Yet, the couple’s reunion is quickly muddled. The...

A total of 24 feature films, including five world premieres, make up this year’s programme.

Edinburgh International Film Festival has unveiled a 24-title programme for 2023, featuring the world premiere of Janis Pugh’s feature debut Chuck Chuck Baby, and international titles spanning Europe, China, India and Japan.

There are five world premieres, plus five retrospective titles, five short films and an outdoor screening weekend of seven features.

Chuck Chuck Baby unfurls in a chicken factory in north Wales, and stars Louise Brealey, Annabel Scholey, Sorcha Cusack, Celyn Jones and Emily Fairn. It’s set in the present day, with a...

Christian Petzold’s Afire and Celine Song’s Past Lives are among the titles set to screen at this year’s scaled-down Edinburgh International Film Festival (Aug 18-23), which is being mounted as part of Edinburgh’s wider cultural Festival.

The full programme announced includes 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, and a five pic short film programme. Five feature films will be presented as World Premieres, including the opening film Silent Roar. The festival closes with British Iranian filmmaker Babak Jalali’s well-received Sundance pic Fremont.

The festival also today announced its new venue partners. Vue Edinburgh Omni and Everyman Edinburgh at the St James Quarter will host indoor festival screenings while the Old College Quad at the University of Edinburgh will be the site for a weekend of outdoor screenings titled Cinema Under the Stars.

Edinburgh had previously been based out of the Edinburgh Filmhouse cinema, which was sold...

“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “Choose Irvine Welsh” are among the world premieres at the 2023 Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff), the full program for which was unveiled on Thursday.

As previously announced, “Silent Roar” and “Fremont” will bookend the festival, which includes 24 feature films, five retrospective titles, five short film programs and an outdoor screening weekend with seven features.

A hybrid adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic novella “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Hope Dickson Leach’s film transposes the action from London to Victorian Edinburgh. Ian Jefferies’ “Choose Irvine Welsh” is a documentary about the renowned “Trainspotting” author and features his admirers including Iggy Pop, Martin Compston, Danny Boyle, Bobbie Gillespie, Gail Porter, Rowetta and Andrew Macdonald.

Other world premieres include debutant Janice Pugh’s Lgbtqia+ romance “Chuck Chuck Baby,” starring Louise Brealey (“Sherlock”) and Annabel Scholey (“The Split...

Paramount+ is making a UK TV drama about a woman whose butter-wouldn’t-melt husband is arrested for the murder of his former assistant, while the streamer has entered production on French series …

The Serial Killer’s Wife will star Annabel Scholey, Jack Farthing and Luke Treadaway. Set in an idyllic English town, Beth Fairchild has prepared a surprise birthday party for her husband Tom (Farthing: Rain Dogs). With most of the village present as Tom is the beloved local doctor, Beth’s world is turned upside down when the party is interrupted by the police and Tom is arrested for murder. Beth believes her husband has been wrongly accused but she soon makes some shocking discoveries that cast doubt on his innocence, and she confides her worries in Adam, (Treadaway), Luke’s best friend from childhood.

Produced by Clapperboard Studios and BlackBox Multimedia, The Serial Killer’s Wife...

Streamer Disney+ has revealed a power packed British cast who will join the previously announced David Tennant, Alex Hassell, Aidan Turner and Danny Dyer on the series adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s steamy novel “Rivals.”

Joining the eight-part saga are Annabel Scholey (“The Split”), Maggie Steed (“Ten Percent”), David Calder (“Motherland”), Antony Byrne (‘”The Witcher”), Denise Black (“Queer as Folk”), Bryony Hannah (“Call The Midwife”), Olivia Poulet (“Back”) and Brendan Patricks (“Downton Abbey”).

“Rivals” is part of Cooper’s bestselling “Rutshire Chronicles,” set in affluent 1980s England where two powerful men and neigbors – Olympian turned politician Rupert Campbell-Black and television exec Tony Baddingham – have a longstanding rivalry that finally comes to a head.

Scholey plays Beattie Johnson, a ruthless Fleet Street journalist who will do anything for a story. Steed plays Lady Gosling, the steely no-nonsense chair of Independent Broadcasters Association. Calder plays Lady Gosling’s dogmatic right-hand man, Fergus Penney,...

Sales company also takes on Janis Pugh’s Great 8 selection ‘Chuck Chuck Baby.’

The Yellow Affair has boarded international sales for Mark Leonard Winter’s feature directorial debut The Rooster starring Hugo Weaving (The Lord Of The Rings) and Phoenix Raei (The Night Agent).

When the body of his oldest friend is found buried in a shallow grave, a small-town cop, forms a strange relationship with a volatile hermit who may have been the last person to see his friend alive.

Winter is an acclaimed actor who previously appeared in The Dressmaker, Elvis and Top of the Lake: China Girl.

The buyers’ event is organised by the BFI and British Council.

Janis Pugh’s Chuck Chuck Baby, Amrou Al-Kadhi’s Layla and Daniel Kokotajlo’s sophomore feature, Starve Acre, are among the eight features selected for Great8, the annual Cannes buyers’ showcase of UK films from emerging directors organised by the British Film Institute (BFI) and British Council.

The showcase, now in its sixth year, presents UK feature films from first and second-time filmmakers to international distributors and festival programmers. It is funded and run by the BFI and British Council, in partnership with BBC Film and Film4.

In preparation for the Marché,...

The BFI and British Council have unveiled the eight new British films that will be presented to international distributors and festival programmers at the Cannes film market as part of the annual Great8 showcase.

Unseen footage from the films, from first and second time U.K. filmmakers, will be introduced by their filmmakers and screened on May 11. Now in its sixth year, the initiative is in partnership with BBC Film and Film4. Films previously highlighted by Great8 include Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun,” Rungano Nyoni’s “I Am Not A Witch,” Georgia Oakley’s “Blue Jean” and Rose Glass’ “Saint Maud.”

Agnieszka Moody, BFI head of international and industry policy, said: “The lineup of films and filmmakers featuring in this year’s Great8 continues to shine a light on the exciting diversity of filmmaker voices and stories continuing to come out of the U.K. We are proud alongside our partners at the British Council,...

Network: SundanceTV.

Episodes: 18 (hour).

Seasons: Three.

TV show dates: May 23, 2018 — July 21, 2022.

Series status: Ending.

Performers include: Nicola Walker, Annabel Scholey, Deborah Findlay, Anthony Head, Rudi Dharmalingam, Stephen Mangan, Meera Syal, Fiona Button, Barry Atsma, Stephen Tompkinson, Mathew Baynton, Tanya Franks, Chanel Cresswell, Tamara Lawrance. and Claire Rushbrook.

TV show description:

From creator and writer Abi Morgan, The Split TV show unfolds in London. The drama follows Ruth Defoe (Findlay) and her three daughters. The Defoe women are at the center of the city's divorce circuit. When top attorney Hannah (Walker) leaves Defoes for rival firm Noble & Hale, she'll have to start facing off against her own family.

The Defoes specialize in...

Veteran British actor Timothy Spall (Mr Turner) is to lead The Sixth Commandment, Sarah Phelps’ BBC factual drama about the deaths of Peter Farquhar and Ann Moore-Martin in the village of Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire, and the extraordinary events that unfolded over the following years.

Filming has begun on the four-parter and Spall, who plays lead Farquhar, is joined by Anne Reid (Last Tango in Halifax), Éanna Hardwicke (Normal People), Annabel Scholey (The Split), Sheila Hancock (Unforgotten), Ben Bailey Smith (The Split), Conor MacNeill (Industry), Adrian Rawlins (Baptiste) and Amanda Root (Summerland).

The show from Banijay-backed Wild Mercury Productions and True Vision Productions tells the story of how the meeting of an inspirational teacher and charismatic student Ben Field (Hardwicke) set the stage for one of the most complex and confounding criminal cases in recent memory. It also focuses on how suspicions around Field’s relationship with Ann Moore-Martin (Reid), Farquhar’s deeply religious neighbor,...

To celebrate the release of The Split, we spoke with the stars of the critically acclaimed BBC drama.

Created by Abi Morgan, The Split revolves around the tentative lives of a family of divorce lawyers. Now in Season 3, Hannah Stern, an accomplished lawyer for Noble & Hale, is balancing her working life alongside going through her own tumultuous divorce with her partner Nathan.

Playing Hannah’s younger sisters Rose and Nina, we spoke with Fiona Button and Annabel Scholey about the family dynamics on and off the screen as well as balancing both parenthood, infertility, and alcoholism.

We also spoke with the brilliant Stephen Mangan about saying goodbye to Nathan and how this new season will test his beloved character.

Actress Lara Pulver joins The Split as a child psychologist who shakes-up the life of the Sterns as they head into a messy divorce. Pulver spoke with us about being the...

Louise Brealey and Annabel Scholey star.

Filming has started in north Wales on UK writer-director Janis Pugh’s debut feature Chuck Chuck Baby, a musical drama set in a chicken factory in industrial north Wales.

The cast is headed up by Louise Brealey and Annabel Scholey, with Sorcha Cusack, Celyn Jones and Emily Fairn also starring.

Anne Beresford and Andrew Gillman are producing through their label Artemisia Films, alongside Adam Partridge of Delta Pictures and Peggy Cafferty of Play House Studios.

It is funded by the BFI, with Lizzie Francke executive producing, and Ffilm Cymru Wales, both awarding National Lottery funding,...

The BBC and Sister have debuted the trailer for the third season of ‘The Split’ which will launch on BBC One on 4th April 2022 at 9Pm.

Returning for its third and final series, Hannah Stern makes the risky decision to leave her family firm for a competitor in a steamy legal drama about divorce – in and out of the courtroom.

Set in the fast-paced, complex world of London’s high-end divorce circuit, the series is an authentic, multi-layered, witty examination of modern marriage and the legacy of divorce. Following the messy lives of the three Defoe sisters, Hannah (Nicola Walker), Nina (Annabel Scholey) and Rose (Fiona Button) and their formidable mother Ruth (Deborah Findlay), Abi Morgan is set to conclude the trilogy with the most dramatic and heartbreaking series to date as we watch a divorce lawyer confronted by her very own divorce.

Adding fuel to the fire, the catalyst...

Format

Popular game show format “Fear Factor” is returning for a new season to Belgium’s Sbs-owned commercial TV channel Play4, Banijay Belgium, a Banijay Benelux label has revealed. Belgian comedian Alex Agnew is the host of the show where duos face a series of terrifying challenges to win a cash prize, including tightrope walking between skyscrapers or being submerged underwater in a cage. Originally created by EndemolShine Netherlands, “Fear Factor” has had numerous series in India and the U.S. Following its success, EndemolShine Netherlands created a spin-off for younger viewers, “Cool Factor,” which was popular in Belgium airing for six seasons on Nickelodeon.

Isabelle Dams, CEO of Banijay Belgium said: “Guts, adventure, and excitement are in the very DNA of ‘Fear Factor’ and we have developed challenges which will amaze contestants and viewers in Belgium. Alex Agnew is bold, loud, and ultra-cool, making him the perfect host for the show.