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Global Showbiz Briefs: BBC’s ‘Big School’; Tom Stoppard’s ‘Dark Side’; Thai Man Jailed Over Documentary

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday March 28, 2013 @ 9:00pm PDTTags: BBC One, Big School, Tom Stoppard

Catherine Tate Set For ‘Big School’
The Office’s Catherine Tate is set to star in a new BBC One sitcom created by David Walliams, who’ll also star. Big School is a six-part comedy set in a secondary school about a dysfunctional staff room, unrequited love and interactive white boards. Walliams will play a chemistry teacher who has taught at Greybridge School for years, Tate plays the school’s enthusiastic new recruit, who despite being a French teacher has never actually been to France. Also starring are Life On Mars’ Philip Glenister, The History Boys’ Frances de la Tour, The Thick Of It’s Joanna Scanlan and Cemetery Junction’s Steve Speirs. Big School is a BBC Production in association with Bert Productions. Jo Sargent is producing and Mark Freeland is exec producer. READ MORE »

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Team Behind ‘Merlin’ Prepping ‘Atlantis’ For BBC One, Ensemble Cast Set

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday March 27, 2013 @ 3:52am PDTTags: Atlantis, BBC One, Merlin

With Merlin casting its final spell on BBC One last Christmas, the team behind the fantasy-adventure series is getting to work on its latest fantasy project, Atlantis. Shooting starts next month in Wales … Read More »

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Global Showbiz Briefs: Helen Mirren, BBC & ‘Pompidou’, Cannes Critics’ Week President Named, World Cup Windfall

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Monday March 25, 2013 @ 9:00pm PDTTags: BBC One, Cannes Film Festival, Helen Mirren, Pompidou

Helen Mirren’s Sam Mendes Quotes Misquoted
Helen Mirren is never shy of a making a bold statement or two. But stories circulating in the British press following her appearance at Sunday night’s Empire Awards have misquoted the actress as criticizing director Sam Mendes for naming an all-male list of his inspirations. In a speech earlier in the evening, Mendes had praised inspirational moments from the likes of Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder and Akira Kurosawa, which Mirren highlighted when she stepped up to receive a lifetime achievement prize. But far from tearing down Mendes, she used his list to illustrate how much attitudes had changed since she started. “When I first came into the film industry it was a really bloke-y world,” she said. “Nowadays, that’s really changed and it’s great to see women in cinematography, in sound, and obviously in producing and writing.” She said she was certain that in “five or ten years” a successor to Mendes would include female directors on their list of inspirations as a result. “Nothing against Sam, absolutely,” she insisted. “They were great, great moments he chose.” Given the press fervor that greeted her misrepresented comments, it’s no wonder she earlier joked, “The critics bloody well piss me off. What do they know, honestly?” – Joe Utichi Read More »

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Luke Evans To Topline BBC’s ‘Great Train Robbery’ Serial

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday March 6, 2013 @ 2:46am PSTTags: BBC One, Luke Evans, The Great Train Robbery

The BBC has cast the first installment of its two-part drama The Great Train Robbery with Luke Evans set to play Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind Britain’s infamous 1963 heist.

Created by Broadchurch and Camelot exec producer Chris Chibnall, the two 90-minute movies will tell the story of the gang behind the crime and the team of detectives who sought to bring the perpetrators to justice. The first part, The Robbers’ Tale, will be directed by Julian Jarrold (The Girl); James Strong (Broadchurch) will direct part two, A Coppers’ Tale.

Also joining the cast as members of the criminal team are Jack Roth (Bedlam), Neil Maskell (Utopia), Paul Anderson (Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows), Martin Compston (Line Of Duty), Del Synnott (The Silence) and Jack Gordon (Panic Button). Read More »

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David Tennant To Play Legal Eagle In New BBC Drama ‘The Escape Artist’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday January 31, 2013 @ 4:11am PSTTags: BBC One, David Tennant

Shooting kicked off today on BBC One‘s three-part legal thriller The Escape Artist with David Tennant in the lead. The drama was created and written by David Wolstencroft (Spooks, MI-5) and also stars Extras‘ … Read More »

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BBC One/BBC America Crime Series ‘Ripper Street’ Gets Second Season Order

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Tuesday January 29, 2013 @ 10:23am PSTTags: BBC America, BBC One, Ripper Street

BBC One‘s Danny Cohen and Ben Stephenson today confirmed a second season order of crime drama Ripper Street, just as the first season heads into the home stretch in the UK. The BBC America co-production will start shooting eight new episodes this spring for an as-yet unspecified 2014 air date. Ripper Street debuted on BBC America on January 19, three weeks after its UK bow on BBC One where it has faced tough competition from rival ITV’s Jeremy Piven period drama Mr Selfridge in the same timeslot. However, it’s been gaining in recent weeks for a consolidated average of 7.1M viewers and a 22.9% share over its first five outings. Richard Warlow created and exec produces the series that stars Matthew Macfadyen, Jerome Flynn and Adam Rothenberg in 1889 London and the aftermath of the Jack the Ripper murders. Warlow said today that the second season will “move forward into the 1890s: the death rattle of a century coming to a close, the labor pains of a modern world on the rise.” Read More »

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BBC1 Orders ‘Strange’ Series & Dramas From ‘Downton’ Producer, ‘Being Human’ Creator

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Friday November 30, 2012 @ 4:57am PSTTags: BBC One, The Game

Ramping up its event drama output, BBC One has commissioned three new series for 2013. Period fantasy drama Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell is a six-part series based on the best-selling novel by Susanna Clarke and adapted by Wallander‘s Peter Harness. The book is an alternate history of England set during the Napoleonic Wars and focusing on a magician and his apprentice who use their powers to help the government but who are ultimately pitted against one another. New Line optioned the movie rights back in 2005 with Christopher Hampton adapting, but the film was never made. The series is produced by Cuba Pictures in association with Feel Film and Farmoor. Cuba recently produced Rufus Norris’ well-received festival title Broken. Toby Haynes, who directed the Season 2 Sherlock finale, The Reichenbach Fall, is helming. Nick Hirschkorn and Nick Marston are producers, Justin Thomson-Glover, Patrick Irwin and Matthew Read are exec producers. Read More »

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Wimbledon Final Serves Up Ratings Win For BBC Despite Andy Murray’s Loss

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Monday July 9, 2012 @ 4:46am PDTTags: BBC One, Wimbledon

British athletes just can’t seem to catch a break, but broadcasters continue to reap rewards from those taking part in major sporting events. Euro 2012 gave BBC One and ITV1 strong ratings (even after England lost to Italy … Read More »

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Spain Makes Soccer History As Euro 2012 TV Ratings Score Overseas

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Monday July 2, 2012 @ 2:45pm PDTTags: BBC One, Euro 2012, ITV

Euro 2012 TV RatingsEuro 2012 is now one for the history books. The entire soccer tournament roundly scored a TV ratings bonanza for broadcasters in Europe. In the U.S., ESPN has been doing increasingly hefty numbers and is expected to report a strong turnout for the final when those figures come in tomorrow.

After netting 14.18M viewers during regulation play in Spain’s semifinal against Portugal last week, Spain’s Telecinco swept primetime Sunday with an average of nearly 15.5M watching the final — good for 83.4% of the audience share. In Italy, RAI’s broadcast of the semifinal match when it bested Germany last week was seen by about 20M viewers for a 68.4% share. On Sunday night, more than 22M Italians watched as their team was routed by Spain in the 4-0 shutout. The victory made La Roja the first team to win three major international titles in a row (after taking Euro 2008 and the World Cup in 2010). Read More »

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Euro 2012 Soccer Fever Makes For Record Ratings At Home And Abroad

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Tuesday June 26, 2012 @ 2:19pm PDTTags: BBC One, ESPN, Euro 2012, Ratings

A funny thing is happening in the U.S.: People are watching soccer. ESPN said today that Sunday’s Italy-England matchup in the quarterfinals of the European Cup soccer championships was seen by an average of 2.968 million viewers in the States, bigger than any Euro Cup match number this year or in 2008 — except for the ’08 final on ABC (3.760 million for Germany vs. Spain). Overall, the four Euro 2012 quarterfinals last week delivered an average of 1.918 million viewers for ESPN, up 31% compared with the 2008 quarterfinals. The trend continues from earlier last week, when the network reported big U.S. ratings for the final group stage matchups that were up 82% over Euro 2008. June 10th’s Spain-Italy game scored an average of 2.1M viewers.

Of course, Euro 2012 fever has gripped Europe over the past two weeks as TV ratings rise and box office bends — but not quite like Beckham. Here in Europe, where soccer is an obsession, that’s to be expected and studios programmed big-screen releases strategically, knowing most eyes would be on the pitches of Poland and Ukraine this month. Fox’s Prometheus, Universal’s Snow White And The Huntsman and Sony’s Men In Black 3 have been the top draws in most territories in June with fresh blood in the form of The Amazing-Spider Man to swing across Europe from Friday onwards. The Euro final is Sunday. Read More »

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BBC Greenlights ‘Ladies’ Paradise’ Series Based On Emile Zola Novel

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Wednesday May 16, 2012 @ 4:00am PDTTags: BBC One
Nellie Andreeva

BBC One is moving ahead with The Ladies’ Paradise, an eight-episode series loosely based on Emile Zola’s novel Au Bonheur Des Dames. Set in England’s first department store, the series tells the rags-to-riches story of Denise Lovett (Joanna Vanderham, Above Suspicion), a … Read More »

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