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BritBox has just dropped the trailer and other details for its new limited series Agatha Christie’s Towards Zero. The show will premiere as a three-day event starting on April 16, with new episodes airing on April 17 and April 18.

The series stars Anjelica Huston and Matthew Rhys, with a strong supporting cast that includes Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ella Lily Hyland, Mimi Keene, Anjana Vasan, and Clarke Peters.

Related: Agatha Christie’s ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’ Coming to Netflix with Mia-McKenna Bruce, Martin Freeman, and Helena Bonham Carter

Set in 1936, the story takes place at Gull’s Point, a coastal estate owned by a family matriarch, Lady Tressilian (Huston). Tensions run high when tennis star Nevile Strange (Jackson-Cohen) and his ex-wife Audrey (Hyland) decide to spend the summer together at the estate, even though Nevile’s new wife, Kay (Keene), is also present.

As the summer unfolds, things get complicated with a group...

Production-distribution powerhouse Constantin Film has unveiled the cast for its crime-drama series “Smilla’s Sense of Snow,” and the first-look images from the show.

The series stars Filippa Coster-Waldau, Elyas M’Barek and Henry Lloyd-Hughes. Other cast members include Morten Suurballe, Amanda Collin, Set Sjöstrand and Alexandre Willaume.

Elyas M’Barek plays Rahid in “Smilla’s Sense of Snow.”

The series is directed by BAFTA winner Amma Asante. Adapted from Peter Hoeg’s bestselling novel, the show was written by Asante together with Tanja Bubbel, Clive Bradley, Tina Hastings, Rebecca Martin, Julie Nørgaard Jensen, Keith Hodder, Sonya Desai and Pipaluk K. Jørgensen. The book was previously adapted in 1997 as a feature film, directed by Bille August and starring Julia Ormond.

The series is set in 2040 in Copenhagen. Smilla Jaspersen lives in a surveillance state under threat from an impending energy crisis. She is alone and leads a withdrawn life until she meets a...

Prime Video today released the first photos from the new UK Original series Malice, which stars David Duchovny (The X-Files), Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones), and Jack Whitehall (Jungle Cruise). The James Wood (Rev) series recently wrapped after shooting in London and Greece and will launch next year in 240 countries and territories on Prime Video.

Jack Whitehall plays Adam Healey, a charming ‘manny’ who infiltrates the brash, wealthy Tanner family in order to destroy them.

Set in London and Greece, this psychological thriller is full of dark family secrets, manipulation, and betrayal, and it asks the question, why does Adam despise Jamie Tanner so much?

David Duchovny plays Jamie Tanner, Carice van Houten plays Nat Tanner, Jamie’s wife, and Harry Gilby (Tolkien), Teddie Allen (Swallows and Amazons), and Phoenix Laroche (Trying) play their three children.

Further cast includes Christine Adams (Hijack) as Nat’s best friend, Jules, Raza Jaffrey (Homeland) as Jules’ husband,...

There are few mystery authors whose work has been as influential as Agatha Christie. With classic sleuth stories like And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express, Christie succeeded in creating memorable enigmas that challenged her readers to pay close attention so that they could solve the cases before the characters could. Given the descriptive prose, exciting plot twists, and memorable characters that are recurring within much of Christie’s work, it’s unsurprising that her novels have been frequently adapted into television shows. While Christie’s knack for creating clever detective stories was unparalleled, the underrated British miniseries The Pale Horse succeeded by drawing in supernatural elements.

Exclusive: The BBC is keeping its Agatha Christie tradition alive by setting Towards Zero as its next adaptation of the great author’s work.

Following on from 2023’s limited series Murder Is Easy, the BBC has commissioned Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited to reimagine the writer’s 1944 novel.

Towards Zero unfolds around the murder of an elderly widow at a clifftop seaside house, linking a failed suicide attempt, a schoolgirl wrongfully accused of theft, and the romantic life of a famous tennis player.

The book will be adapted by Rachel Bennette, the writer behind BAFTA-nominated Zadie Smith adaptation Nw. She has also written on World on Fire and Ripper Street.

Towards Zero will go into production over the summer. The series is co-produced by BritBox International, while Fifth Season will handle international distribution.

Executive producers are James Prichard for Agatha Christie Limited; Damien Timmer and Sheena Bucktowonsing for Mammoth Screen; Rachel Bennette,...

Netflix’s The Gentlemen series doesn’t feature the same ensemble cast as Guy Ritchie’s 2020 film of the same name. However, Ritchie says his new series is set in the same sort of world as the film, and that’s confirmed in the show’s first official teaser trailer.

The R-rated feature film starred Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Colin Farrell, and Michelle Dockery. The ensemble of the 2024 series that it inspired is led by Theo James (The White Lotus 2) and includes Ray Winstone (The Departed) and Kaya Scodelario (The Pale Horse). Daniel Ings (I Hate Suzie), Joely Richardson (Lady Chatterley’s Lover), Vinnie Jones, Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul), and Chanel Cresswell (This is England) also star.

The cast also includes Michael Vu, Max Beesley (Hijack), Jasmine Blackborow (Marie Antoinette), Harry Goodwins (In His Hands: The Emergence), Dar Salim (The Covenant), Pearce Quigley (Detectorists), Ruby Sear, and Peter Serafinowicz (The...

The BBC’s latest Agatha Christie adaptation concluded last night ahead of ITV’s Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? from over the Easter Weekend.

Agatha Christie’s Murder is Easy, starring Industry’s David Jonsson as an amateur sleuth working with Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark, was watched by 2.8M viewers last night, losing 800,000 from Wednesday’s opener. Both episodes launched on BBC iPlayer on Wednesday morning so had been available for some time prior to linear launch.

One of the flagship shows of the BBC Christmas schedule, Murder is Easy was the sixth Christie adaptation over the past decade after a landmark deal with Agatha Christie Productions Limited, and the first not to be penned by Sarah Phelps, with Siân Ejiwunmi-Le Berre taking on writing duties.

Produced by Mammoth Screen, Murder is Easy followed Luke Fitzwilliam (Jonsson), a Nigerian attaché on his way to Whitehall when he meets...

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...

Murder on the Orient Express marked the beginning of the new Agatha Christie cinematic universe. Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in Murder on the Orient Express and its sequels, Death on the Nile, and A Haunting in Venice. Branagh portrays the iconic Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. These films feature an ensemble cast as well, who bring to life the characters in Christie's novels. A Haunting in Venice also introduces a recurring character in several of Agatha Christie's novels, Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, portrayed by Tina Fey. And while Mrs. Oliver is a beloved character and a friend of Hercule Poirot, there's another important character Kenneth Branagh should bring to the screen next.

Hercule Poirot has several assistants that help him investigate. However, only a handful of them are recurring characters that function as Poirot's sidekicks. Mrs. Oliver is one of them, a crime writer inspired by Christie herself. She...

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...

The BBC has unveiled a two-part adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Murder Is Easy, produced by ITV Studios’ Mammoth Screen (The Serpent, World on Fire) and Agatha Christie Ltd. (And Then There Were None, Death on the Nile) for the BBC One network and the BBC’s video-on-demand service iPlayer in a co-commission with streamer BritBox International.

The thriller, which will get two hour-long episodes, will film this summer and be adapted by screenwriter Sian Ejiwunmi-Le Berre and directed by Meenu Gaur (Zinda Bhaag, World on Fire). Casting details will be announced later.

The story is set in 1954. “On a train to London, a man going by the name of Luke Fitzwilliam meets Miss Pinkerton, who tells him that a killer is on the loose in the sleepy English village of Wychwood under Ashe,” according to a plot description. “The villagers believe the deaths are mere accidents, but Miss Pinkerton...

Exclusive: Eva De Dominici (The Cleaning Lady) and Rufus Sewell (Old) are among the newest additions to Nadia Conners’ first narrative feature The Uninvited, for Foton.Pictures and Rosebud Pictures, which is currently shooting in Los Angeles.

The actors join an ensemble that also includes Elizabeth Reaser, Walton Goggins, Lois Smith and Pedro Pascal, as previously announced.

Related Story Ed Helms Joins Jennifer Garner In ‘Family Leave’; McG To Direct & Produce Netflix Body-Swap Comedy Related Story Elizabeth Reaser, Walton Goggins, Lois Smith & Pedro Pascal Set For Nadia Conners' First Narrative Feature 'The Uninvited' Related Story 'The Cleaning Lady': Eva De Dominici Upped To Series Regular For Season 2 Of Fox Series

In the film written and directed by Conners, a stranger interrupts a party, provoking a comedy of errors, deep reckonings, and a reordering of life. Kate Comer (King Knight), Michael Panes (The Man in the Woods), Annie Korzen (Taming...

Exclusive: Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) has signed on to star alongside Liam Neeson and Stranger Things‘ Joe Keery in the sci-fi actioner Cold Storage, based on the novel by David Koepp, which Jonny Campbell is directing for Studiocanal.

The synopsis for Cold Storage is as follows: Several decades ago, a highly infectious, constantly mutating micro-organism — capable of extinction-level destruction — was contained in a military facility. In the present day, the military has sealed the facility’s lowest sublevel, selling the remaining space to a self-storage company. As temperatures rise underground, the micro-organism finds a way to escape — and if left to spread, it will soon uncontrollably multiply around the world. The fate of humanity now rests on a retired bioterror operative and two unlikely heroes employed in the facility, who are caught in a race against time to destroy the organism and save mankind.

But nine-time Emmy nominee Gavin Polone is producing, with Studiocanal fully financing, having launched worldwide sales at the 2022 Cannes Market. Those overseeing the project for Studiocanal include Chief Creative Officer of U.S. Operations Shana Eddy Grouf, EVP Global Production Ron Halpern, and VP International Production & Development, Aaron Ensweiler.

Campbell is coming off of a breakout performance alongside Bill Skarsgård and Justin Long in Zach Cregger’s critically acclaimed horror-thriller Barbarian, which grossed over 42M upon its release via 20th Century Studios in September. The actress first burst onto the scene with her BAFTA-winning performance in the BBC Three drama, Murdered by My Boyfriend, and has more recently appeared in series including Apple TV+’s Suspicion, as well as Prime Video’s The Pale Horse, HBO’s His Dark Materials, Syfy’s Krypton, BBC America’s Broadchurch and others.

Other past film credits for the actress include the horror-comedy All My Friends Hate Me, the thriller Wildcat and the Charlie Hunnam-led action adventure pic King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, from director Guy Ritchie. Further upcoming projects for the thesp include Teresa Sutherland’s psychological horror Lovely, Dark and Deep, as well as A Ciegas, the international spin-off to Netflix’s sci-fi horror pic Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock, which was taken in by a worldwide audience of 45M+ in its first seven days on the platform.

Campbell is represented by UTA, the UK’s Independent Talent Group and Range Media Partners.

Sheila Atim is happy to play the fool. More than happy, in fact – it may just be her dream role. As a litmus test, I had asked the two-time Olivier Award-winning actor which of Shakespeare’s myriad roles she would most want to tackle – sort of a culture snob’s equivalent of an astrology chart or Myers-Briggs alignment. I expect one of the biggies – perhaps Prospero, Hamlet or Lady Macbeth. But no, it’s the wise, eccentric figures advising from the margins of plays such as King Lear or Twelfth Night. “They see everything, usually more clearly than anybody else does,” Atim says. “But they’re disregarded because they’re just a fool.”

We’re meeting in a London hotel, days before the release of her new film, The Woman King. Standing at nearly six feet tall, with sapphire-blue hair and a chic grey pantsuit, the Ugandan-born British actor radiates style and confidence.

Exclusive: Sheila Atim MBE (The Woman King) has signed with UTA for representation in all areas.

Atim is a two-time Olivier Award winner who stars alongside Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch and John Boyega in Sony’s historical epic The Woman King, which world premiered to critical acclaim at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival and opens in the U.S. today.

The actress plays Signora Vitelli in Robert Zemeckis’ Pinocchio for Disney+ and will next appear in the drama All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, which is a co-production between A24 and Barry Jenkins’ filmmaking collective, Pastel. Atim previously collaborated with Jenkins as Mabel in his Golden Globe-winning limited series The Underground Railroad for Prime Video, which earned her an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Movie, Limited Series or Dramatic Special.

The actress also starred alongside Academy Award winner Halle Berry in her feature directorial debut,...

More of P.D. James’ murder mysteries will be turned into TV dramas after AMC Networks’ Acorn TV and Paramount Global-owned broadcaster Channel 5 handed drama series Dalgliesh a two-season renewal.

Des producer New Pictures will return to film the seasons, the first of which goes into production this year ahead of a 2023 debut.

Acorn Media Enterprises has the rights in North America, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, with Channel 5 taking the UK, with Northern Ireland Screen providing additional funding.. All3Media International serves as distributor for the rest of the world.

Season two will comprise six episodes adapted from three P.D. James novels, with each being told over two hour-long episodes. Bertie Carvel will reprise the role of the enigmatic Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh.

The novels being adapted for season two are Death Of An Expert Witness, A...

“The Killing Fields” and “The Mission” director Roland Joffé is in talks to helm an epic drama spanning the two World Wars in a project set up with international film and media fund Apx Capital Group.

“L’Inverno” is the first pic to emerge from Apx’s new Music World Films & TV venture — a new division headed by Mathew Knowles (Beyoncé’s father), who sold his Music World Entertainment Group to Apx last month. As part of the deal, the film and TV division of Knowles’ company has been merged with the studio.

Apx will complete the financing on “L’Inverno,” with the 12-million budgeted movie starting principal photography in Rome, Italy, this fall. (Apx has a 10-year commitment to move productions to Italy.)

Spanning two World Wars, “L’Inverno” tells the story of former childhood friends SS Officer Nikolaus Führich and Jewish violinist Elisabeth Soloveichik, expressed through the eyes of Elizabeth’s brother,...

Prime Video shared the premiere date and official trailer for the historical British drama A Very British Scandal. Written by Sarah Phelps, A Very British Scandal focuses on the divorce of the Duke (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy), one of the most notorious, extraordinary, and brutal legal cases of the 20th […]

The post Amazon Prime Video Releases Trailer For British Drama ‘A Very British Scandal’ Starring Paul Bettany & Claire Foy appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.

The first trailer for Prime Video‘s historical drama A Very British Scandal has arrived and it’s… quite scandalous. Written by Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse), A Very British Scandal features Paul Bettany and Claire Foy as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll and follows their notorious divorce which has been known as one of the most brutal and extraordinary legal cases of the 20th century. Sparking debates and theories, their divorce became a tabloid scandal for the ages. (Credit: Prime Video) Set to premiere Friday, April 22, the new trailer shines a light on Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, who was known for her beauty and charisma. When accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery, and a revealing Polaroid picture come into play though, Margaret and her divorce became front-page news amid the glare of 1960s media. The time period comes to life through decadent costumes and impeccable...

Paul Bettany and Claire Foy are sparring as the Duke and Duchess of Argyll in the first trailer for Prime Video’s “A Very British Scandal.”

The drama series, which hails from the creators of “A Very English Scandal,” follows the couple’s divorce in the 1960s, which proved to be one of the most notorious, extraordinary, and brutal legal cases of the 20th century.

Foy plays Margaret, the Duchess of Argyll, who was famed for her beauty and charisma before the Duke (Bettany) exposed her to the press with accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery, and an explicit Polaroid picture.

The trailer begins with a rather tense interaction between the two in which Bettany’s Duke greets his Duchess with “Hello, Satan.”

“You bastard,” she replies, before the video cuts to their first meeting, where they quickly become enamored of each other. It isn’t long...

BBC One and Amazon Studios have revealed the first trailer for upcoming series “A Very British Scandal,” featuring Claire Foy, two-time Emmy winner for Netflix’s “The Crown.”

Foy stars as Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, alongside Paul Bettany (“WandaVision”) as Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, and Julia Davis (“Nighty Night”) as Maureen, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava.

Written by Sarah Phelps (“The Pale Horse”), the series is from the makers of the award-winning “A Very English Scandal,” Blueprint Pictures. It focuses on the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, one of the most notorious legal cases of the 20th century. Famed for her charisma, beauty, and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as the divorce exposed accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, bribery, and an explicit Polaroid picture that was to haunt her for the rest of her life.

“A Very British Scandal...

BBC One and Amazon Studios have revealed several first look images from upcoming series “A Very British Scandal,” featuring Claire Foy, two-time Emmy winner for Netflix’s “The Crown.”

Foy stars as Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, alongside Paul Bettany (“WandaVision”) as Ian Campbell, 11th Duke of Argyll, and Julia Davis (“Nighty Night”) as Maureen, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava.

Written by Sarah Phelps (“The Pale Horse”), the series is from the makers of the award-winning “A Very English Scandal,” Blueprint Pictures. It focuses on the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, one of the most notorious legal cases of the 20th century. Famed for her charisma, beauty, and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as the divorce exposed accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, bribery, and an explicit Polaroid picture that was to haunt her for the rest of her life.

“A Very British Scandal...

Author Jackie Collins’ bestselling novel Lovers & Gamblers is to be reworked for TV by Sarah Phelps, the writer of a host of BBC Agatha Christie adaptations.

Lovers & Gamblers is also being exec produced by Phelps alongside The Bureau producer Federation UK’s Polly Williams and Arielle Gottlieb. eOne is onboard as co-producer.

The drama is adapted from the New York Times bestselling 1977 novel of the same name, which examines the harrowing void of greed and complex ideas around self determination, success, fame, independence and intimacy.

“Lovers & Gamblers is a searing scabrous masterpiece,” said Phelps, who has also adapted Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal by Innocence, The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse for BBC1 and Amazon as part of a seven-show deal.

“Jackie Collins was ahead of her time, her unflinching eye trained mercilessly on the filthy machinations of politics and...

Exclusive: Thomas Doherty is set to star in Screen Gems’ horror thriller The Bride, starring Nathalie Emmanuel. Doherty replaces Garrett Hedlund, who recently moved on from the project. Hugh Skinner, Sean Pertwee, and Courtney Taylor, Alana Boden, and Stephanie Corneliussen are also on board. Jessica M. Thompson will direct with Blair Butler penning the original script, based on her pitch, with revisions by Thompson. Emile Gladstone is producing the project.

The pic is a contemporary thriller that tells the story of young woman invited to a lavish destination wedding in England, only to realize her presence at the wedding has sinister motivations.

Doherty currently stars in the reboot of Gossip Girl for HBOMax, which premiered July 8 as HBO Max’s most-watched original series over launch weekend. It has been renewed for a second season. He was last seen in Hulu’s High Fidelity opposite Zoe Kravitz. His break came when...

BBC drama is actively looking for shows from underrepresented groups, including Asian creatives and writers with disabilities, the broadcaster’s director of drama Piers Wenger said on Wednesday.

Wenger also teased a major creative partnership with Netflix, which will involve people with disabilities that will be revealed on Thursday.

“I’m particularly looking at the moment for stories from Asian, Southeast Asian writers. I think they’re really underrepresented, and obviously, disabled writers,” Wenger said.

Wenger was speaking at an Edinburgh TV Festival session on Wednesday.

“The sweet spot for us is always an idea that feels slightly out of the box, but that has the potential to hit with a mainstream audience,” Wenger said. “Those ideas that feel like they just sit on the edge of the mainstream, but if they’re made with love and conviction, we can bring a big audience to a story they might otherwise have missed,...

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors.

The Filmmakers Podcast #234: From Indie Film to TV Producing for HBO with...

AMC Networks has set fall premiere dates for new and returning series across its AMC, AMC+, Acorn TV, AllBlk, BBC America, Shudder, Sundance Now, SundanceTV and WeTV. Newly revealed dates include the new seasons of Doctor Who, Creepshow and new series such as Ragdoll, Kin and Ultra City Smiths.

AMC announced dates at Comic-Con last month its spinoff series Fear the Walking Dead (Season 7) and The Walking Dead: World Beyond (final Season 2).

Here are the AMC Networks premiere dates announced this morning (all times Et/Pt):

Acorn TV

My Life is Murder, Season 2

Monday, August 30

Starring award-winning actress Lucy Lawless, this fun, charming series returns for an eagerly-anticipated second season with all-new riveting mysteries, now set in beautiful Auckland, New Zealand (season one was based in Melbourne). My Life Is Murder brings retired detective Alexa Crowe (Lawless) back to her Kiwi roots, where she’s...

Dangerous Liaisons will be had between Aussie actress Alice Englert (Ratched, Top of the Lake) and Nicholas Denton (Glitch, Utopia), as the stars of Starz‘s upcoming prequel series.

Created/written by Harriet Warner (Tell Me Your Secrets, Call the Midwife) and described as a “bold reimagining” of the characters from the classic 18th century novel, the Starz series will tell the origin story of how the Marquise de Merteuil (played by Englert) and the Vicomte de Valmont (Denton) meet as passionate young lovers in Paris on the eve of revolution. “Driven to right the wrongs of their past, we...

Alice Englert (“Beautiful Creatures,” “Ratched”) and Nicholas Denton (“Glitch,” “Pillars”) will star as Merteuil and Valmont in Starz’s “Dangerous Liaisons” TV series, the pay TV channel said Thursday, describing the show as “the story of a young woman who negotiates love, sex, class and power to navigate an oppressive, unjust establishment on the brink of collapse.”

Per Starz, “Dangerous Liaisons” is a bold reimagining of the iconic characters from Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ classic 18th century novel and tells the origin story of how the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont meet as passionate young lovers in Paris on the eve of revolution. Driven to right the wrongs of their past, we follow the couple as they rise from the slums of Paris and scale the heights of the French aristocracy, seducing and manipulating both the nobility and each other to survive.

Englert stars as Camille, a...

Henry Lloyd-Hughes and Thalissa Teixeira will star alongside Lucy Hale in the AMC-Alibi series “Ragdoll,” Variety has learned.

The six-episode show, which was ordered to series back in February, is set to begin production on April 19 in London. The series is based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Cole. Variety exclusively reported Hale’s casting in March.

Assigned to a shocking new case, nicknamed The Ragdoll, are DS Rose (Lloyd-Hughes), Di Baxter (Teixeira) and DC Edmunds (Hale). The “Ragdoll Killer” taunts the police by sending them a list of his next victims, with Rose’s name at the very end. And with those victims to protect, our heroes soon come under intense public scrutiny.

“We’re thrilled to have Lucy, Thalissa and Henry on board as three ideal leads to bring Ragdoll to life,” said Dan McDermott, president of original programming for AMC Networks and co-head of AMC Studios.

Exclusive: Here’s a biggie: House and The Night Manager star Hugh Laurie has signed up to write, direct, and executive produce an adaptation of Agatha Christie novel Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? for BritBox in North America.

The three-part limited series represents the BBC Studios and ITV-owned streamer’s biggest U.S. commission to date, and the project will be housed at Mammoth Screen, the Christie specialist behind recent adaptations of And Then There Were None and The ABC Murders, starring John Malkovich.

Laurie has been enamored with Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? since he was a child and the book, first published in 1934, tells the story Bobby Jones and his socialite friend Lady Frances Derwent, who discover a dying man while hunting for a golf ball.

Jones and Derwent turn amateur sleuths as they seek to unravel the mystery of the man, who has the picture of...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Acorn TV greenlights “Queens of Mystery” season two; NATPE Budapest confirms in-person event in August; Lionsgate Play unveils “U-Special” — its second original series in India; ITV commissions relationship drama “You & Me”; Dave Johns joins the cast of “I’m Still Ethan”; Mexico’s Dopamine creates a new in-house entertainment team; Spanish courts proceed with a reckless homicide case against adult film star Nacho Vidal; Front Row nabs “The Present” and deals it to Netflix; and the New Voice Awards reveals its 2021 winners.

Renewal

AMC Networks-owned streaming platform Acorn TV has renewed its Primetime Emmy-nominated British crime series “Queens of Mystery” for a second season.

Created by Julian Unthank, who co-writes with Matthew Thomas (“Marcella”), season two sees the return of Julie Graham (“The Bletchley Circle”), Sarah Woodward (“The Pale Horse”) and Siobhan Redmond (“Unforgotten”), joined by newcomer Florence Hall (“The Princess Switch: Switched Again...

Exclusive: AMC Networks streamer Acorn TV has renewed its darkly comic British crime series Queens Of Mystery for a second season, with production already underway in Kent, south-east England.

Season 1 of Queens of Mystery followed a perennially single female detective and her three well-known crime writing aunts, who help her solve whodunit-style murders as well as set her up on blind dates. Acorn TV describes it as one of its most popular originals, though it did not disclose streaming figures.

Olivia Vinall played detective Matilda Stone in the first season, but will be replaced by Florence Hall in the second due to a scheduling conflict. Julie Graham (The Bletchley Circle), Sarah Woodward (The Pale Horse), and Siobhan Redmond (Unforgotten) return as Stone’s aunts.

The show will return for three feature-length stories, which will be broken up into six, 45-minute episodes. In episodes titled Sparring with Death,...

A Very English Scandal is returning for a second season at the BBC and Amazon with two of the biggest stars around.

Written by Sarah Phelps (The Pale Horse; Dublin Murders), A Very British Scandal focuses on the divorce of the Duke (Paul Bettany) and Duchess of Argyll (Claire Foy), one of the most notorious, extraordinary and brutal legal cases of the 20th century.

"Famed for her charisma, beauty and style, Margaret, Duchess of Argyll, dominated the front pages as a divorce featuring accusations of forgery, theft, violence, drug-taking, secret recording, bribery and an explicit polaroid picture - all played out in the white-hot glare of the 1960s media.," reads the character descirption.

A Very British Scandal turns this scandal inside out in order to explore the social and political climate of post-war Britain, looking at attitudes towards women, and asking whether institutional misogyny was widespread at the time.

As her contemporaries,...

The BBC and Amazon have signed up The Crown’s Claire Foy and WandaVision star Paul Bettany to headline the long-awaited second season of A Very English Scandal.

Deadline revealed last March that Sarah Phelps, the British scribe behind Agatha Christie adaptations including The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse, had signed up to write Season 2. The three-part second will be titled A Very British Scandal given its Scottish subject, and production is set to commence later this year.

A Very British Scandal will move on from the story of Jeremy Thorpe to become an anthology series, focusing on a new crisis that gripped the British establishment. The second season centers on a 1963 sex scandal involving Margaret Campbell, the Duchess of Argyll. During a messy divorce from her second husband, he seized images of Campbell performing a sex act on an unknown man and she became known as “The Dirty Duchess.

In today’s Global Bulletin, John Boyega’s UpperRoom sets animation deal with ViacomCBS’s Vis Kids; Germany’s Bavaria Film acquires Story House companies; and International Literary Properties appoints Hilary Strong as U.K./Europe CEO.

“Star Wars” and “Small Axe” actor John Boyega‘s UpperRoom Productions has set a deal to present three to five animation projects to ViacomCBS International Studios‘ Vis Kids for development into a long form series. The deal is one amongst several announced on Tuesday.

Other animation agreements from Vis Kids include a first-look deal with Fred Seibert‘s FredFilms (Nickelodeon’s “The Fairy OddParents”) for three projects; a female-led adventure comedy with Wildseed Studios; a Korea-originated fish out of water comedy by Jiwan Yoon; and a development deal with Argentine cartoonist and writer, Liniers, for an adaptation of an upcoming new book.

Among live action content, Vis Kids has optioned the rights for “¡Socorro!

Written by Luther creator Neil Cross, The Sister stars Russell Tovey and Bertie Carvel as acquaintances connected by a long-buried, dark secret. The four-part paranormal thriller based on Cross’ 2009 novel Burial, sees Nathan Redman (Tovey) and Bob Morrow (Carvel) tussle with their conscience when the past re-emerges and threatens to upend the lives they’ve built. Tovey and Carvel star alongside Amrita Acharia as Nathan’s partner Holly, and Nina Toussaint-White as Holly’s friend and a police officer investigating the disappearance of a young woman (Simone Ashley).

Leads Carvel and Tovey boast a long and healthy back-catalogue of stage and screen parts. See below for five of their most recognisable roles to date.

Bertie Carvel: Magician, Adulterer, Headmistress, Murdoch, Agatha Christie Jonathan Strange – Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Carvel was dream-casting for the role of mercurial magician Jonathan Strange in the 2015 BBC One adaptation of Susanna Clarke’s rich period-fantasy...

Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj is developing a film franchise based on the works of Agatha Christie. The series will feature an entirely new pair of lead investigators.

The first film, due to shoot in early 2021, will introduce a young heroine who is thrown into solving a murder, and teams up with an unlikely companion to solve the case. Details of which Christie novel is being adapted for the film have not been revealed yet. The cast is currently being finalized.

Future films will follow the duo as they continue to investigate multiple murder mysteries.

Bhardwaj is best known internationally for his acclaimed Shakespeare trilogy “Magbool,” (Macbeth) “Omkara” (Othello) and “Haider” (Hamlet).

Christie’s books have sold over two billion copies across the globe in English and translations. Agatha Christie Limited (Acl) manages the literary and media rights to Christie’s works.

“Agatha Christie had a tremendous skill of defining emotional chaos,...

A group of criminals get more than they bargained for when they choose the wrong house to rob in the new home invasion movie The Owners (starring Maisie Williams), and following its theatrical, VOD, and Digital release in September, Rlje Films will bring The Owners to Blu-ray and DVD on October 20th, just in time for Halloween.

From the Press Release: Los Angeles – Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, will release the thriller The Owners on October 20, 2020 on DVD and Blu-ray.

The Owners stars Maisie Williams (“Game of Thrones,” The New Mutants), Sylvester McCoy , Jake Curran (“Spotless”, Stardust), Ian Kenny (Solo: A Star Wars Story, Sing Street), Andrew Ellis (Teen Spirit, "This Is England"),and RitaTushingham ("The Pale Horse," Vera). The film is directed by Julius Berg (“TheForest,” “Mata Hari”) who co-wrote the film with Matthieu Gompel (The Dream Kids). Rlje Films will release The Owners on DVD...

‘Everything is the story,’ says screenwriter Sarah Phelps. That’s why the stage directions in her scripts are so finely detailed. ‘The story isn’t just what comes out of people’s mouths, the story is what’s in the room.’

‘How high are the ceilings? Are the windows large or small? What does the air smell of? Is it cold? Is everything always slightly damp? Is there enough food on the table? Is there a fly buzzing somewhere? What can you see out of the window? Can you hear traffic? Can you hear your next-door neighbours? Is there a dog that barks incessantly?’

Without that detail, Phelps tells Den of Geek, she’d just be putting dialogue into a vacuum. Mood, weather, smell, hair, costume… it all forms the fabric of a script. But there’s more. All five of her BBC One Agatha Christie dramas are also connected through symbolic details.

‘You ordinary bitch!’ snarls Sarah Phelps, ‘put your cheap knickers on and get out of my house!’ The interview hasn’t taken a strange turn; she’s laughing down the phone, quoting along with memorable lines from her BBC One Agatha Christie adaptations.

‘Oh, it brings me so much joy. It’s like The Witness for the Prosecution’s Romaine screaming in court ‘You fucking men! You fucking men!’ and then hissing at Mayhew like a cat!’ One of Phelps’ friends downloaded Andrea Riseborough’s hiss in that scene to use as her text message alert. ‘I get such a thrill out of it.’

Phelps’ screenwriting is built on thrill. There’s the all-out thrill of the story she’s telling plus the tiny power-jolts of thrill she injects into dialogue. It’s for us, but also, for her. ‘I’m the audience, me.’ If she’s laughing or crying while writing,...

Jodie Whittaker, David Attenborough, Danny Dyer, footballer Sergio Aguero and professor Brian Cox are to help the BBC educate children during coronavirus pandemic.

With schools out during the Covid-19 crisis, the BBC has been stepping up its education tools to help parents homeschool their kids. Now, the corporation has enlisted a stellar cast of teaching staff.

More from Deadline'One World: Together At Home' Peaks With 6M Viewers In The UK As Little Mix & Tom Jones PerformWriter Sarah Phelps On Her Final Agatha Christie Adaptation 'The Pale Horse' & Why A Big-Money Overall Deal Would Be "Scary"BBC Studios CEO Tim Davie Emerging As Candidate To Beat In Race To Become BBC Director General

TV stars will collaborate with real teachers to host Bitesize Daily episodes, which will be made available to British children aged 5-14 on streamer iPlayer and offer 14 weeks of curriculum-based learning.

Whittaker will drop into daily...

Jeffrey Tambor spoke out today about his Transparent sexual harassment allegations during an appearance on Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal satellite radio show.

The actor told Gottfried and co-host Frank Santopadre that he “never, ever, ever, ever intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable — ever. It’s just not who I am.”

More from DeadlineAlec Baldwin Is Back Channeling Donald Trump On Howard Stern's Pared-Down SiriusXM ShowAmazon Studios Wins Rights To Turn QCode Sci-Fi Podcast 'The Left Right Game' Into TV Series With Tessa Thompson ProducingWriter Sarah Phelps On Her Final Agatha Christie Adaptation 'The Pale Horse' & Why A Big-Money Overall Deal Would Be "Scary"

Tambor was fired from the Amazon show in February 2018 at the height of the #MeToo movement. He was accused of verbal and physical abuse by co-star Trace Lysette, his former assistant Van Barnes, and makeup artist Tamara Delbridge.

On Wednesday, Tambor...

The Pale Horse is the culmination of a body of work that Sarah Phelps set out to achieve more than five years ago. The British writer has gone from never picking up an Agatha Christie book to completing a quintet of memorable adaptions based on some of the iconic author’s most famous works.

Phelps’ journey began with And Then There Were None in 2015 and continued with The Witness For the Prosecution, Ordeal By Innocence and last year’s The ABC Murders, starring John Malkovich as detective Hercule Poirot. Each provided a distinctive twist on the Christie genre, with Phelps hoping to tease out unwritten meaning from prose that will be familiar to millions of readers.

More from Deadline'The ABC Murders' Writer Sarah Phelps Signs Up For 'A Very English Scandal' Season 2Amazon Studios Wins Rights To Turn QCode Sci-Fi Podcast 'The Left Right Game' Into...

Exclusive: Sarah Phelps, the British writer behind Agatha Christie adaptations including The ABC Murders and The Pale Horse, has signed up to write the second season of the BBC and Amazon’s hit drama A Very English Scandal.

The Radio Times reported last year that Phelps had been approached to pen Season 2, and now the writer has confirmed to Deadline she is scripting a three-part series. The BBC is on the brink of formally confirming the recommission, with Amazon expected to be involved again.

A Very English Scandal will move on from the story of Jeremy Thorpe to become an anthology series, focusing on a new crisis that gripped the British establishment.

The second season centers on a 1963 sex scandal involving Margaret Campbell, the Duchess of Argyll. During a messy divorce from her second husband, he seized images of Campbell performing a sex act on an unknown man and she...

There are a lot of things in Amazon Prime Video’s The Pale Horse that differ from the Agatha Christie book it’s ostensibly based on. The television show, for one (see /Film’s non-spoiler review of the series here), takes a much darker, psychological noir approach that focuses more on the moral rectitude of the characters than […]

The post ‘The Pale Horse’ Book Comparison: How the Amazon Adaptation Differs from Agatha Christie’s Novel appeared first on /Film.

The Pale Horse, a two-part series now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, is loosely based on the eponymous book written by Agatha Christie. Those expecting a nail-biting whodunit filled with Christie’s trademark cheek, however, will not find that here. And that’s not a bad thing, necessarily, as some of the best film and TV adaptations […]

The post ‘The Pale Horse’ Review: An Uneven but Creepy Take on an Agatha Christie Classic appeared first on /Film.

On the surface, Rufus Sewell’s character Mark Easterbrook in “Agatha Christie’s The Pale Horse” has it all — in the most polished TV sense imaginable. It’s 1960s London, and he’s a very successful antiques dealer; he has an endless collection of trendy slim-cut suits; he lives in one of those row houses that make tourists gawp; he’s got a car James Bond would envy and a beautiful wife.

But appearances are deceiving, because he’s falling apart at his impressively tailored seams. Women he’s slept with keep dying, and the police just told him that he’s on some kind of hit list created by a very successful and mysterious and, who knows, maybe supernatural serial killer. On top of that next-level weirdness, his hair is starting to fall out in chunks. Is Mark the “pale horse” referenced in the Book of Revelation — Death, the final horseman of the apocalypse?...

ITV has renegotiated its deal with Mammoth Screen, the British drama producer behind an upcoming BBC adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts + Crosses and BBC/Netflix series The Serpent.

ITV CEO Carolyn McCall revealed the renewal on a press call for the company’s annual results, which showed that revenue at production arm ITV Studios outstripped advertising turnover for the first time in ITV’s history.

The boom in scripted content has been a big part of this growth and Mammoth is among ITV’s most prolific scripted producers, having made shows including Poldark, The Pale Horse for Amazon and the BBC, and The War Of The Worlds, which was recently picked up by AMC.

ITV has had a long relationship with Mammoth. It took a 25% stake in the company, which is run by Damien Timmer, when it first launched in 2007. Eight years later, ITV fully-acquired Mammoth, although the financial details were not disclosed.

Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn made their mark together as the hosts of the reality competition TV series “Project Runway.” The Emmy-winning pair left that show to preside over another hunt for the next hot designer, “Making the Cut.” This globe-trotting series, which debuts in March on Amazon Prime Video, takes contestants to the design capitals of the world as they compete to stay in the competition.

Amazon Prime Video has also cornered the market on the remakes of Agatha Christie‘s classic mystery novels. The adaptation of her one-off novel, “The Pale Horse,” starts to stream on Amazon Prime mid month after debuting on the BBC at Christmas.

Below is the full schedule of everything that is coming to Amazon Prime Video in March 2020. Unlike Netflix, Amazon does not disclose the shows and movies leaving the service in any given month.

See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming...