NEWS BULLETINS: JONATHAN BAILEY, MANUEL GARCIA RULFO IN NEW JURASSIC PARK, RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE SEQUEL, SHOGUN SEASON 2

   LATEST NEWS BULLETINS  

LEADS FOUND FOR NEW JURASSIC PARK

 After six previous films in the series have scored more than six billion dollars at the box offices around the world, JURASSIC PARK franchise is getting a reboot with completely new actors and although the plot is still under wraps, we know that Jonathan Bailey, Scarlett Johansson and Manuel Garcia Rulfo have been set as leads. Gareth Edwards is directing for summer 2025 release.

RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE SEQUEL

After a huge success over at Prime Video where it became their third most watched romantic film of all times, their lovely gay romance movie RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE will be getting a sequel with Nicholas Galitzine, as prince of England, and Taylor Zakhar Perez, as the son of US president , set to return as the love couple. The film brought many new subscribers to Amazon.

 

SHOGUN GETTING A SECOND SEASON

Also a success story, both critical and in viewership was FX limited series SHOGUN which will no longer be a limited series as it is getting a second season. Hiroyuki Sanada, who is also the producer, will return as Lord Yoshii Toranaga, whose journey to become shōgun and lead Japan to an era of peace was chronicled in the 10-episode adaptation of James Clavell’s novel.

SEE FINAL TRAILER FOR FX AND HULU NEW EPIC TV SERIES SHOGUN WITH COSMO JARVIS AND HIROYUKI SANADA

   SHOGUN MINI SERIES   

SEE THE FINAL TRAILER

Cosmo Jarvis leads the series

Final trailer has just been released for mini TV series adaptation of James Clavell's famous historical novel SHOGUN which will stream on FX and Hulu from February this year starring Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada. Set in the 17th Century, the series which will hit the streamer February 27th with a ten episode first season, has the story revolving around John Blackthorne, a sailor who rises from outsider to samurai, while being used as a pawn in Japanese leader Toranaga's struggle to reach the top of the ruling chain, or Shogun. The series was originally ordered back

It will be a ten episode series

in 2018, so it had a very long way to the small screens. Funny enough, although set in Japan, the series was shot in Canada.

 

NEW SERIES IS SET IN 

 the year 1600, Shōgun stars Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne, an risk taking English sailor who finds himself marooned in a fishing village in feudal Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him. He’s soon embroiled in a fierce civil war swirling around the besieged Lord Yoshii Toranaga (played by Hiroyuki Sanada),

The series starts February 27th

with only translator Toda Mariko (played by young Anna Sawai) - a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance - to bridge the gap between the two men. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father. Check out the final trailer from FX and tell us what you think, will you be watching and are you excited or not? Do you think it will be better than the original series with Richard Chamberlaine?

SEE CHARACTER POSTERS FOR NEW SHOGUN EPIC TV SERIES ARRIVING NEXT FEBRUARY

 SHOGUN MINI SERIES 

SEE NEW CHARACTER POSTERS

Cosmo Jarvis leads the cast of the new series

Unlike December that is going to be quite poor with the TV offer, January and February are promising to be a bit more interesting with more period set new shows arriving to the small screens including the murky and darknew mini TV series adaptation of James Clavell's famous historical novel SHOGUN which will stream also on Hulu from February next year starring Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada. Set in the 17th Century, the series which will hit the streamer February 27th with a ten episode first season, has the story revolving around John Blackthorne, a sailor who rises from outsider to samurai, while being used as a pawn in Japanese leader

Shogun arrives next February to FX and Hulu

Toranaga's struggle to reach the top of the ruling chain, or Shogun. The series was originally ordered back in 2018, so it had a very long way to the small screens. Funny enough, although set in Japan, the series was shot in Canada.

 

SET IN 

 the year 1600, Shōgun stars Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne, an risk taking English sailor who finds himself marooned in a fishing village in feudal Japana, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him. He’s soon embroiled in a fierce civil war swirling around the besieged Lord Yoshii Toranaga (played by Hiroyuki Sanada), with only translator Toda Mariko (played by young Anna Sawai) - a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance - to bridge the gap between the two men. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father.

FX AND HULU RELEASE FIRST TRAILER AND AIR DATE FOR NEW SHOGUN EPIC TV SERIES WITH COSMO JARVIS AND HIROYUKI SANADA

 SHOGUN MINI SERIES 

FINALLY GETS A TRAILER

And I cannot say it looks overly epic to me, it looks murky and dark, not what I expected or wanted, but we shall still give it a go: after a years long wait,

Shogun arrives next February to FX and Hulu

FX has dropped first trailer for their new mini TV series adaptation of James Clavell's famous SHOGUN which will stream also on Hulu from February next year starring Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada.

 

SET IN 

the year 1600, Shōgun stars Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne, an English sailor who finds himself marooned in a fishing village in feudal Japan. He’s soon embroiled in a fierce civil war swirling around the besieged Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), with only translator Toda Mariko (Anna Sawai) to bridge the gap between the two men. While serving her lord amidst this fraught political landscape, Mariko must reconcile her newfound companionship with Blackthorne, her commitment to the faith that saved her and her duty to her late father. You can tell us in the comments whether you liked the trailer and what you think:

HOLLYWOOD SPY'S GUIDE THROUGH ALL THE NEW PERIOD SET SHOWS OF 2023: FROM WILD WEST, 18TH CENTURY ENGLAND, 15TH CENTURY BELGRADE, PARIS, HAWAII AND TUDOR COURT TO IMPERIAL RUSSIA AND NAUTILUS

 2023 PERIOD SET SERIES 

THE ULTIMATE LIST IS HERE

Well, it is not especially ultimate as, unlike 2022 that gave us quite a lot of shows on queens and empresses, freshly launched 2023 looks rather bleak when it comes to our favourite period set genre. Out of the returning shows we

Django should start very soon on Sky

can expect new seasons of Valhalla, Wheel of Time, Serpent Queen, Sisi, Empress, Gilded Age, Domina and Sanditon, but here are the new ones: Sky should finally launch its wild west set adventure DJANGO starring Matthias Schoenaerts as the legendary gunslinger searching for his daughter. FX might finally bring us the new adaptation of SHOGUN sometime this year starring Cosmo Jarvis as the 17th century sailor who becomes a samurai. Hiroyuki Sanada and Tadanobu Asano also star. BBC will probably give us GALLOWS POLE set in the 18th century industrial revolution in Yorkshire, and possibly TEN POUND POMS with Michelle Keegan in which a group of Brits leave post-

A sneaky spy peek into Ten Pound Poms set

war Britain in 1956 to embark on an adventure in Australia. Amazon Prime Video has already set cast for MY LADY JANE which brings the history of the saddest queen of England ever - she ruled just a few weeks. Dominic Cooper stars.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM ITV?

British channel ITV and their newly launched streamer ITVX are to bring us TOM JONES series which will also air on PBS Masterpiece this spring starring Solly McLeod as the titular hero of the four part picaresque

Tom Jones will have just four episodes this spring

story about young man's complicated journey to find real love in the 18th century England. We might also get to see Iain De Caestercker as King Arthur in THE WINTER KING in which a former warrior now turned monk, tells the story of how Arthur became the lord of war despite the illegitimacy of his throne.

2023 OFFER FROM NETFLIX

Netflix does not really have much in offer from the genre. February should bring us Italian series THE LAW ACCORDING TO LIDIA POET with Matilda de Angelis. Forbidden from practicing law, a woman prepares an appeal to overturn the court's decision in this true 19th century story of Lidia Poët, Italy's first female lawyer. Poe's THE FALL OF THE HOUSE

Lidia Poet will start this February on Netflix

OF USHER should also arrive to the streamer sometime this year starring Bruce Greenwood, Zach Gilford, Mark Hamil and Carla Gugino.

 

  FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

Beside the new season of Catherine the Great series, this time titled VELIKAYA: THE GOLDEN AGE in which Liza Boyarska takes over the

Liza Boyarskaya is new Catherine the Great in Velikaya

role of the Russian empress in the later years of her rule,  we will also see Catherine the Great, this time played by Irina Pegova, in THE IMPERIAL

Irina Pegova is Catherine in The Imperial Vaccination

VACCINATION about the time when Catherine had to make her people accept the first flu vaccines by taking it first herself. That one will air on Russia 1 broadcaster sometime this year.

APPLE TO LEAD THE GENRE

Surprisingly enough, Apple TV Plus will probably dominate the genre this year. They have THE BUCCANEERS set in the 1870s when a bunch of rich American girls are trying to find a posh English husband during

First look at The Buccaneers TV series set

the London debutante season. They should also show us THE NEW LOOK in which Ben Mendelhson and Juliette Binoche play Dior and Coco Chanel in the story that explores the rise of fashion designer Christian Dior, as

Ben Mendehlson as Dior in The New Look

he dethrones Coco Chanel and helps return spirit and life to the world with his iconic imprint of beauty and influence. Hugo Becker, John Malkovich and

Masters of the Air continues Band of Brothers anthology

Emily Mortimer also star. It is possibly that we will also finally see MASTERS OF THE AIR which follows the American bombers during the

Jason Momoa will be Chief of War

WW2 with Callum Turner and Austen Butler in the lead roles. Jason Momoa is, meanwhile, bringing CHIEF OF WAR about the historical struggle for power on his islands of Hawaii. 

  WHAT IS DISNEY PREPARING

We are also not used to getting costume drama from Disney Plus, but this year they are bringing us THE BALLAD OF RENEGADE NELL about an 18th century female renegade who will cross paths with Queen Anne and play

Shazad Latif as captain Nemo in Nautilus

a role in the power struggles that were being played out over the European battlefields. We might also see Shazad Latif as Captain Nemo in

The Lions of Sicily first look at the sets

NAUTILUS epic TV seafaring adventure and also the adaptation of THE LIONS OF SICILY which follows the 19th century Florio family which turned a small shop in Sicily into a flourish business activity that became an

Balenciaga might be scraped due to the recent scandal

economic empire! Disney should also give us BALENCIAGA series about the famous Spanish designer and fashion legend it if hasn't been cancelled due to the recent scandal.

RISE OF THE RAVEN

Now, I am not sure this one will be done for airing this year, but it might: RISE OF THE RAVEN is this year's most expensive epic series from Central Europe done for Hungarian TV2, Austrian ORF and our dear Beta Film. Based on Bán Mór’s bestselling novels, the ten part series follows Hungarian warrior Janos Hunyadi, who defeated the Ottoman army in 1456 at the Battle of Belgrade, halting its march across Europe. Set among the scandals, political power plays and court intrigues of medieval Europe, the $30 million series is nevertheless a human story at heart, with Gellért L. Kádár playing Hunyadi, and Vivien Rujder as his life partner, Elizabeth Szilagyi. Laurence Rupp, Murathan Muslu and Rade Sherbedgia also star.

WILLIAM MOSELEY TO PLAY DAVY CROCKETT, CZECH PRINCE & EDGAR ALLAN POE! TADANOBU ASANO, ANNA SAWAI CAST IN SHOGUN EPIC TV SERIES

   WILLIAM MOSELEY  

FROM CROCKETT AND EDGAR ALLAN POE TO CZECH PRINCE

We're updating you with the upcoming projects from Hollywood's hottest blond hunk William Moseley and I don't think I will hear anyone complaining! He already finished LAND OF DREAMS movie with Matt Dillon and Isabella Rossellini, political satire set in the near future where America has closed its borders and become more insular than ever. He is also filming ON THE LINE thriller with Mel Gibson, and you already know that

William Moseley is a very busy man

we are waiting for historical adventure MEDIEVAL to be released. In the story of fourteenth century Czech icon and warlord Jan Zizka (Ben Foster), who defeated armies of the Teutonic Order and the Holy Roman Empire, he plays his brother Jaroslav. Michael Caine, Til Schweiger and Matthew Goode also star. Another of his historical films SAVAGE LANDS is currently in pre production: in it he plays Davy Crockett, the American Legend, whose wife has fallen deathly ill back in 1815, leaving their young children to survive on their own, so he must fight his way back to them across the many perils found in the Savage Lands of the wild frontier.

  Meanwhile, Shudder has bought his film RAVEN'S HOLLOW in which he dyed his hair black to play Edgar Allan Poe during his time at the US Military Academy, known as West Point. Returning from a training exercise in upstate New York, Poe and four other West Point cadets make a gruesome discovery. This encounter will lead

First look at William as Edgar Allan Poe in Raven's Hollow

them into a forgotten community where they find a township guarding a frightening secret that feeds Poe’s wandering and ingenious mind. AMC's horror streamer Shudder will release it sometime next year.

  SHOGUN EPIC TV SERIES  

ADS NEW CAST MEMBERS

After adding Cosmo Jarvis and Hiroyuki Sanada as leads, FX has completed the casting process for their eight part epic mini TV series

Anna Sawai is taking the female lead

SHOGUN with Anna Sawai as female lead. Tadanobu Asano, Fumi Nikaido, Tokuma Nishioka, Takehiro Hira, Ako, Shinnosuke Abe, Yasunari Takeshima, Hiroto Kanai, Toshi Toda, Hiro Kanagawa, Nestor Carbonell, Yuki Kura, Tommy Bastow, Moeka Hoshi, Yoriko Doguchi and Yuka Kouri complete the cast in the saga following Cosmo as John Blackthorne , a risk-taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture ultimately will redefine him; Lord Toranaga (Sanada), a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his

Tadanobu Asano has also joined the cast of Shogun series

own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko (Sawai), a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties who must prove her value and allegiance.

COSMO JARVIS, HIROYUKI SANADA TO LEAD SHOGUN EPIC TV SERIES AT FX! VICTORIAN COOKERY NOVEL MISS ELIZA'S ENGLISH KITCHEN TO BECOME TV SERIES!

  COSMO JARVIS TO LEAD  

FX' SHOGUN EPIC TV SERIES

We thought this one was scraped three years ago, but it seems it is alive and kicking: Cosmo Jarvis (whom we watched in Lady Macbeth and Raised

Cosmo Jarvis will take the lead role

by Wolves) and Hiroyuki Sanada will be two of the three leads in SHOGUN TV series adaptation over at FX set in feudal Japan. Based on James Clavell's novel, it depicts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), a risk taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada), a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonorable family ties who must prove her value and allegiance. The series is set to shoot as soon as this summer.

MISS ELIZA'S ENGLISH KITCHEN

TO BECOME A TV SERIES

This one hasn't even been published yet (it is out this Autumn) but Annabel Abbs's Victorian novel of cookery and friendship MISS ELIZA'S ENGLISH KITCHEN has been nabbed by CBS for a TV series adaptation!

The book is out in bookstores this Autumn

The book tells the story of an English poet, Eliza Acton, who dreams of seeing her words in print. However, when she takes her new manuscript to a publisher, she’s told that “poetry is not the business of a lady.” Instead, they want her to write a cookery book.England in 1837 is awash with exciting new ingredients, from spices to exotic fruits, and that’s what publishers want from women. Despite never having cooked, Eliza is determined to learn. To assist her, she hires 17-year-old Ann Kirby, the impoverished daughter of a war-crippled father and a mother with dementia. Over the course of 10 years, Eliza and Ann develop an unusual friendship that crosses social classes. Together, they break the mold of traditional cookbooks, changing the course of cookery writing forever. Abbs was inspired to write the book after she inherited a collection of antiquarian cookery books

FX ADAPTING JAMES CLAVELL'S HISTORICAL SAGA 'SHOGUN' SET IN FEUDAL JAPAN INTO EPIC MINI TV SERIES!

 'SHOGUN'

EPIC TV SERIES AT FX!

More than five years ago, your spy has informed you that Fox was planning this project but it did not happen and now it is FX that has ordered a series based on James Clavell's SHOGUN! The production of the ten episode mini

Shogun will be a ten episode limited series

will be done on an international scale.

Tim Van Patten is directing the story set in feudal Japan, which charts the collision of two ambitious men from different worlds and a mysterious female samurai: John Blackthorne, a risk taking English sailor who ends up shipwrecked in Japan, a land whose unfamiliar culture will ultimately redefine him; Lord Toranaga, a shrewd, powerful daimyo, at odds with his own dangerous, political rivals; and Lady Mariko, a woman with invaluable skills but dishonourable family ties, who must prove her value and allegiance. The novel, sold in more than 30 million copies worldwide, was adapted 40 years ago into a series with Richard Chamberlain. Aired on four consecutive nights in 1980 at NBC it started the format of mini series!