NEW NETFLIX PERIOD SET ORIGINALS COMING FROM ITALY
LIDIA POET AND BRIGANTI
Matilda de Angelis will lead Lidia Poet
Netflix has unveiled their upcoming new Italian original series slate and there are two period set ones among them. Matilda De Angelis (from Leonardo and The Undoing) will play LIDIA POET in this procedural series which reconstructs the true story of the Italian woman who in late 19th century Turin fought a legal battle to be allowed to practice as a lawyer after she was forbidden to do so by a court order. She became Italy’s first female lawyer. Romulus helmer Matteo Rovere is directing. BRIGANTI will be a feminist epic set in Italy’s South during the 19th century involving a woman named Filomena who joins a group of brigands and pursues a treasure of gold ingots that had been stolen from a Sicilian bank by Italian patriot Giuseppe Garibaldi.
MATTHEW FOX TO LEAD
LAST LIGHT MINI SERIES
Speaking of new series, Peacock is preparing new apocalyptic mini series LAST LIGHT based on Alex Scarrow's book. In the series that
Matthew Fox returns to television
follows a family fighting to survive in a world that has been suddenly thrown into chaos, Matthew Fox will be petro chemist Andy Nielsen who knows how dependent the world is on oil. Fearing the fallout that would occur should the supply be disrupted, Andy’s worst imaginings are realized during a business trip to the Middle East, when oil supplies get contaminated by an infectious agent, causing society to implode in the face of global disaster. Meanwhile, his daughter is at home in London, and his wife Elena (Joanna Froggatt) and young son are in Paris, leaving the family separated. In order to find one another, they’ll sacrifice everything. The five episode series will see Fox' return to the small screens after more than ten years.
Netflix and Ridley Scott are producing a new heist TV series JIGSAW loosely inspired by the real-life story where seventy billion dollars in bonds went missing in downtown Manhattan during Hurricane Sandy! Spanning 24
The eight part series is already shooting in Brooklyn
years, the series will describe what happened two decades before and a year after the heist. With Rufus Sewell as a security expert and Jai Courtney as a safecracker in the cast, the series will also star Giancarlo Esposito as a thief, Paz Vega as an attorney, Tati Gabrielle and others.
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
FIRST TEASER IS HERE
First teaser has been released for new adventure TV series AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS which is arriving later this year to BBC, PBS in USA, RAI in Italy, ZDF in Germany and French national television. David
The series will most probably air for holidays
Tennant stars as literature's greatest explorer Phileas Fogg in a thrilling new adaptation of Jules Verne's classic adventure novel with Ibrahim Koma as
The characters have been changed to suit the woke agenda
his valet Jean Passepartout, and Leonie Benesch as headstrong journalist Abigail "Fix" Fortescue. First two episodes will premiere at Canneseries October 10th.
Comedy all the way today, starting with the trailer for new Netflix multicam sitcom PRETTY SMART which arrives October 8th! After getting unexpectedly dumped by her boyfriend, Chelsea (Emily Osment) a high-brow, Harvard educated intellectual and aspiring novelist is forced to move in
Pretty Smart will stream in ten episodes at Netflix
with her bubbly, carefree, not so intellectual West Coast sister, Claire (Olivia Macklin), and her three lovably eccentric, not so intellectual roommates: Grant (Gregg Sulkin), a distractingly handsome personal trainer, Solana
Emily Osment and Gregg Sulkin lead the cast
(Cinthya Carmon), a former lawyer turned healer, and Jayden (Michael Hsu Rosen), a social media influencer. But Chelsea's tough, sometimes judgemental exterior starts to soften as she gets to know her new friends, and they begin to form an unlikely found family.
GHOSTS SITCOM AT CBS
UR HOUSE COMES WITH GHOSTS
Ghosts arrive October 7th to CBS
Meanwhile, CBS will launch their own new sitcom, though not a multicam, a day before. GHOSTS sees Utkarsh Ambudkar and Rose McIver playing ayoung couple, whose dreams come true when they inherit a beautiful country house, only to find it's both falling apart and inhabited by many of the deceased previous residents. It is a remake of the British comedy of the same name. But do not fool yourself, it looks to be missing any of the quality the original has.
GRAND DUKE OF CORSICA
TIMOTHY SPALL TRAILER IS OUT!
Grand Duke is out November in USA
Over in the movie world, check out the trailer for Timothy Spall's comedy movie THE GRAND DUKE OF CORSICA which arrives November 3rd written and directed by Daniel Graham. In 1221 a young man is set on his path to becoming St. Francis of Assisi (Matt Hookings). A thousand years later an architect (Timothy Spall) must build a mausoleum for a dying billionaire (Peter Stormare). Separated by history, these men's lives will be forever changed by a pandemic. As a deadly epidemic slowly begins to sweep Malta, a brilliant but cantankerous architect embarks
Grand Duke was both written and directed by Daniel Graham
upon an unusual commission for an eccentric billionaire who calls himself 'The Grand Duke of Corsica'. A state of emergency creates chaos but Alfred Rott, ever the professional, remains to finish the job.
Although there is currently an animated version, Amazon is planning to turn SHE-RA into a live action epic series. Dream Works will produce
It will be the first ever live action She-Ra series
the series from the He-Man universe. In the original 80's animated series, She-Ra’s real name is Princess Adora, the long lost twin sister of Prince Adam, or He-Man. She was kidnapped as a baby by Hordak of the Evil Horde and taken to the planet Etheria, where she was mind controlled into serving as a Force Captain of the Horde. He-Man eventually helped her break the mind control and gave her the Sword of Protection, which allows her to transform into She-Ra and grants her incredible power. The new live action series will not be connected with the current Netflix animated series.
1ST NIGHTMARE ALLEY LOOK
BRADLEY COOPER, CATE BLANCHETT, TONI COLLETTE
There is also the first look from new noir thriller movie NIGHTMARE ALLEY coming from Vanity Fair with the poster revealing Bradley Cooper
Nightmare Alley arrives December
who portrays a man working a roustabout job with a small time carnival! Out December 17th the big screen adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s 1946 novel of the same name, it sees Bradley Cooper portraying Stanton Carlisle, a former carnival worker who becomes a big city star as a nightclub performer, using cold reading tricks he picked up in the sideshow to create the impression he is a powerful mind reader. Now the marks and rubes he targets are millionaires. Cate Blanchett plays Dr. Lilith Ritter, a psychiatrist who first tries to expose him as a charlatan, then becomes embroiled in his schemes, with the cast also including Toni Collette
First look at Cate Blanchett and Bradley Cooper
as tarot reader Zeena, Rooney Mara as Molly along with Willem Dafoe as Clem Hoately, Ron Perlman as Bruno, David Strathairn as Pete, Richard Jenkins as Ezra and Holt McCallany as Anderson.
PROFESSIONALS TV SERIES
TOM WELLING, BRENDAN FRASER SHOW TO AIR ON CW
In other series news, CW has bought airing rights on new action series PROFESSIONALS which stars Tom Welling as Vincent Corbo, a top-tier security operative, who is paid to protect the interests of rich and powerful
The series is Irish, South African coproduction
clients by any means necessary – legal or not. After a next-gen medical satellite explodes on launch, Corbo is hired by the rocket’s designer – billionaire futurist Peter Swann, played by Brendan Fraser, who suspects sabotage.
If you are missing Empire on Fox, they have another music dynasty coming to the small screen, but now a country one: Joshua Sasse has just joined their new series MONARCH which will start January 30th following
Joshua Sasse will be the son of the family
America’s first family of country music, the Romans, who are headed by the insanely talented, but tough as nails Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman (Susan Sarandon). Along with her beloved husband, Albie (Trace Adkins), Dottie has created a country music dynasty. But even though the Roman name is synonymous with authenticity, the very foundation of their success is a lie. And when their reign as country royalty is put in jeopardy, heir to the crown Nicolette “Nicky” Roman (Anna Friel) will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy, while ensuring her own quest for stardom. Sasse will play Luke Roman, the smart, charming but insecure son of the Romans, as well as the CEO of the family’s business, Monarch Entertainment. Luke is close to his sisters Nicky and Gigi (Beth Ditto), and is the apple of his mother’s eye, but he has a troubled relationship with his father, whose approval he can never get, no matter how hard he tries.
A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS
GETS NEW POSTERS AND TRAILER
Even though the summer is not yet over you might be wondering what will
you watch in cinemas next Christmas, well new trailer and posters have been
A Boy Called Christmas arrives November
released by Studiocanal for the big screen adaptation of Matt Haig's novel A BOY CALLED CHRISTMAS which will arrive actually earlier than Christmas - November in selected theatres and over on Netflix!
This is the story of Father Christmas, the tale of a young boy named Nikolas (Henry Lawfull) of snow and elves, starring Jim Broadbent, Michiel Huisman, Stephen Merchant, Toby Jones, Sally Hawkins and Dame Maggie Smith. What more could we want from a holiday movie?
The story follows an ordinary young boy called Nikolas who sets out on
an extraordinary adventure into the snowy north in search of his father
who is on a quest to discover the
Little Henry Lawful takes the title role in the film
fabled village of the elves, Elfhelm. Taking
with him a headstrong reindeer Blitzen and a loyal pet mouse, Nikolas
soon meets his destiny and learns that nothing is impossible… Most of
the movie was shot in the real home of Santa Clause, Lapland in
Findland.
We are starting the week after our massive list of all the epic shows to expect till the end of the year, with yet another truly epic project: as Variety reports, Aidan Gillen is set to star in new eight episode epic TV series THE
Aiden Gillen will star in the series
O'NEILL on Gaelic greatest hero Hugh O'Neill. Stephen Saint Leger of Vikings and Barbarians will helm. Tim Loane (Versailles, Das Boot) will be the show runner for Dublin's Revolution Media.
THE O'NEILL follows Ireland’s O’Neill dynasty, its most powerful Gaelic
lordship, as in 1560 a nine year old Hugh O’Neill is taken from his
native Ireland and groomed as an English Lord at the English Court where
he forms a tight bond with the future Queen Elizabeth I, only 10 years
his senior.
Sent back to Ireland after he came of age to govern for the crown, he
has to decide between becoming an English landlord or a Gaelic warlord.
His decision would mark the greatest threat to England sovereignty until
WWII. Aidan Gillen will play Sir Henry Bagnal, Marshall of Elizabeth
I’s Royal Irish Army and O’Neill’s bitter arch enemy. Hugh O’Neill
managed to unite the clans and start the Nine Years War becoming a sort
of a
The O'Neill is envisioned as a four season TV series
rock star for the people of Europe of that time. Many of the clans
in the series will have female leaders such as Ineen Dubh of the
O’Donnells and Grace O’Malley, the Pirate Queen of The O’Malley,
Although we've seen her in both of the recent series on Catherine the Great, her mother in law empress ELIZABETH is getting her own historical saga on Russia 1 this Autumn! Yuliya Hlinina plays Empress Elizabeth,
Elizabeth will be a new Russian series on the famous czarina
daughter of Peter I, who was only sixteen when her father left her in control of a huge empire. For Elizabeth, the throne became a curse: against her will, the girl finds herself drawn into a whirlpool of palace intrigues, where she is opposed by influential courtiers!
AUSTRIAN EMPRESS SISI
She won't be the only empress getting a series as German TVNow will air new six part saga SISI, probably for Holidays. It follows the extraordinary life of empress Elisabeth of Austria (Dominique Devenport). Told from the
Sisi will probably air for Holidays on ORF in Austria
perspective of her closest confidants, the 19th century set series takes a new look at the empress' life and reveals a multi-layered woman. Jannik Schumann is emperor Franz.
ISAAC ASIMOV'S FOUNDATION
The only intergalactic sf epic action series we will get this season is FOUNDATION which will arrive to Apple TV September 24th in ten episodes. Starring Lee Pace, Jared Harris and Daniel MacPherson, this
Foundation starts at the end of the month at Apple TV Plus
small screen adaptation of Asimov's cult series is a complex saga of humans scattered on planets throughout the galaxy all living under the rule of the Galactic Empire.
RIDLEY ROAD AT BBC
BBC is secretive about their programme as usual, but I did spy with my little eye that their new series RIDLEY ROAD might be arriving this October. Starring our dear Tom Varey, the four-part series blends 60s
Tom Varey takes the male lead in Ridley Road
period romance with darker, more socially conscious intrigue in the story of a young Jewish hairdresser (Agnes O'Casey) who arrives wide-eyed in London and becomes caught up in the anti-fascist movement of the city’s East End!
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS
BBC will also present us with their new version of Jules Verne's AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS, probably around Christmas. The series will premiere at Canneseries in October! The eight part drama follows David Tennant as Phileas Fogg and his newly employed French valet
The series will probably be a holiday series for BBC
Passepartout as they attempt to circumnavigate the world in 80 days as part of an outrageous bet. Along the way they’re joined by an aspiring journalist, Abigail Fix, who seizes the opportunity to report on the legendary journey. Production finished in March.
VIKINGS VALHALLA SPINOFF
Netflix still has this one set for 2021 although they might postpone it as they have Witcher in December. Or it might arrive in November? VALHALLA did finish post production last month and they've apparently started production on season 2! Starring our boos David Oakes, Leo Suter
David Oake in the first photo from the sets!
and Sam Corlett, it is set 100 years after the original series ends and chronicles the exploits of the most famous Vikings of all time – Leif Erikson, Freydis, Harald Harada, and Norman King William the Conqueror! Michael Hirst is producing.
RUSSIAN PRISONER
The Prisoner will be a 12 episode saga
Russian broadcaster is ready to bring us a new 12 episode lavish saga RUSSIAN PRISONER following Alekha (Ilya Malakov) an honest, strong, freedom loving
Cossack who decided to fulfill his father's last will. As a result, he
goes to a foreign land in order to bow to the Virgin Mary. By the will of fate, he finds himself in the palace of the Sultan Mehmed (Serbian star Ivan Bosiljcic) of the Ottoman Empire where he is taken prisoner and sent to become one of the evil Jannisaries and must serve the sultan he hates. More here.
NEW GOLD MOUNTAIN
Is coming to us from Australian SBS October 13th and I already showed you the trailer. Starring our handsome boy Yoson An, four part series NEW GOLD MOUNTAIN is set in 1857, where the charismatic headman of the
New Gold Mountain will be coming to us from Australia
Chinese mining camp struggles to maintain the fragile harmony between Chinese and European diggers when a murdered European woman is discovered to have links to the Chinese community.
THE GILDED AGE AT HBO
This one also might be pushed again, but the ten episode HBO series THE GILDED AGE from Julian Fellowes did finish production. Starring Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Blake Ritson, Harry
Gilded Age might arrive this year to HBO
Richardson, Thomas Cocquerel, Nathan Lane and many others, it will follow a number of rich families during the Gilded Age, the boom years of 1880s New York City.
LAND OF LEGENDS SERIES
Land of Legends will also be a film
Also coming from Russia till the end of the year, with Beta Film distributing worldwide, is LAND OF LEGENDS, an epic, visually stunning series based on an Alexei Ivanov novel, combining historical drama with mystery and fantasy. The 15th century. Sent from Moscow, Prince Yermolay wants to unite all peoples of Perm, Christians and pagans alike. To do so, he, a Christian, seizes the pagans' most powerful artefact, the Golden Woman, or Sorni Nai, only to be killed in battle shortly thereafter. His son Mikhail (Aleksandr Kuznetsov), however, gains the respect of the locals and marries Tiche, a beautiful, yet mysterious woman.
Grand Prince Mikhail is the lead character in the series
Little does he know that Tiche is the living incarnation of the Sorni Nai: Her supernatural powers and their bond grant him control over Perm.
THE WHEEL OF TIME
The only epic fantasy series we are getting this year will arrive to Amazon November 19th! Set in a high fantasy world where magic exists, but only some can access it, eight part THE WHEEL OF TIME will see Rosamund Pike
Rosamund Pike leads the cast of Wheel of Time series
playing a woman named Moiraine who crosses paths with five young men and women. This sparks a dangerous, world-spanning journey. Based on the book series by Robert Jordan. See trailer here.
PARAMOUNT TV'S 1883 SERIES
Although it is still in production Paramount TV has announced December 19th as the starting date of their new 1883 historical ten part series which will be a prequel to their Yellowstone drama. Starring Tim McGraw,
1883 is a Yellowstone prequel series at Paramount TV
Faith Hill, this Taylor Sheridan produced series follows the Dutton family on a journey west through the Great Plains toward the last bastion of untamed America.
SERIES THAT MIGHT ALSO ARRIVE
There
are a few series that according to my knowledge have finished shooting
but I'm not sure if they will arrive till the end of year: Keeley
First pic of Keeley in Midwich Cuckoos series
Hawes'
THE MIDWICH CUCKOOS at Sky, Emily Blunt's THE ENGLISH Western at BBC
and also their SAS: ROGUE HEROES with Jack O'Connell.
CATHEDRAL & PETER THE GREAT
Russian television is ready to start airing 16 part historical saga THE CATHEDRAL this Autumn! The story is set in the year 1700, the time of dramatic changes in the Russian Empire, the time of reformations carried out
The Cathedral will air on Russian National Broadcaster
by Peter the Great. Sergey Marin plays young serf Ivan Starshov is head over heels in love with Maria, the daughter of his master. He doesn't want to accept that the young princess is no match for him and prove his love he will even dedicate her a cathedral in the imperial capital.
THE HOTEL SACHER
This two season historical series aired on German ZDF and Austrian ORF four years ago, but it is airing from September 10, on the PBS Masterpiece Prime Video Channel and the Walter Presents digital channels. Set in the city of Vienna around 1900, it tells the story of Anna Sacher (Ursula
Hotel Sacher aired in two season in Germany and Austria
Strauss), the widow of Eduard Sacher, who was the founder and owner of the Hotel Sacher, and the son of Franz Sacher, inventor of the famous Sachertorte. The story begins with Eduard’s death and Anna’s tough decision to take over the management of the Hotel.
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.
We waited for years for this one and now it seems ITV and Masterpiece are finally moving on with the production on their four part television series
Solly McLeod will be our new Tom Jones
adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel TOM JONES. They've set Solly McLeod as the lead and in the spirit of wokeness they blackwashed the female lead so Sophie Wilde will play heroine Sophia Western. Mammoth Screen will produce the picaresque story of the title character’s complicated journey to find real love, which has delighted and scandalized readers since it was originally published in 1749. The raunchy novel follows often very scandalous and bawdy sexual exploits and merry adventures of the young and good hearted 18th century foundling Tom Jones in a story full of twists and surprises. The shooting will start this Autumn around Belfast.
BENDER MOVIE TRILOGY
AN ADVENTURE FROM RUSSIA
Here's something colourful coming from Russia who are the masters of creating movie fairy tales. Director Igor Zaytsev is at the helm of an already
Bender: Gold of the Empire arrived in July
completed trilogy that follows the fictional character Ostap Bender on the hunt for imperial gold. First two movies BENDER: THE BEGINNING and GOLD OF THE EMPIRE have already aired in domestic cinemas in June and July. As the story unfolds in 1919. a priceless scepter, a treasure that could secure a worry-free life in sunny Rio de Janeiro for Ibrahim Bender (Sergey Bezrukov) and his young apprentice Ostap (Aram Vardevanyan), has slipped from under their noses and ended up in possession of an anarchist army commander. As the hunt intensifies, Ostap and Ibrahim must do everything in their power to outmaneuver their rivals, even as Ostap has to fight to win back his fair maiden and stop her from marrying another man.
First film arrived in June, and I think the third one in August
The second movie also features their pop star Vera Brezhneva. Both films will be offered to the international buyers at Toronto Film Festival.
DEREK JACOBI, AIDAN TURNER, SAM NEILL, DUSTIN HOFFMAN
Well, it certainly is a stellar cast: Simon Callow has added Derek Jacobi, Sam Neill, Aidan Turner, Dustin Hoffman, Roger Allam and Eileen Atkins to MR. SHAW GOES TO HOLLYWOOD comedy movie which tells the story of what happened before Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion became a worldwide phenomenon and answers the question of who will come out on top when the Irish born writer meets with the Hollywood elite. It starts
Aidan Turner, Sam Neill, Derek Jacobi lead the cast
in 1933, when Shaw (Derek Jacobi), goes to Hollywood with his wife Charlotte (Eileen Atkins) to see whether Shaw's most successful play Pygmalion should be turned into a film as everyone in Hollywood competes for his attention! Hoffman will be studio boss Louis B Mayer, co-founder of MGM, Aidan Turner will be Clark Gable and Sam Neill will be William Randolph Hearst.
NEW GOLD MOUNTAIN TRAILER
FOR NEW EPIC TV SERIES
Continuing our week of epic delights (which will actually culminate on Sunday with our mega list of all the historical and epic shows to air till the
New Gold Mountain starts October 13th
end of the year) here is a trailer that Australian SBS has published for their new four part mini series NEW GOLD MOUNTAIN which will arrive October 13th depicting the Gold Rush in 1850s Australia.
NEW GOLD MOUNTAIN opens in Ballarat, in 1857, where European, Chinese and
Indigenous Australian characters live together in a wild-west frontier
town as they seek to strike it rich by finding gold. Tensions between
rival camps run high, and Wei Shing (Yoson An), the charismatic
leader of the Chinese operation, struggles to remain in control as he
secretly amasses his own riches. A further threat to his authority is
Cheung Lei (Mabel Li), a formidable woman who has arrived
Alyssa Sutherland and Yoson An lead the cast
with
orders from China from her powerful father. When a white woman is found
murdered, Shing is fearful the prejudiced Europeans will blame the
New Gold Mountain will air in four hourlong episodes
Chinese. Determined to remain in power and keep his fortune, Shing must
find out what really happened. As Shing unravels the mystery, he
encounters
Mabel Li also stars in the new SBS historical series
the recently widowed Belle (Alyssa Sutherland), who is
making her name in town through the local newspaper she has inherited,
and Hattie, a young Aboriginal girl trying to get by.
