NEW MARCH SHOWS: TOWN CALLED MALICE WITH JASON FLEMYNG, LEX SHRAPNEL, DOUGRAY SCOTT, WILDLY STELLAR EXTRAPOLATIONS WITH MERYL STREEP, MARION COTILLARD, TOBEY MAGUIRE, MATTHEW RHYS, EDWARD NORTON, KIT HARINGTON, TAHAR RAHIM, DAVID SCHWIMMER, JUDD HIRSCH

  A TOWN CALLED MALICE  

SUN IS OUT, GUNS ARE OUT

Malice is back in town this month

Your trusted spy is presenting you two new television series coming to the small screens in the month of March which has just hit our calendars as of this morning believe it or not! First up, we have A TOWN CALLED MALICE which should hit Sky channels around Europe from March 16th! Pitched as a blend of Dallas and Pulp Fiction to the sounds of Duran Duran, this neon-soaked, 80s-set cocktail of crime thriller stars Martha Plimpton as Mint Ma and Jason Flemyng as Albert Lord, our dear boy Lex Shrapnel as Leonard Lord with Eliza Butterworth as Carly Lord and Jack Rowan as Gene Lord alongside Tahirah Sharif in the role of Cindy Carter! Daniel Sharman and Dougray Scott are also in the cast.

A TOWN CALLED MALICE

 set amongst the beach clubs and palm trees of the Costa del Sol in the early 80s,  follows the Lords, a crime family of petty thieves from South London, as they decamp from London to Spain to profit from an unexpected windfall – and to escape the attention of the police in a high-profile murder enquiry. But while they hope to recapture their former glory, they spend as much time battling each other as they do their opponents.

     EXTRAPOLATIONS   

STAR STUDDED APPLE TV+ SERIES

ExtraPolations start March 17th

Meanwhile, over at US streamer Apple TV + March 17th is bringing a star studded limited series EXTRA POLATIONS which will see Kit Harington, Daveed Diggs, Matthew Rhys, Heather Graham, Sienna Miller, Tahar Rahim, Meryl Streep, David Schwimmer, Judd Hirsch, Edward Norton, Michael Gandolfini, Indira Varma, Diane Lane, Keri Russell, Marion Cotillard, Forest Whitaker, Tobey Maguire, star in a story set in a near future where the chaotic effects of climate change have become embedded into our everyday lives. It has eight interwoven stories about love, work, faith and family from across the globe that explore the intimate, life-changing choices that must be made when the planet is changing faster than the population. Check out the trailer below:

NEW EUROPEAN SF TV SERIES: FRENCH INFINITI WITH LEX SHRAPNEL, THE ROPE WITH JEAN MARC BARR, SPAIN'S MARS SET HUMANITY

  INFINITI MINI TV SERIES 

SF WITH INTERNATIONAL CAST

Three European projects for you today before we launch our Mega List of Epic and Historical Shows To Air Till the End of 2021 tomorrow: INFINITI will be a new six part sf TV series coming from France, but shot in French,

Our dearest Lex Shrapnel will star in Infiniti

English and Russian with the cast coming from England, France, Russia, Asia. Our dear Lex Shrapnel will be in it together with Vlad Ivanov, Celine Sallette, Oleg Levin, Laurent Capellu- to, Daniar Alshi- nov! The ISS, the International Space Station has gone silent. The crew is in distress. Simultaneously, a decapitated and waxed body is found on a roof in Kazakhstan. Positive identification leaves no room for doubt: the body belongs to an American astronaut currently on a mission on the ISS. A French astronaut, dismissed from the space program, and a Kazakh cop, disowned by his ranking hierarchy, set out to solve this mysterious paradox.

 HUMANITY SF TV SERIES 

COMING FROM SPAIN

Spain's Mediacrest is, meanwhile, preparing new sf series HUMANITY together with a Chilean coproducer. It is set in the not-so-distant future following the explosion of planet Earth!. It’s the year 2050 and ten astronauts have recently arrived on Mars with an impossible mission: To save mankind

Humanity is coming from Spain's Mediacrest producer

from extinction. They are abandoned on the inhospitable planet of Mars without family, without friends, without resources. They are badly matched, alone in the universe, and the only thing left of the human species. On them falls a mission for which they have never been trained: to secure the survival of the species. But does this species, capable of destroying the planet that hosts them, deserve to survive?

 

  THE ROPE MINI SERIES 

 A THREE EPISODE SF MYSTERY

French Arte has also gathered an international cast including Jean Marc Barr, Richard Sammel, Jeanne Balibar, Suzanne Clement,

Arte will air The Rope sometime next year

Jakob Cedregren for three episode series THE ROPE. In the fantasy thriller, co-written and directed by Dominique Rocher, a small group of scientists working at a remote Norwegian base discover a seemingly endless piece of rope just outside their observatory which runs into the vast surrounding forest. Intrigued by the discovery, several members of the team group up and begin to follow the rope into the wilderness, while others stay behind to man the station.Curiosity transforms into compulsion as the mystery deepens, forcing each character to face the life-changing consequences of choices they’ve made.

PREMIUM SPOTLIGHT ON DOMINA EPIC TV SERIES ON ROME'S 1ST EMPRESS LIVIA DRUSILLA WITH KASIA SMUTNIAK, MATTHEW MCNULTY, BEN BATT, LIAM CUNNINGHAM, CLAIRE FORLANI, ISABELLA ROSSELLINI, LEX SHRAPNEL

  DOMINA EPIC TV SERIES  

READY TO START NEXT WEEK

Domina begins next week on Sky's channels

Her grandson emperor Claudius proclaimed her a goddess back in 42AD, but Roman empress Livia Drusilla was also a grandmother or great grandmother to some of history's greatest maniacs Caligula and Nero, and also the mother of Tiberius and the wife of emperor Augustus Caesar! New eight part historical drama DOMINA is ready to start next week May 14th on Sky channels around Europe (Italy, UK, Ireland, Germany and Spain) and their Now streamer, and will then swim over to USA and Epix on June 6th for the Northern American audience! The series will begin with her patrician father siding with the murderers of Julius Caesar in order to save Rome’s traditional republican

The series will also air on Epix in USA later in June

system of government from dictatorship. Due to his death in the battle at Philippi, and the defeat of the republicans, young Livia and her first husband

Actress Kasia Smutniak plays the lead role of Domina

Tiberius Nero will have to runaway before eventually returning to Rome. Although the history has remembered her as nasty to the core, manipulative

Matthew McNulty is the first emperor of Rome Augustus

and evil, I have a very strong feeling that the series will, in the light of the modern revisionist feminist movements, depict Livia as a strong, good and,

The costumes in the series were done by Oscar winning designer

what is that word that they like so much... ah, yes, empowering woman, so the only thing I can say to that is: just read a book or two, people.

DOMINA EPIC TV SERIES 

will, similar to the legendary I, Claudius classic series which followed her grandson, probably have that subdued tone filled with dialogues, intrigues and

Ben Batt is Augustus' friend Agrippa in the series

interior scenes, rather than be a dynamic adventure filled with battles and action, at least judging from the photos and trailer. The story follows Livia

Liam Cunningham is Livia's father in the new historical series

Drusilla, a naïve young girl, whose world crumbles in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination. But using plenty of intrigue she eventually becomes

Our dear Lex Shrapnell plays Crassus in the new series

Rome's empress by conniving to marry emperor Augustus. She then ends up navigating her way through a brutal male dominated society by means of

Agrippa and Augustus fight together for Gaius to become emperor

conspiracy, seduction and murder to become Rome’s most powerful and influential empress and to secure power for her son, Tiberius (who wasn't even Augustus' son, but came from her marriage to Tiberius).

WHO'LL ELSE BOW TO DOMINA?

Kasia Smutniak is playing Livia Drusilla, with the young Livia played by Nadia Parkes who was scandalously awful in the atrocious Spanish Princess.

Tom Forbes will be Sextus in the new series

They are supported by an international stellar cast including Liam Cunningham playing Livius, Livia’s father, and Colette Tchantcho as

Augustus was known as a great orator of Rome

Antigone, Livia’s best friend, ex-slave and closest ally. Created and written by Simon Burke, the series also stars Matthew McNulty as the future emperor Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, and Livia's second husband,

Isabella Rossellini plays an old enemy of Livia's

Christine Bottomley as Augustus' ex wife Scribonia, Ben Batt as Agrippa, Agustus' friend and a consul who helped him become emperor,  Enzo Cilenti as Tiberius Claudius Nero Livia's first hsuband, while Claire Forlani

The series will air in eight hourlong episodes in the first season

plays Claudia Octavia, Augustus' sister who wants her son to succeed his uncle and not one of Livia's sons from her first marriage. Our dear Lex Shrapnel is

Oscar winner Gabriella Pescucci created the costumes for the series

Crassus. Isabella Rossellini makes an appearance playing Balbina, an early enemy. Tom Glynn Carney plays young Gaius Augustus. Ewan Horrocks plays Livia's second son Drusus. 

 

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE TO PLAY GONG SHOW HOST AND SECRET ASSASSIN CHUCK BARRIS IN APPLE TV SHOW! LONGER NEW TRAILER FOR ANCIENT ROME SET SERIES DOMINA WITH KASIA SMUTNIAK, MATTHEW MCNULTY, BEN BATT, LIAM CUNNINGHAM

  JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE TO PLAY  

GONG SHOW HOST CHUCK BARRIS

Justin Timberlake will take the lead role

In a new untitled TV series which would mark his return to Apple TV after the critically acclaimed Palmer movie. As Deadline reports, the series will be based on Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a 1984 memoir in which Barris made suspect claims that being the zany Gong Show host and creator of game shows like The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game was cover for his real job: CIA assassin who took out enemies of the state in the 1960s and 1970s! The book was already adapted into a movie a few years ago under George Clooney's helm, but now it will become an hour long television series.

  NEW DOMINA TRAILER  

FOR ROME SET EPIC SERIES

Sky Italia has released a new longer trailer for eight episode saga DOMINA which will air this May in Italy and June in Germany with UK date still not yet

Domina will probably arrive next month

announced but possibly also coming in May. The series will see Kasia Smutniak play the lead role in the story following the life and the extraordinary rise of Livia Drusilla, the mother of the emperor Tiberius, who overcame adversity to become the most powerful woman in the world! Matthew McNulty as future emperor of Rome Gaius, Ben Batt as Agrippa, Lex Schrapnel, Liam Cunningham, Claire Forlani and Isabella Rossellini also star in the new saga! It follows Livia’s journey from a naïve young girl whose world crumbles in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination, to Rome’s most powerful and influential Empress, driven by a deep desire to avenge her father and secure power for her sons.

Matthew McNulty is future emperor Gaius of Rome

Livia and her peers navigate their way through a brutal society by means of strategy, conspiracy, seduction and murder. Check out the longer Italian trailer below.

WHAT ARE OUR FAVOURITE PERIOD SET GENRE STARS DOING NEXT: BART EDWARDS, MATTHEW MCNULTY, LEX SHRAPNEL, MARK ROWLEY, MAX BENNETT?

 PERIOD SET GENRE STARS

WITCHER'S BART EDWARDS

Today we're doing a little spotlight on some of the dashing faces you've been noticing in period set shows in recent years and will probably keep up seeing them in the future as well. Since we have a talent for discovering future stars,

Bart Edwards is returning soon in Domina

here are some of them. You've probably first noticed irresistibly charming Bart Edwards two years ago in THE WITCHER but you haven't seen his face there as he was a hedgehog prince Urcheon. But you definitely did enjoy his gorgeous charms and manly charisma in SINGAPORE GRIP in which he flawlessly wore the uniform as captain Ehrendorf. When it comes to future projects, he will, believe it or not, star in both of our two most anticipated epic projects: GLOW AND DARKNESS epic TV series which will follow some of the most famous medieval heroes such as Barbarossa, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, Eleanor of Aquitaine! Bart will be legendary knight Raynald of Chatillon! In Ancient Rome set DOMINA at Sky he will also appear as Iullus.

MILL'S MATTHEW MCNULTY

Matthew will be an emperor in Domina

We've first noticed this charming Brit in BBC's legendary series THE MILL in which he gave a deeply touching performance of a 19th century cotton mill engineer, and before that as one of the stars of JAMAICA INN 19th century mini series. After that he played Lucien Grimaud in BBC's THE MUSKETEERS series and will then return to the French court in VERSAILLES epic series as well! He also played a lieutenant in  the 19th century Arctic set THE TERROR. In the future he will join Bart Edwards in DOMINA epic saga which will follow the rise of empress Livia Drusilla. In it he will be the future emperor of Rome Gaius! Which means we will enjoy McNulty in a Roman toga! 

MEDICI'S LEX SHRAPNEL

You've seen another of our absolute fave period set genre series stars Lex Shrapnel (who is, did you know, the grandson of legendary Hollywood diva

We still fondly remember Lex from Harlots

Deborah Kerr) in SONS OF LIBERTY where he played William Dawes, and then as Biblical Jonathan in A.D. THE BIBLE CONTINUES mini series. But he definitely stole our hearts as wonderfully scheming and ultimately magnetic villain Rinaldo Albizzi in Italy's best ever historical saga MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE. After that he gave us the wonderfully good Lord James Croft, who had a soft heart (and hard something else) for male whores in Hulu's epic series HARLOTS. Believe it or not, our Lexy dearest will also appear in DOMINA in which he will be Crassus. Where are our smelling salts?

LAST KINGDOM'S MARK ROWLEY

Mark Rowley is everyone favourite Finan!

And how could we forget our favourite medieval jester and warrior Mark Rowley from THE LAST KINGDOM in which he plays Uhtred's right hand and best friend, brave and charming Finan? Before that you actually saw him in many other period set shows: in ITV's WW2 set HOME FIRES, then in MACBETH as the titular character, and then last year as Alexander from the house of Stuart in THE SPANISH PRINCESS series over at Starz where he visited the Tudor court of Henry VIII. This year we should see him next to Collin Farrell in BBC's period set series THE NORTH WATER about a 19th century whaling expedition to the Arctic.

POLDARK'S MAX BENNETT

Max will be evil Cesare Borgia in Leonardo

Although you probably remember this magnetic Londoner mostly from POLDARK in which he played the villainous Monk Adderley, Max Bennett also starred in THE DUTCHESS movie as Lord Walter, in ANNA KARENINA as Petritsky, in HOLLOW CROWN historical saga as John Talbot, then in WILL 16th century series on young Shakespeare in which he was Robert  Southwell. If you are currently missing him on the small screens, do not despair as he is returning in LEONARDO medieval drama. In  the series in which Aidan Turner plays Leonardo da Vinci, Max will be no one else but Cesare Borgia the most dangerous of all the evil Borgias!

SKY'S EPIC TV SERIES DOMINA ON ROMAN EMPRESS LIVIA DRUSILLA ADS LEX SHRAPNEL, TOM FORBES NEXT TO BEN BATT, MATTHEW MCNULTY, ISABELLA ROSSELLINI, CLAIRE FORLANI

     'DOMINA' EPIC SERIES ADS

NEW NAMES TO ROMAN COURT

Although the production is currently halted, Sky's new ten part historical saga DOMINA (following the life and the extraordinary rise of Livia

You watched Lex Shrapnel in Medici and Harlots

Drusilla, the mother of the emperor Tiberius, who overcame adversity to become the most powerful woman in the world) has added a few interesting new names to the cast: our dear Medici and Harlots star Lex Shrapnel, Anthony Barclay, Ewan Horrocks, Oliver Huntingdon, Bart Edwards and Knightfall star Tom Forbes have joined the cast which already includes Kasia Smutniak in the lead role of Drusilla, Liam Cunningham as Livius, Livia’s father, Isabella Rossellini as Balbina, an early enemy, Matthew McNulty as the future emperor Gaius, Christine Bottomley as Scribonia, Colette Tchantcho as

Tom Forbes played prince of France in Knightfall

Antigone, Ben Batt as Agrippa, Enzo Cilenti as Tiberius Claudius Nero, and Claire Forlani as Claudia Octavia.

Domina created and written by Simon Burke, follows Livia’s journey from a naïve young girl whose world crumbles in the wake of Julius Caesar’s assassination, to Rome’s most powerful and influential Empress, driven by a deep desire to avenge her father and secure power for her sons. Livia and her peers navigate their way through a brutal society by means of strategy, conspiracy, seduction and murder. This is a visceral and authentic family saga, grounded in historical accuracy and bringing to life the incredible true stories of the women who would create one of the most enduring and fascinating dynasties of all time.

HARLOTS EPIC SERIES SEASON 3 GETS AIRING DATE & CASTS ALFIE ALLEN, LEX SHRAPNEL, JACK GREENLEES, ASH HUNTER AS PIMP BROTHERS! MOLLY SHANNON IS LESBIAN EMILY DICKINSON IN WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY COSTUME COMEDY

'HARLOTS' SEASON 3

GETS AIRING DATE & NEW BOYS

Just two days ago your trusted spy informed you that Alex Sawyer will be joining the third season of Hulu's epic series HARLOTS and now we have

Alfie Allen will be a naughty pimp Isaac Pincher

more casting additions and also the airing date! Premiering on Hulu July 10th, the series which follows the life of two warring brothels in the 18th century London will also star Alfie Allen and Ash Hunter! 

Set in Georgian London, HARLOTS continues to follow the fortunes of the Wells family. Margaret (Samantha Morton) has been sent to America in chains and Lydia Quigley (Lesley Manville) is vanquished and in Bedlam. It seems that the Wells girls can finally free themselves of their mother’s feud, helped by allies such as Lady Fitz (Liv Tyler). But Charlotte Wells (Jessica

Ash Hunter is the seductive brother Hal Pincher

Brown Findlay) soon learns that running a lucrative brothel brings enemies as well as friends, including new pimp in town Isaac Pincher (Alfie Allen). Meanwhile Lydia still finds a way to bite, even in her darkest hour. Isaac Pincher is driven by his ambitions to achieve wealth and power. Compared to his more quiet and level headed brother Hal (Ash Hunter), he’s the frontman. Back in London after fighting in the Seven Years War, Isaac wants to take over London. The brothers lease a tavern together, the Saracen’s Head, which serves as a front for their ever-growing pimping business. Hal, meanwhile, enters into a relationship with Emily Lacey (Holli Dempsey), and they share an ambition to achieve something with their lives.

A NEW LORD AND A NEW JUSTICE

But those are not all the new boys in Harlots season three! Super charismatic Medici star Lex Shrapnel will play Lord James Croft, who visits brothels

Lex Shrapnel and Jack Greenlees are gorgeous new boys in town!

seeking young men for gay pleasures, while handsome Jack Greenlees will be new Justice in town who will help solve the murder of Charlotte Wells.

'WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY' 

DICKINSON WAS A LESBIAN!

Wild Nights with Emily hits cinemas next month

Speaking of period set projects, check out the terrible, but also fun, looking uber cheap trailer for WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY a costume comedy drama in which Molly Shannon plays famous poet Emily Dickinson in the lesbifriendly version of her life because the movie  is a dramatisation of the little known side of the writer Emily Dickinson's life, in particular her relationship with another woman. As the trailer says, she was one step ahead of her time, but men refused to follow her. This delightful silliness will be touring movie festivals throughout spring and summer around Europe and the states, with the limited Northern American release in April.

RICHARD MADDEN, HOLLIDAY GRAINGER JOIN 'ELECTRIC DREAMS' SF SERIES! MARTIN COMPSTON AND OTHERS JOIN 'VICTORIA' EPIC SERIES 2ND SEASON! IAN MCKELLEN, GABRIEL BYRNE IN 'HAMLET REVENANT' MOVIE ADAPTATION

'ELECTRIC DREAMS' SF SERIES

RICHARD MADDEN AND HOLLIDAY GRAINGER JOIN THE CAST

Rejoice, people! Two of our most favourite youngsters Richard Madden and Holliday Grainger will work together again and I think it will be their fifth time! They will star in The Hood Maker episode of ELECTRIC DREAMS anthology series in which each of the ten episodes will be done by a different director and cast adapting one of the stories from Philip K. Dick's sf opus. As I've informed you before some of the other episodes of the Channel 4 and Amazon series will star Timothy Spall, Greg Kinnear, Jack Reynor, Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston!

THE HOOD MAKER is set in a world without advanced technology where mutant telepaths have become humanity's only mechanism for long distance communication. Their powers have unintended implications and when the public begins to embrace mysterious telepath blocking hoods, two detectives with an entangled past are brought in to investigate.

'VICTORIA' SECOND SEASON

LATEST CASTING ADDITIONS!

In television news, still staying over in Britain, the second season of the hugely popular ITV series VICTORIA set to come back this Autumn with eight episodes plus a two hour Christmas special, has just added Martin Compston, Bruno Wolkowitch,  Emerald Fennell, Jo Stone-Fewings, Leo Suter and Michael Maloney to the cast with previously announced Diana Rigg! They will all join the second season which sees the Queen (Jenna Coleman) facing motherhood. She is now a working mother, trying to balance her responsibilities but with Prince Albert (Tom Hughes) still struggling to find a role for himself, there is an inevitable power struggle between husband and wife.

Martin Compston will be playing Dr Robert Traill, a key campaigner in the petition to gain awareness and support for those suffering from the potato famine in Ireland during the 1840s. French actor Bruno Wolkowitch will star as French King Louis Philippe, who Queen Victoria visits on her first outing to France. Nigel Lindsay returns as Sir Robert Peel, Alex Jennings as King Leopold, Peter Bowles as Duke of Wellington, David Oakes as Prince Ernest, Daniela Holtz as Baroness Lehzen and Catherine Flemming as the Duchess of Kent.

'HAMLET REVENANT'

CASTS SIR IAN MCKELLEN!

Brits in our last piece of news today as well: as 'Deadline' reports acting legend Ian McKellen and Gabriel Byrne will star in HAMLET REVENANT the latest big screen adaptation of Shakespeare's famous plays on the tragic Danish prince. Connie Nielsen and Lambert Wilson will also join them in the Ken McMullen directed film together with Medici star Lex Shrapnel!

HAMLET REVENANT follows a character caught amidst treasonous political upheavals, family crisis, sexual tensions and ambiguous friendships: a vortex of revenge, doubt and madness out of which no main character escapes. It brings to the surface the violence and destructive instincts that haunt the human psyche!