News

Exclusive: Harry Delano (Freud’s Last Session), Reece Shearsmith (The League of Gentlemen), Amar Chadha-Patel (The Decameron) and Arturo Del Puerto (For All Mankind) have joined the 20th Television pilot for Hulu Downforce (working title) starring Eve Hewson and Murray Bartlett.

Downforce follows Victoria (Hewson), the estranged daughter of a storied racing team’s owner, Sir Trevor (Bartlett), who is thrust back into the family business, leaving the pair to find common ground or risk destroying the team’s legacy.

Delano will play Cayley, Alastair’s son, an engineering genius who’s put to work to help the team; Shearsmith will play Alastair, Regent Racing’s fastidious chief race engineer; Chadha-Patel will play Ihsan, the gentle giant of a chief mechanic for Team Regent; Del Puerto plays Emiliano, the ostentatious Spanish owner of a competing team who’s hellbent on destroying Regent Racing.

Alec Berg will direct the pilot and executive produce alongside Adam Countee,...

Exclusive: Another true crime limited series franchise, The Thing About..., is looking to join the likes of American Crime Story, Monster and Dr. Death. Peacock is developing The Thing About Tommy, from writer Bruce Marshall Romans and the companies behind the 2022 NBC limited series The Thing About Pam, NBC News Studios and Blumhouse, sources tell Deadline. UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, is the studio.

The Thing About Tommy is inspired by the true story of Thomas Randolph, nicknamed “Black Widower,” who has been married six times and four of those wives ended up dead.

Like The Thing About Pam, which chronicled Pam Hupp’s involvement in the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria, The Thing About Tommy stems from Dateline’s coverage of the case. (The venerable NBC newsmagazine profiled Randolph in the multi-part series The Widower.)

After premiering on NBC, The Thing About Pam, starring Renée Zellweger as Hupp,...

Warning: contains Inside No. 9 spoilers.

Right at the start, Bev told us she was celebrating a birthday. The significance of that indefinite article passed us by until she protested in the final minutes, “I never said it were my birthday.” Bev was celebrating on behalf of Ryan, the baby she’d snatched from his pram two decades ago as a disturbed 10-year-old, and killed, concealing his skeleton inside a child’s doll.

‘Hurry Up and Wait’ is an uncomfortable half-hour with a macabre conclusion, as befits the creators and director of Psychoville (which in Dawn French’s Joy, also featured a grown woman with a sinister attachment to a baby doll, that one following the death of her own son – the dead baby being the sine qua non of subversive comedy.) The episode is an emotionally cold grotesquerie driven by social awkwardness, cringe comedy, and light satire on the acting world.

ABC’s American Idol scored a 1.0 in the adults 18-49 demographic and netted 6.51 million viewers on Sunday night, down a tenth from last week’s Season 19 premiere but enough to top primetime in the demo. The network also aired an episode of America’s Funniest Home Videos, which climbed two tenths in the demo, and The Rookie, which dipped.

ABC won the night overall in the 18-49 demo.

CBS won the night overall in viewers with an all-originals lineup led by 60 Minutes, which held steady in the demo and earned the night’s largest audience. The Equalizer took a two-tenths hit from last week’s strong time-slot premiere, while NCIS: Los Angeles also dipped. NCIS: New Orleans held steady.

After Fox’s Sunday night lineup was derailed last week due to NASCAR weather delays, things were back on track starting with the debut of Cherries Wild...

Udpated with more info: Univision’s three-hour Premio Lo Nuestro topped Thursday in the adults 18-49 demographic, sweeping primetime among the broadcast networks.

Among the Big 4 and the CW, Young Sheldon was Thursday’s most-watched program and matched ABC’s Celebrity Wheel of Fortune in the adults 18-49 demographic on a night that also saw CBS’ drama rookie Clarice dip a tenth from its debut a week ago but keep its viewership.

Univision was No. 1 in the demo with Premio Lo Nuestro drawing a 0.8 rating and 2.53 million viewers. The annual Latin music featured performances by Selena Gomez and Daddy Yankee and saw Bad Buddy walk away with the most wins (seven). It aired live from Miami and was hosted by Chiquinquirá Delgado, José Ron and Yuri as hosts of the three-hour show.

CBS, ABC and Fox tied for second behind Univsion in the demo. CBS won overall in viewers, with Young Sheldon steady with last week to pace the network’s comedy block which was back to originals, with B Positive also even. Mom, back for the first episode since announcing this will be its last season, and The Unicorn were both down a tenth.

That provided the lead-in to Clarice, with the 10 Pm thriller series based on Thomas Harris’ novels down a tenth in the demo from its 0.5 start but steady with last’s week’s audience of 4 million in Nielsen’s Live+Same Day fast affiliates. Like last week, it kept 100% of its Unicorn demo lead-in.

In addition to Wheel of Fortune, which rose a tenth week over week, ABC’s game-show lineup included fresh episodes of The Chase and The Hustler, both steady.

On NBC, The Mayor, which grew a tenth, and an encore of Young Rock led into a new Law & Order: Svu, which topped the 9 p.m. hour in the demo as it returned from a break. Dateline followed and jumped two tenths with the first installment of its three-part investigative miniseries The Widower.

Fox’s night included fresh helpings of Hell’s Kitchen and comedies Call Me Kat and Last Man Standing, all steady with last week. On the CW, Walker and Legacies were both even.

A secret will. In this exclusive clip from NBC's three-part true crime docu-series, The Widower, Colleen Beyer, the daughter of murder victim Sharon Causse reveals how her mother's widower Thomas Randolph reacted to Sharon's last will and testament. As Colleen recalls in The Widower, which has been brought to life by the producers of Dateline NBC, Thomas believed "he was in control of everything" thanks to one will in his possession. However, in the days following Sharon's death, Colleen says she received "another will" from her mother's best friend, Alice Wolfe. Sharon's confidant details in a confessional, "She writes it out. I'm watching her do...

This weekly feature is in addition to TVLine’s daily What to Watch listings and monthly guide to What’s on Streaming.

With nearly 500 scripted shows now airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, it’s easy to forget that a favorite comedy is returning, or that the new “prestige drama” you anticipated is about to debut. So consider this our reminder to set your DVR, order a Season Pass, pop a fresh Memorex into the Vcr… however it is you roll.

More from TVLineWhat's New on NetflixBlack History Month Specials, Movies and DocumentariesThe Crew Premiere: Kevin James Teases Potential Romance in NASCAR Comedy

This week,...

Updated with trailer: NBC has a date with a killer next month — three dates, actually. The network said today that its three-part true-crime docuseries The Widower, from the producers of Dateline NBC, will premiere at 10 p.m. Thursday, February 18. Watch the first trailer above.

The hourlong debut episode will be followed by two-hour Parts 2 and 3 starting at 9 p.m. Friday and Sunday, February 19 and 21.

NBC was short on details about the docuseries but said The Widower goes behind the scenes of one of the country’s most confounding murder investigations, revealing a tale of evil and a tireless quest for justice in real time. It features unprecedented and exclusive access to the alleged killer playing cat-and-mouse not just with investigators, but with Dateline’s cameras.

Winter 2021 Premiere Dates For New & Returning Series On Broadcast, Cable & Streaming

Dateline NBC’s David Corvo serves as senior executive producer of The Widower, and...

In today’s TV news roundup, Netflix announced the premiere date for “Shadow and Bone,” and Amazon Prime Video announced the premiere date for “Tell Me Your Secrets.”

Casting

OWN announced Lyriq Bent, Joseph Callender, Michel Curiel, Lamonica Garrett, Nigel Gibbs, Leonard Harmon, Candace B. Harris, Gray Hawks, Joe Holt, Kelly Jacobs, Khalil Johnson, Braelyn Rankins, Saycon Sengbloh and Amanda Tavarez have joined its upcoming drama series “Delilah” in recurring roles. Additionally, OWN announced directors for the series will include Ayoka Chenzira and Crystle Roberson. The new series hails from Craig Wright and follows its titular character (played by Maahra Hill) after she leaves a prestigious law firm to raise her children. Now, she takes on oft-ignored cases, representing disenfranchised groups and going toe-to-toe with the powerful and privileged. But this time, she’s up against her best friend and fellow attorney Tamara (Jill Marie Jones).

Dates

MTV’s “Ghosted:...

Banijay Rights, the distribution arm of the Banijay Group TV giant, has signed a multi-year first-look development deal with U.K. independent production banner Greenacre Films.

The agreement will see Banijay Rights and Greenacre working together to develop and produce TV series for U.K., U.S. and international markets.

Greenacre was established by award-winning producers and development executives Nadine Marsh-Edwards (Joe All Alone, Akala: Ruins of Empires, Bhaji on the Beach, Young Soul Rebels, Sea Oo Souls) and Amanda Jenks (The Girl, An Englishman in New York, The Widower, Akala’s Odyssey). Their recent critically acclaimed feature film Been So Long, starring Michaela Coel (Black Earth Rising) ...

Sheridan Smith is so good that ITV has decided to dedicate an entire season to her talents.

The best of her work will air next month on ITV Encore, so if you missed any of her acclaimed dramas, now is the time to do something about it.

The channel will be broadcasting dramas like Cilla, The Widower, The Scapegoat and Mrs Biggs from Saturday (August 1).

ITV's recent drama Black Work, which saw Smith star as a police officer searching for answers about her husband's death, will also be repeated as part of the season.

Earlier this year, the 34-year-old triumphed at the National Television Awards, winning the prize for Best Drama Performance for her performance in Cilla.

Meanwhile, Smith recently confirmed that she will play Fanny Brice in a new West End production of Funny Girl.

Ealing Studios has acquired a significant stake in TV and film company GreenAcre Films and forged a new creative partnership with the company that will see Ealing Studios expand its TV division.

Having already announced earlier this year the ITV commission of Maigret for two stand-alone films starring Rowan Atkinson, Ealing Studios’ stake in GreenAcre will see them develop a TV slate for both UK and international broadcasters.

It marks the first partnership at the newly restructured Ealing Studios headed by Ben Latham-Jones.

Co-founded by Nadine Marsh-Edwards and Amanda Jenks in 2010, GreenAcre Films became a division of Wall to Wall in 2012. It will continue to co-produce its current drama slate, which includes projects for HBO, BBC and ITV.

As well as developing new TV projects, GreenAcre will also expand its feature film roster which already has a number of titles in development with the BFI.

In a joint statement, GreenAcre co-founders Nadine Marsh-Edwards and Amanda Jenks said:...

Philomena, Mrs Biggs, The Widower and most recently Cilla - Jeff Pope has made a career out of plowing real-life stories to produce drama on both the big and small screen; and it's paid off, with the writer winning two BAFTAs and an Academy Award.

His latest accolade is a BAFTA TV Special Award - an honour presented in recognition of an outstanding creative contribution to television, with previous recipients including TV exec Jane Tranter, director Paul Greengrass and dramatist Alan Clarke.

Pope started his career in journalism - working as a reporter and researcher - and says the skills he learned have kept him "in good stead" throughout his career as a screenwriter.

"It was dealing with stories - things that had happened, facts," he explains. "It's getting the material and shaping it."

Pope also credits his journalistic roots with inspiring his passion for 'true to life' drama - series,...

Benefits Street and Sheridan Smith were among the winners at the 2015 Broadcasting Press Guild Awards.

The Channel 4 show was named Best Documentary Series at the ceremony, while Smith picked up Best Actress for her performances in Cilla and The Widower.

Gogglebox took home the prize for Best Factual Entertainment and Marvellous was named Best Single Drama. BBC Two's The Honourable Woman won for Best Drama Series.

Meanwhile, Lenny Henry was honoured at this year's event with the Harvey Lee Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting award.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Happy Valley writer Sally Wainwright, Marvellous actor Toby Jones and W1A.

See the winners list in full below:

Best Factual Entertainment

Gogglebox

Best Single Drama

Marvellous

Best Drama Series

The Honourable Woman

Best Single Documentary

Baby P: The Untold Story

Best Documentary Series

Benefits Street

Best Multichannel Programme

Crackanory

Radio Programme of the Year

Germany: Memories of A Nation...

The National Television Awards 2015 longlist nominations have been announced and voting is now (October 14) open.

Hosted by Dermot O'Leary, the NTAs celebrate the best and most popular TV and are exclusively voted for by viewers. The 2015 awards take place at London's O2 on January 21.

The Nta shortlist will be announced in January when the final round of voting begins. Viewers can vote for free online at nationaltvawards.com or by calling the Nta vote form request line 0844 646 2060.

Full list of 2015 nominations:

Chat Show Host

Adam Hills

Alan Carr

Graham Norton

Jonathan Ross

Michael McIntyre

Paul O'Grady

Piers Morgan

Sarah Millican

Comedy

Benidorm

Big School

Birds of a Feather

Blandings

Boomers

Citizen Khan

Derek

Mrs Brown's Boys

Not Going Out

Outnumbered

The Big Bang Theory

The Wrong Mans

W1A

Daytime

Animal Saints and Sinners

Antiques Road Trip

Bargain Hunt

BBC Breakfast

Coach Trip

Escape to the Country

Father Brown

Fifteen to One

Flog It!

ITV has announced the cast for its new six-part drama series Home Fires.

Previously known as Jambusters, the period piece follows a group of inspirational women in Cheshire at the height of World War II.

Banding together as the Great Paxford Women's Institute, they help maintain the nation's fabric in its darkest hour.

Downton Abbey's Samantha Bond and Cranford's Francesca Annis will lead the cast, which also includes Mark Bonnar (Line of Duty), Ruth Gemmell (Utopia), and Claire Rushbrook (My Mad Fat Diary).

Mark Bazeley (The Suspicions of Mr Whicher), Frances Grey (The Widower) and Ed Stoppard (Cilla) will also feature in Simon Block's adaptation of Julie Summers's non-fiction book Jambusters.

"We're really delighted to have commissioned Home Fires," said ITV's Director of Drama Steve November. "Great writing from Simon has given Julie Summers's wonderful book a fictional life.

"The women are real and engaging...

ITV's The Widower rose by over 300,000 viewers for its finale on Monday, according to overnight data.

Reece Shearsmith's drama topped the night outside of soaps with 5.50 million (22.7%) at 9pm (485k/3.0% on +1). Earlier, I Never Knew That About Britain intrigued 2.89m (12.5%) at 8pm (134k/0.5%).

On BBC One, Silk climbed by over 200k for its finale episode to 4.09m (16.9%) at 9pm. The Michael McIntyre Chat Show bounced back by over 200k to 1.99m (17.0%) at 10.35pm.

Earlier, Bang Goes the Theory fascinated 3.42m (16.2%) at 7.30pm, while Panorama was seen by 1.88m (8.1%) at 8.30pm.

BBC Two's University Challenge quizzed 3.17m (13.8%) at 8pm, followed by Mary Berry Cooks with 3.02m (13.0%) at 8.30pm. The Plantagenets interested 1.55m (6.4%) at 9pm, while Rev amused 1.46m (8.2%) at 10pm.

On Channel 4, Nigel Farage: Who Are You? interested 785k (3.5%) at 7.30pm (161k/0.7%). Shop Secrets gathered 1.02m (4.4%) at 8.30pm (102k/0.4%), followed by One Born Every Minute with 1.82m (7.5%) at 9pm.

The Widower came out on top in the Monday ratings outside of soaps, overnight data reveals.

Reece Shearsmith's ITV drama climbed by over 100,000 viewers from last week to 5.15 million (22.2%) at 9pm (432k/2.7% on +1). Earlier, I Never Knew That About Britain intrigued 3.24m (14.4%) at 8pm (106k/0.4%).

On BBC One, Bang Goes the Theory fascinated 3.35m (15.5%) at 7.30pm, followed by Panorama with 2.53m (10.9%) at 8.30pm.

Silk's latest episode dipped by around 100k to 3.81m (16.4%) at 9pm, while The Michael McIntyre Chat Show dropped a further 300k to 1.77m (16.0%) at 10.35pm. However, it was still the most-watched programme in its timeslot across all channels.

BBC Two's University Challenge quizzed 3.02m (13.4%) at 8pm, followed by Mary Berry Cooks with 2.73m (11.8%) at 8.30pm. Documentary The Plantagenets continued with 1.64m (7.1%) at 9pm, while comedy series Rev returned for a new series with 1.53m (8.5%) at 10pm.

On Channel 4, Shop Secrets appealed to 966k (4.2%) at 8pm.

New ITV drama The Widower topped Monday's ratings outside of soaps, according to overnight figures.

Reece Shearsmith and Sheridan Smith's drama launched with 5.03 million viewers (21.9%) at 9pm (447,000/2.9% on +1). Earlier, I Never Knew That About Britain brought in 3.31m (14.6%) at 8pm (100k/1.4%).

On BBC One, Silk continued with 3.90m (16.9%) at 9pm, followed by The Michael McIntyre Chat Show, which dipped around 400k to 2.04m (18.8%) at 10.35pm. Earlier, Bang Goes the Theory fascinated 3.02m (14.1%) at 7.30pm, and Panorama was seen by 2.27m (9.7%) at 8.30pm.

BBC Two's University Challenge quizzed 3.02m (13.2%) at 8pm, followed by Mary Berry Cooks with 2.61m (11.1%) at 8.30pm and new series The Plantagenets with 1.69m (7.4%) at 9pm.

On Channel 4, Shop Secrets intrigued 1.63m (6.9%) at 8pm (110k/0.5%). One Born Every Minute attracted 1.83m (8.0%) at 9pm (238k/1.6%), while 8 Out of 10 Cats entertained 917k (5.7%) at 10pm (130k/1.6%).

Channel 5's Police Interceptors appealed to 1.04m (4.5%) at 8pm. Can't Pay? We'll Take It Away!

ITV has announced casting details for its upcoming Cilla Black drama.

The White Queen star Aneurin Barnard will feature as Cilla's husband Bobby in the three-part series, opposite Sheridan Smith in the title role.

Ed Stoppard (The Politician's Husband) will star as Brian Epstein, while John Henshaw (Downton Abbey) will play Cilla's father John White.

Melanie Hill (Waterloo Road) rounds out the cast as Cilla's mother Priscilla.

Cilla - from Philomena writer Jeff Pope - will focus on the singer-turned-presenter's rise to fame in 1960s Liverpool.

The drama follows the unknown Priscilla White as she pursues her dreams of stardom, begins a relationship with future husband Bobby Willis, and meets legendary music manager Brian Epstein.

It will also feature Black's friendship with The Beatles, and how their success helped launch her career.

Cilla begins filming in March and April in Liverpool, and will feature many of the...

As one of the twisted minds behind The League of Gentlemen, Psychoville, and now Inside No.9, Reece Shearsmith knows a thing or two about TV commissioning.

Digital Spy and some other journalists sat down with Reece to talk about his acting role in three-part factual drama The Widower, which starts tonight on ITV.

"It's a delicate thing to get right, but I think it's done really well," said Shearsmith of the true story of murderer Malcolm Webster.

"There's very little music on it, it's not done like 'an ITV drama' in the way that it's telling you, 'This is the dramatic bit'. I think they just showed the facts."

While we were chatting, Shearsmith got onto the topic of why audiences and TV commissioners don't always see eye to eye...

On Inside No. 9 getting another series from BBC Two, Shearsmith said: "We found out before the first one had gone out,...

The Widower: ITV, 9pm

This three-part drama is an adaptation of the Malcolm Webster murders. In The Widower, Reece Shearsmith plays Malcolm who - over a 13-year period - set about poisoning and killing his wives.

In this opening episode, we meet first wife Claire (Sheridan Smith) and as Malcolm comes under pressure regarding his debts, he goes to great lengths to keep her under control. After hearing about her upcoming doctor's appointment, Malcolm concocts a dark plan to get rid of her once and for all.

As second wife Felicity Drumm enters Malcolm's life, he is soon back to his usual tricks and attempts to gain access to her savings to hide the fact that he is in so much debt.

Revenge: E4, 9pm

After Daniel's actions at the wedding in last week's episode, Emily is left in a very precarious position.

Struggling to reach safety with her injuries,...

Reece Shearsmith has said that The League of Gentlemen could return one day, but has seemingly ruled out an imminent comeback.

The actor and writer told Digital Spy and other journalists that he, Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson were wary of not ruining the legacy of the show.

The team previously confirmed that they had turned down approaches from the BBC for a comeback, and quizzed on the possibility of going with Netflix or doing a Kickstarter, Shearsmith said: "I don't know really, they [the BBC] make our things, so I can't really moan about it...

"But as far as a new League thing goes, we did some sketches last year for charity. Me, Mark and Steve did for the first time in eight years. We did some sketches on stage.

"It was great and there was a good response and we were surprised. I thought no-one would remember it,...

Reece Shearsmith has said that he would like a part in Doctor Who, but wouldn't want people to think he got the role because of his friend's involvement in the programme.

Shearsmith was part of The League of Gentlemen alongside Mark Gatiss, who has written and starred in the show.

Gatiss also co-created the BBC's Sherlock alongside current Who showrunner Steven Moffat.

Speaking to Digital Spy and other journalists about his role as Malcolm Webster in ITV's factual drama The Widower ("My job as the actor playing him was not to make it a cold serial killer man. To make it a real person in the world"), Shearsmith was asked when he would pop up in the BBC's hit sci-fi.

"I don't know. It's a good question, isn't it? You might have to put it out there!" Shearsmith replied.

"Oh god, I don't know. To be honest, it might not...

ITV has announced details of a new three-part factual drama based on the crimes of convicted murderer Malcolm Webster.

Reece Shearsmith and Sheridan Smith will star in The Widower, which has been co-written by award-winning factual drama screenwriter and filmmaker Jeff Pope (Mrs Biggs).

Pope also serves as executive producer of the series, with Paul Whittington (Mrs Biggs, Vera) as director.

The Widower takes place over a 13-year period, and follows Webster, who sets about poisoning and murdering his first wife, attempting to do the same to his second wife and moving on to a further scheme to deceive his third fiancée.

Sheridan Smith stars as first wife Claire Morris, who wed Webster in September 1993.

Jeff Pope, Head of Factual Drama, ITV Studios, said: "This is a quite extraordinary story, far more chilling than any fiction. Webster was a banal, almost benign face of evil.

"He was so clever at...

Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in August: Osage County: Duel of the Oscar winners [See previous post: "Oscar 2014 Watch: Harvey Weinstein Cannes Film Festival Coming Attractions."] More Oscar 2014 bait: August: Osage County, directed by John Wells, and starring three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep (Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie’s Choice, The Iron Lady) and Oscar winner Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich). Is it mere coincidence that Streep’s seventeenth Oscar nomination and third win was for her portrayal of British prime minister Margaret Thatcher in Phyllida Lloyd’s The Iron Lady — distributed by The Weinstein Company two years ago? Either way, Streep’s Oscar 2014 competition should be fierce, as Julia Roberts doesn’t seem to be wearing any makeup in the family drama. (Photo: Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in August: Osage County.) Adapted by Tracy Letts from his own play, besides Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, August: Osage County also features Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear), Dermot Mulroney, Star Trek Into Darkness‘ Benedict Cumberbatch,...