ANTHONY HOPKINS IS EMPEROR VESPASIAN IN GLADIATOR EPIC SERIES THOSE ABOUT TO DIE! BBC & PBS ORDER MOONFLOWER MURDERS FOLLOW UP WITH LESLEY MANVILLE! CHRONICLES OF AMBER NEW EPIC ADAPTATION?

 ANTHONY HOPKINS IS EMPEROR 

IN THOSE ABOUT TO DIE SERIES

Well, if crowning the emperor isn't a good sign that this one is moving ahead I don't know what is: as Deadline reports, Roland Emmerich has cast Anthony Hopkins as emperor Vespasian in Peacocks' new epic TV series about gladiators THOSE ABOUT TO DIE! The large scale drama is set within the spectacular, complex and corrupt world of gladiatorial sports in Ancient Rome introducing diverse characters across the many layers of Roman society where sports, politics and business intersect and collide. Emperor Vespasian of Rome and head of the Flavian bloodline, is battle tested, a rural upstart who claimed his throne after victory in a bloody 10-year civil war. He is aging and is despised by the Patricians jockeying for position in the Empire and looking to supplant his heirs to the throne the first chance they get.

MOONFLOWER MURDERS SERIES

ORDERED AT BBC AND PBS

After the success of Magpie Murders, the series is getting a follow up in MOONFLOWER MURDERS over at PBS and BBC even though the first series was produced by Britbox. Lesley Manville returns as editor turned sleuth Susan Ryeland with Timothy McMullan returning as famous literary detective Atticus Pünd. It will be based on another book by Anthony Horovitz which takes place after the Magpie story and focuses on the disappearance of a hotel employee, with the plot also having a story-within-a-story. 

  CHRONICLES OF AMBER  

EPIC SERIES MOVING AHEAD?

Stephen Colbert will produce the series

Although many have tried to do an adaptation of Roger Zelazny's CHRONICLES OF AMBER famous epic fantasy saga, it seems the production might move ahead as Stephen Colbert has now decided to executive produce it. Sold in more than fifteen million copies around the world and translated in over 40 languages, the series follows the story of Corwin, who is said to awaken on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality (called ‘shadows’) and rules over the one true world, Amber. The saga has been published in ten books.

NEW BRITBOX DRAMAS ARRIVING THIS WEEK: WHODUNNIT MYSTERY MAGPIE MURDERS WITH LESLEY MANVILLE, SHERIDAN SMITH'S LEGAL DRAMA NO RETURN

 MAGPIE MURDERS SERIES 

STARTS THIS WEEK AT BRITBOX

Magpie Murders start this Thursday on Britbox

Coming to Britbox next week Thursday February 10th  is their original series MAGPIE MURDERS which will stream in six episodes on the British streamer and will later on cross the Atlantic and air on PBS Masterpiece for US audience! Based on Anthony Horowitz’s novel it stars Lesley Manville as Susan Ryeland, editor to best selling writer Alan Conway (Conleth Hill). But, when the infamous mystery writer hands over his latest manuscript, the last chapter is missing. Before Susan can get her hands on the missing chapter, Conway is murdered. Naturally, she sets off on a quest to figure who dunnit. In his last novel he

Lesley Manville and Conleth Hill lead the cast

turned everyone he knew into the characters of this murder mystery within the murder mystery. Part of the series is set in the 1950s United Kingdom and

The new series will stream in six episodes on Britbox and PBS

part in today's London an Suffolk which she visits to find out the ending of her writer's unfinished story. Check out the fun trailer below and tell us what you think:

 

  ITV'S NO RETURN SERIES  

ARRIVES THIS MONDAY!

After her four day series The Teacher last week, Sheridan Smith is back Monday February 7th at ITV with her new weekly drama NO RETURN which will also have all of its four episodes immediately available on Britbox.

Sheridan Smith lead No Return ITV and Britbox drama

She and Louis Ashbourne Serkis, play mother and son, Kathy and 16 year old Noah. Michael Jibson plays Martin, Kathy’s husband and father to Noah in the series that deals with themes of parental love, guilt, grievances, and the issues around consent for teenagers! 

 

  LOOKING FORWARD TO

 an idyllic all-inclusive luxury break in Turkey to enjoy the sun and sea with extended family members, Kathy (Sheridan Smith) and Martin (Michael Jibson), their son Noah (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) and younger daughter

No Return will air weekly on ITV and stream in full on Britbox

Jessica (Lily Sutcliffe) are blissfully unaware of the horrific ordeal about to unfold. Their holiday is a chance to unwind and for Kathy and Martin to spend some much needed time together. Until unsuspecting Noah accepts a seemingly innocent invitation to a beach party from a fellow holidaymaker,

Louis Asborne Serkis takes the role of the gay teen

Rosie (Jodie Campbell), who is staying at the same hotel. Suddenly Kathy and Martin’s world spectacularly falls apart when they are left desperately fighting for their son’s freedom against extremely challenging circumstances.

Ridley Road's Nicola Shindler is executive producing

An arrest, an expensive and alien legal system, looming media coverage and resistance from fellow holidaymakers to come to their aid leaves the distraught parents fighting for Noah’s freedom when ironically he should be at school sitting his latest exams.

BREAKING NEWS: SEE TRAILER FOR NETFLIX' AGAINST THE ICE WITH NIKOLAJ COSTER WALDAU, CHARLES DANCE, AND BRITBOX' MYSTERY SERIES MAGPIE MURDERS WITH LESLEY MANVILLE! TIM ALLEN TO LEAD SANTA CLAUS TV SERIES

  AGAINST THE ICE TRAILER   

FOR NEW NETFLIX MOVIE

Against the Ice will stream March 2nd!

Coming this March to Netflix is new polar adventure thriller AGAINST THE ICE starring Nikolaj Coster Waldau, Charles Dance, Ed Speleers and Joe Cole. In 1909, Denmark's Alabama Expedition led by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen was attempting to disprove the United States' claim to North Eastern Greenland, a claim that was rooted in the idea that Greenland was broken up into two different pieces of land. Leaving their crew behind with the ship, Mikkelsen sleds across the ice with his inexperienced crew member, Iver Iversen. The two men succeed in finding the proof that Greenland is one island, but returning to the ship takes

Against the Ice is Netflix' first original from Iceland

longer and is much harder than expected. Battling extreme hunger, fatigue and a polar bear attack, they finally arrive to find their ship crushed in the ice and the camp abandoned.

 

 SANTA CLAUS MINI SERIES 

WITH TIM ALLEN AT DISNEY +

The film series had three movies

Great news coming from Disney + today is that Tim Allen will star in a mini series, a sequel to his famous THE SANTA CLAUS with Last Man Standing's Jack Burditt as the showrunner. Here is the logline: Scott Calvin is on the brink of his 65th birthday and realizing that he can’t be Santa forever. He’s starting to lose a step in his Santa duties, and more importantly, he’s got a family who could benefit from a life in the normal world, especially his two kids who have grown up at the Pole. With a lot of elves, children, and family to please, Scott sets out to find a suitable replacement Santa while preparing his family for a new adventure in a life south of the pole.

 MAGPIE MURDERS TRAILER 

FOR NEW BRITBOX SERIES

Speaking of trailers, check out the first one for Britbox original series MAGPIE MURDERS which will stream its six episodes February 10th on the British streamer! Based on Anthony Horowitz’s novel it stars Lesley

Magpie Murders will stream on Britbox from February

Manville as Susan Ryeland, editor to best-selling writer Alan Conway (Conleth Hill). But, when the infamous mystery writer hands over his latest manuscript, the last chapter is missing. Before Susan can get her hands on the

The murder mystery within murder mystery will have six episodes

missing chapter, Conway is murdered. Naturally, she sets off on a quest to figure whodunnit. In his last novel he turned everyone he knew into the characters of this murder mystery within the murder mystery.

1ST PHOTOS FROM FUNNY GIRL PERIOD SET COMEDY SERIES WITH GEMMA ARTERTON, MAGPIE MURDERS BRITBOX MINI SERIES WITH LESLEY MANVILLE

  1ST GEMMA ARTERTON  

PHOTO IN FUNNY GIRL

 Yep, she dyed her hair blonde! Sky has released first photo of Gemma Arterton in their TV series adaptation of Nick Hornby's FUNNY GIRL about

Gemma Arterton takes the lead

Barbara Parker, a young woman from Blackpool, and her finding her comic voice in the world of the 1960s sitcom. It’s the height of the swinging 60s and Barbara Parker has just been crowned Miss Blackpool – but there’s got to be more to life than being a beauty queen in a seaside town, right? She wants to be… someone. The bright lights of London are calling, and our determined hero sets off to find out who that someone is. The London she encounters is not as quite as swinging as the one she’d read about and seen on TV. However, after a series of setbacks Barbara finds herself in unfamiliar territory – an audition for a TV comedy show. Barbara’s uncompromising northern wit proves to be

The new series will air sometime next year over at Sky

the X factor that the show has been missing. She gets the part and becomes part of a ground breaking new sitcom which will have an impact on British comedy for decades to come. Clare-Hope Ashitey, Arsher Ali and Alexa Davies also star. 

  THE MAGPIE MURDERS  

1ST PICS FROM NEW SERIES

Britbox has, meanwhile, released first photos of Lesley Manville who leads their new mini series MAGPIE MURDERS a small screen adaptation of Anthony Horowitz’s novel of the same name which also stars Daniel

Lesley Manville takes the lead role in Magpie Murders series

Mays, Alexandros Logothetis, Claire Rushbrook, Matthew Beard, Pippa Haywood and Michael Maloney. Beside BritBox, it will also air next year on PBS Masterpiece in USA. In the series, a beguiling murder mystery with a

Timothy McMullan replaces Timothy Spall in the cast

solution that will both astonish and grip viewers, Timothy McMullan will star as the clever and complex 1950s detective Atticus Pünd in the fictional novels by best selling mystery writer Alan Conway (Conleth Hill). The plot of

Daniel Mays also stars in the new television series

Magpie Murders revolves around the character Susan Ryeland (Manville), an editor who is given an unfinished Conway manuscript and has little idea it will change her life.

IT'S A SPALL SATURDAY: TIMOTHY SPALL JOINS LESLEY MANVILLE IN MAGPIE MURDERS TV SERIES, RAFE SPALL TO LEAD JOSH LAWSON'S ROMANTIC MOVIE LONG STORY SHORT

  MAGPIE MURDERS TV SERIES 

TIMOTHY SPALL CAST AS LEAD

We're having a Spall family day at the spy's today: BritBox has just cast Timothy Spall as the lead, next to Lesley Manville, in their upcoming adaptation

Timothy Spall will do the detective work

of Anthony Horowitz’s acclaimed and best selling crime novel MAGPIE MURDERS which begins production next week. In the series, a beguiling murder mystery with a solution that will both astonish and grip viewers, Spall will star as the clever and complex 1950s detective Atticus Pünd in the fictional novels by best selling mystery writer Alan Conway. The plot of Magpie Murders revolves around the character Susan Ryeland (Manville), an editor who is given an unfinished Conway manuscript and has little idea it will change her life. The series will air on Masterpiece PBS in USA next year. Stay tuned for additional casting updates.

 LONG STORY SHORT ROMANCE 

RAFE SPALL CAST AS LEAD

Rafe Spall will lead the new movie

Meanwhile, Timothy's darling son Rafe Spall has joined Oscar nominee Josh Lawson's romantic movie LONG STORY SHORT according to Variety. Lawson is also co starring in  the film he also wrote. The story of the movie follows Teddy (Rafe Spall), who wakes up the morning after his wedding to discover that every few minutes he’s jumping forward to the next year of his life. He must use every precious moment wisely to keep from losing the love of his life, and to learn to love the life he’s losing. Zahra Newman, Ronny Chieng and Dena Kaplan also star in the film which will be offered to international buyers by Studiocanal!

LESLEY MANVILLE TO LEAD BRITBOX MYSTERY TV SERIES MAGPIE MURDERS! NORDIC WW2 DRAMA THE GREATEST CRIME TRAILER WITH JAKOB OFTEBRO!

  LESLEY MANVILLE  

TO LEAD MAGPIE MURDERS

One of the first original series for British streamer BritBox, a small screen adaptation of Anthony Horowitz' novel MAGPIE MURDERS will be

Lesley Manville will lead the new series

toplined by Lesley Manville. The six part series which will also air on PBS in America, will see her portray Susan Ryeland, an editor who is given an unfinished manuscript of author Alan Conway’s latest novel but has little idea it will change her life. It is a crime story about an ingenious novel within a novel, a mystery within a mystery. The best selling novel also won a number of book awards. Lesley Manville is also expected to be seen in MRS HARRIS GOES TO PARIS movie, a new adaptation of Paul Gallico's much loved novel about a cleaning lady in 1950s London who falls in love with an haute couture dress by Christian Dior and decides to gamble everything for the sake of this folly. Jason Isaacs, Lambert Wilson, Isabelle Hupert also star.

  THE GREATEST CRIME  

WAR EPIC FROM NORWAY

And after news from Denmark yesterday, we are now moving to Norway where Christmas saw the release of their massive war epic THE GREATEST CRIME (Den største forbrytelsen). Our fave Nordic star Jakob Oftebro leads the cast. November 26, 1942. By order of the German occupation forces,

The movie premiered this Christmas in Norway

a large scale police operation is launched throughout the country. In Oslo, more than 300 police officers, the shepherd and NS members have been called in to assist. Over 100 taxis have been requisitioned for the assignment. Jewish women, men, children and the elderly will be arrested and deported on the same day. A month earlier, the police in Oslo had arrested almost all Jewish men over the age of 15 and gathered them at the Berg internment camp outside Tønsberg. Early in the morning on November 26, they are woken up and driven away by train in cattle carts. The destination is the quay in Oslo. Jews from all over Norway have been brought and

Eirik Svensson directed the war epic

transported here. At exit 1, the German cargo ship Danube is ready to receive the human cargo. In brief glimpses, husbands and wives, fathers and children, grandfathers and grandchildren, are brutally torn apart again. Terrified and unaware of their fate, they are forced under deck on the large cargo ship. The Danube leaves Oslo with a total of 529 Norwegian Jews on board. The final destination is the Auschwitz extermination camp. This is a magnificent and dramatic film based on real events that stretch from the 1930s to the days of peace in 1945. The story of the Braude family is at the center of the action in the film. An ordinary Norwegian working class family who until these fateful days had lived their lives in safety on Grünerløkka. There they lived with their dreams for life and ambitions for the future, but had their destiny sealed by the fact that they were Jews.

RUPERT PENRY JONES, ELLIE BAMBER TO LEAD MAURITIUS SET EXOTIC COSTUME DRAMA PRISONERS OF PARADISE! BRITBOX, PBS TO ADAPT MAGPIE MURDERS INTO TV SERIES

  'PRISONERS OF PARADISE'

 SENDS RUPERT PENRY JONES, ELLIE BAMBER TO MAURITIUS

Ellie Bamber will take the female lead

Deadline reports that late this September a shooting will start over among the stunning landscapes of the island of Mauritius of period set movie PRISONERS OF PARADISE with Ellie Bamber, Rupert Penry Jones, Mehdi Dehbi and Edward Akrout in the cast. To be directed by Mitch Jenkins and set in 1925, the film follows 17 year old orphan Lucy Gladwell (Ellie Bamber) who is sent from England to live under the guardianship of her uncle George Huyton (Rupert Penry Jones). Initially seduced by the sumptuous beauty of her

Rupert Penry Jones and Mehdi Dehbi will play the male leads

surroundings, Lucy finds herself at odds with her violent uncle who is not the benign influence he pretends to be, and she soon falls in love with Krishna (Mehdi Dehbi), a labourer working on a nearby plantation.

  'MAGPIE MURDERS'

TO BECOME PBS TV SERIES

If you are a fan of a good murder mystery you will be thrilled to hear that Britbox and PBS Masterpiece will adapt Anthony Horowitz's MAGPIE MURDERS novel into a six episode mini series. The novel within a novel

Magpie Murders was a worldwide bestseller

revolves around Susan Ryeland, an editor who is given an unfinished manuscript of author Alan Conway’s latest novel, but has little idea it will change her life.