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On Tuesday 12 November 2024, ITV broadcasts Caught on Camera!

Unbelievable Moments Season 8 Episode 2 Episode Summary

The upcoming episode of “Caught on Camera,” titled “Unbelievable Moments,” promises to deliver a collection of astonishing scenes that showcase the bravery and quick thinking of ordinary people. Set to air on ITV, this episode features remarkable stories captured by everyday individuals, all narrated by the talented Roger Allam.

In this episode, viewers will meet a Miami real-estate agent who heroically rescued a woman from the jaws of alligators. This gripping moment highlights the dangers of nature and the courage of those who step in to help. The story of British tourists who faced a life-threatening situation when their luxury yacht capsized in Egypt will also be featured. Their near-drowning experience serves as a reminder of how quickly things can change while on vacation.

Additionally, an influencer couple will share their terrifying escape from a tornado in Texas.

The upcoming episode of “Caught on Camera,” titled “Unbelievable Moments,” promises to deliver astonishing scenes that showcase the bravery and quick thinking of ordinary people. Scheduled to air on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, at 10:00 Pm on ITV, this episode will be narrated by the talented Roger Allam, known for his compelling storytelling.

In this episode, viewers will witness a Miami real-estate agent who became a hero by rescuing a woman from the jaws of alligators. This gripping moment highlights the dangers of nature and the courage of those who step in to help. Alongside this incredible rescue, British tourists will share their harrowing experience of almost drowning in Egypt when their luxury yacht capsized, reminding everyone of the unpredictability of travel.

The episode also features an influencer couple who narrowly escaped a Texas tornado, showcasing the chaos and fear of natural disasters. Additionally, three teenage brothers will be spotlighted for their...

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The Diplomat is a political thriller comedy-drama series created by Debora Cahn. The Netflix series follows the story of Kate Wyler, a career diplomat who is married to a political star as she is recruited as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom amid an international crisis. The Diplomat stars Keri Russell in the lead role with Rufus Sewell, David Gyasi, Rory Kinnear, Georgie Henley, Ato Essandoh, Ali Ahn, Jess Chanliau, and Nana Mensah starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the hilarious comedy, political thrills, and compelling characters in The Diplomat here are some similar shows you should check out next.

Madam Secretary (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – CBS

Madam Secretary is a political thriller drama series created by Barbara Hall. The CBS series follows the story of Elizabeth McCord, a former CIA analyst...

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NCIS: Origins is a military police procedural crime thriller drama series created by Gina Lucita Monreal and David J. North. The CBS series serves as a prequel to the long-running hit series NCIS and it follows the origins of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he joins the Nis after his wife and daughter were murdered. NCIS: Origins stars Austin Stowell, Mark Harmon, Kyle Schmid, and Diany Rodriguez. So, if you loved the thrilling drama, complex stories, and compelling characters in NCIS: Origins here are some similar shows you should check out next.

NCIS Credit – CBS

NCIS is a military police procedural action thriller drama series created by Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill. The CBS series follows Naval Criminal Investigative Service Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs as he leads a team of investigators to investigate various criminal...

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Murder in a Small Town is a mystery crime drama series created by Ian Weir. Based on The Alberg and Cassandra Mysteries novel series by author L.R. Wright, the Fox series is set in the small idyllic town of Gibsons and it follows the story of the new police chief Karl Alberg after he leaves the city and comes to town to get some peace of mind and find a new partner, but he is soon confronted with various crimes that he has to solve with the help of his team. Murder in a Small Town stars Rossif Sutherland and Kristin Kreuk in the lead roles with James Cromwell, Stana Katic, Mya Lowe, and Aaron Douglas starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the murder mysteries, complex relationships, and compelling characters in Murder in a Small Town...

It was a prequel that took on a life of its own. Endeavour, the British crime drama that premiered in 2012 and became a staple of PBS’s Masterpiece lineup, ended last summer after 36 feature-length episodes, all written by executive producer Russell Lewis. The smashing conclusion resolved some storylines but left unanswered questions — and may have even changed the way some viewers look at parent series Inspector Morse (1987-2000), based on the novels of Colin Dexter. In the newer show, the younger Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) started out as a somewhat jaded detective constable in 1965 Oxford, and by 1972 had become a massively cynical detective sergeant. The darkness he faced on the job took its toll. So too did drink and heartbreak. The former Oxford University student watched the woman he loved, Joan Thursday (Sara Vickers), marry his colleague Jim Strange (Sean Rigby). Meanwhile, Morse’s mentor, Chief Inspector Fred Thursday (Roger Allam...

HBO’s House of the Dragon, a spin-off series related to Game of Thrones, was welcomed by both fans and critics, becoming yet another hit series for the streaming service. The first season aired in 2022 and consisted of 10 episodes, and the long-awaited second season finally premiered last Sunday, June 16, 2024, to great reviews.

But aside from expanding the story of its own narrative, House of the Dragon has also started to reveal some other relevant background information related to the general Game of Thrones lore, and the most recent one – from Episode 3 – confirms a major Game of Thrones character connection which fans will definitely find interesting.

Namely, Episode 3 of Season 2 of House of the Dragon shows us a group of colorful dragon eggs. Many fans noticed this moment and wondered whether these were the eggs that we’ve seen belonged to Daenerys in Game of Thrones, which gave life to Rhaegal,...

This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episode 3.

HBO’s House of the Dragon might be set 197 years before Game of Thrones, but it was always expected there would be some connective tissue between these fantasy epics. While Thrones has already spoiled the fate of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), House of the Dragon has returned the favor by setting up major plot points like the Catspaw Dagger and The Prince Who Was Promised.

As the name suggests, House of the Dragon is full of those scaly fire-breathers, which is in massive contrast to the only three raised by Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in Game of Thrones. Even though the backstory of Dany’s dragons was never really touched on in Game of Thrones, it seems that House of the Dragon just gave them their own long-awaited origin.

House of the Dragon season 2 episode 3 “The Burning Mill” saw...

The Girls on the Bus is a political comedy-drama series created by Amy Chozick and Julie Plec. Inspired by Chozick’s 2018 memoir Chasing Hillary, the Max series follows the story of 4 journalists on different sides of political isles as they follow a parade of flawed presidential candidates while bonding with each other. The Girls on the Bus stars Melissa Benoist, Carla Gugino, Christina Elmore, and Natasha Behnam in the lead roles with Brandon Scott, Griffin Dunne, Hettienne Park, Mark Consuelos, Scott Cohen, Kyle Vincent Terry, and P.J. Sosko starring in supporting roles. If you loved all the political satire and friendships in The Girls on the Bus here are some similar shows you could watch next.

Veep (Max & Prime Video Add-On) Credit – HBO

Veep is a political satire and dark comedy series created by Armando Iannucci. The HBO series follows the political career of Selina Meyer as she goes from...

An intense and often funny drama starring the best fake news anchor and created by the guy who has made too many legal dramas and all of them are brilliant. A Man in Full is a drama miniseries created by David E. Kelley. Based on a 1998 novel of the same name by Tom Wolfe, it follows a real estate mogul Charlie Croker as he faces bankruptcy and his enemies circle him to gain something from his misfortune. A Man in Full stars Jeff Daniels in the lead role with Sarah Jones, Diane Lane, Lucy Liu, Tom Pelphrey, Evan Roe, Jon Michael Hill, Josh Pais, and Jerrika Hinton starring in supporting. So, if you loved Daniels’ incredible performance and the story of a man’s fall from grace and too much arrogance in A Man in Full here are some similar shows you could watch next.

Dynasty (Netflix & Rent on Prime...

Dubai-based Front Row Productions is planning a feature film and TV series based around Sally Hafez, a Lebanese woman who received international attention after storming a bank in 2022.

The company has acquired life rights from Hafez, who held staff hostage at the Blom Bank in Beirut on September 14, 2022, and demanded they allow her to withdraw her own savings to pay for her sister’s medical bills. The incident took place during a financial crisis in Lebanon that saw citizens illegally restricted from withdrawing from their accounts due to an unofficial capital control imposed by banks in the country.

In a statement,...

Promenade, a new film from John Jencks, has begun production in Brighton this week. More on the film below.

We’re hearing rumbles that a new British film is heading our way sooner rather than later from director John Jencks. The Hippopotamus director is helming Promenade, a Brighton set whodunnit, next and the project has just started filming, we hear.

The announcement comes with an ambiguous tagline: “50 Cast, 12 Stories, 1 Plot. No Heroes.” Colour us intrigued.

Here’s a synopsis for the film: In Brighton on the South coast of England, sharpened by the sting of sea spray, and mellowed by numinous light, a tight-knit community of oddballs and heart-felts live together in a tatty old mansion, the Fletcher Apartments. When a golden feather, the priceless antique mascot of the building, unexpectedly disappears, the residents have a mystery to solve. Will they find the talisman that previously bound them together, or will their community,...

Principal photography is underway on location in Brighton on John Jencks’ UK ensemble comedy Promenade.

The UK feature is written by David Wigram, and produced by Apostasy producer Marcie MacLellan. The film is fully financed by Jencks’ The Electric Shadow Company, and produced in association with MacLellan’s company Frank and Lively. It is one of the first feature film productions to benefit from the new UK tax credit, with qualifying films able to receive tax relief of to 40%.

With a 50-strong cast, the film unites 12 different stories in a community of oddballs in a tatty old mansion on the south coast of England.

Principal photography is underway on location in Brighton on John Jencks’ UK ensemble comedy Promenade.

The UK feature is written by David Wigram, and produced by Apostasy producer Marcie MacLellan. The film is fully financed by Jencks’ The Electric Shadow Company, and produced in association with MacLellan’s company Frank and Lively. It is one of the first feature film productions to benefit from the new UK tax credit, with qualifying films able to receive tax relief of to 40%.

With a 50-strong cast, the film unites 12 different stories in a community of oddballs in a tatty old mansion on the south coast of England.

In 2023 (January to November) there were over 2 billion plays of radio, music and podcasts on BBC Sounds, as listeners continue to enjoy a wide range of audio content from across the BBC.

Podcast listening saw an uplift of 34% on BBC Sounds compared to the same period last year. New and popular returning podcast titles helped drive listeners to BBC Sounds with something for everyone and a wide range of topics from history, comedy, current affairs, drama and true crime.

Podcasts Detail The top ten most popular podcasts of 2023 in the UK

(based on BBC Sounds plays between January and November)

Newscast Just One Thing – with Michael Mosley You’re Dead To Me Uncanny Limelight Gangster: The Story Of John Palmer Sliced Bread I’m Not a Monster – The Shamima Begum Story Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley Americast

Jonathan Wall, Director of BBC Sounds said: “It’s fantastic to see the...

Red Bull Studios and London-based Featuristic Films have partnered on “Art of the Jump,” a feature documentary about the life and career of Sébastien Foucan, a well-known French athlete.

Directed by James Kermack, the documentary follows Foucan’s humble upbringing in the French suburb of Lisses to sports stardom. Foucan is known for participating in extreme sports such as freerunning and parkour, where he crosses obstacles through the use of running, jumping, climbing and rolling.

The film is produced by Julien Loeffler and James Kermack for Featuristic Films and Philipp Manderla and Dominique Cutts for Red Bull Studios. Production on the film recently wrapped after shooting across the U.K. and France.

“Sébastien Foucan’s story is a testament to the power of determination, innovation and the relentless pursuit of one’s dreams, dreams that ultimately come at a cost,” said Kermack, who described Foucan as “a man who refuses...

Dan Ackerman, the editor-in-chief of tech news website Gizmodo, filed a lawsuit on Monday against Apple claiming that the Apple TV+ movie “Tetris” unlawfully lifted content from his book about the classic video game.

Published in 2016, Ackerman’s book titled “The Tetris Effect: The Game That Mesmerized the Globe” delved into the hit game’s beginnings within the former Soviet Union and the battle for its worldwide licensing rights.

According to the lawsuit, “Ackerman’s book took a unique approach to writing about the real history of Tetris, as it not only applied the historical record, but also layered his own original research and ingenuity to create a compelling narrative non-fiction book in the style of a Cold War spy thriller.”

The lawsuit added, “Mr. Ackerman’s literary masterpiece, unlike other articles and writings, dispelled of the emphasis on the actual gameplay and fans, and instead concentrated on the surrounding narrative,...

It can’t go on. Must-watch TV shows have been arriving at an unmanageable rate for so long that releasing an excellent new series is now essentially an act of violence. Nobody has the time to be this thoroughly entertained.

Curation is our only solution. Recommendations that cut through promotional budgets and PR hype, leaving behind just the good stuff. Below, we’ve collected the best of the best from this year of UK television so far. If you only have time to watch a handful of shows in 2023, make them these gems. We’ll add any others that make the grade as the year goes on, and do please make your own recommendations below.

Happy Valley Series 3

Stream on: BBC iPlayer (UK); AMC+/BBC America/Acorn TV from May 22nd (US)

Series three is when the word-of-mouth enthusiasm for Sally Wainwright’s Happy Valley started to break through even...

Warning: contains spoilers for the Endeavour series nine finale ‘Exeunt’.

Relief! That was the main emotion felt by Endeavour fans as the credits rolled on the series finale. Not only had this excellent drama gone out on a high, but beloved character Dci Fred Thursday had survived. Fred wasn’t – as many fans had feared – carried out of Thames Valley Police Station feet first. He lived to ‘mind how you go’ another day.

What’s more, Fred’s daughter Joan survived too, as did Winn, and Sam. The whole Thursday lot lasted out the series, with barely a scratch on them. Phew. Breathe out. What a relief.

In the general ‘thank goodness’ of it all, it was easy to miss that Fred Thursday’s exit from Endeavour was in fact bitterly cruel, and perhaps even worse than if he had been killed off. No, Fred didn’t die, but, boy,...

[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for the July 2 Endeavour series finale, “Exeunt.”] Many TV shows are well past their prime by the time they hit their final season. Not Endeavour. The magnificent British series, a prequel to another mystery drama classic, Inspector Morse (1987-2000), bid farewell to American viewers Sunday night, July 2, on PBS with shocking resolutions, heartbreaking goodbyes and even a bit of Shakespeare. Over nine seasons and 36 feature-length episodes, the Oxford-set show has treated viewers to richly drawn characters, cerebral mysteries and 1960s and ’70s nostalgia. We got new insight into the beleaguered and brilliant Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) by watching him evolve from a neophyte detective constable into someone more like the jaded loner played by John Thaw in the original series. In the last season’s third and final installment, appropriately titled “Exeunt,” Evans’ Detective Sergeant Morse and Roger Allam’s Chief Inspector Fred Thursday finally close the book on one of their most...

Fancy watching a no-nonsense Yorkshire cop on the brink of retirement finally taking down her nemesis? How about an Oxford scholar pitting his wits against a decades-long conspiracy? These are the premises for just two of the exciting British TV shows about to arrive in the US but that’s not all: there’s also globe-trotting sci-fi with big ideas, a fast-paced dark comedy, a remarkable depiction of marriage by two British acting stalwarts, and more besides.

From cosy crime to original comedy, here are the UK TV highlights coming to America:

Happy Valley Series 3

BBC America, Acorn TV, AMC+ – 22nd May at 10pm Et/Pt

Sally Wainwright’s excellent Yorkshire-based crime drama Happy Valley had been off UK screens since 2016, but returned for its highly-anticipated third and final series earlier this year.

The show centres on the straight-talking police sergeant Catherine Cawood, and her ongoing feud with the dangerous criminal Tommy Lee Royce.

Stars: Taron Egerton, Toby Jones, Rick Yune, Ben Miles, Mara Huf, Nikita Efremov, Oleg Stefan, Roger Allam, Ayane Nagabuchi, Anthony Boyle | Written by Noah Pink | Directed by Jon S. Bird

If you are a retro / 80s nerd in the truest sense then I am here to tell you, my friends, that Tetris is about to become your new favourite movie. Yes, that game about the falling blocks you were obsessed with as a kid on your swanky Gameboy, now has a movie based on one man’s quest to secure the International licensing rights for one of the most, if not The most played games in history.

Taron Egerton teams up with Cass director Jon S. Bird to bring us a movie that is loosely based (and I do mean Loosely) on the true story of Henk Rogers. No stranger to biographical flicks with movies like Eddie the Eagle and Rocketman,...

Chicago – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Scott Thompson on Wbgr-fm on March 30th, 2023, reviewing “Tetris,” the 1980s origin of the addictive video game. Currently in theaters, since March 31st.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

This film features Chris Pine as Edgin, the leader of a rogue band of thieves that features the warrior Holga (Michelle Rodriguez), the sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith) and the shape shifting Druid Dorie (Sophia Lillis). The gang forms after Edgin and Holga have busted out of prison, and they learn that Forge (Hugh Grant) has taken over the raising of Edgin’s daughter Kira (Chris Coleman) and conned a kingdom into give him Duke status. The new gang’s assignment is to defeat Forge and regain the trust of Kira.

”Tetris” is currently streaming on Apple TV+. Featuring Taron Egerton, Mara Huf, Toby Jones, Roger Allam, Anthony Boyle and Nikita Efremov. Written by Noah Pink.

Okay, so we’re mere days away from the release of an animated CGI feature based on one of the biggest video game properties. Y’know about the two plumber siblings? Perhaps you’re needing another big “game” dive, but don’t want to try and stream the recent Sonic flicks, or any of a dozen movies lifted from the very successful gaming franchises. Well. we’ve got a new film all about that late 80s game where you try to fill in a wall at the bottom of your screen with a series of four brightly colored blocks. Really, a flick of those downward-floating bricks? They couldn’t grab the rights to Pong? Oh no, this is all about the creation and marketing of that game, and it’s almost a cold war thriller. Don’t roll your eyes, because there was a lot of high-stakes intrigue in the story of Tetris.

With its coloured blocks tumbling through the air as players frantically jigsaw them together, Tetris remains one of the world’s most elegantly simple video games. Even now, 39 years on from its creation. But not many know the story behind the game. When filmmaker Jon S Baird (of Stan & Ollie and the Irvine Welsh adaptation Filth) first heard it, after reading the script for what became his Apple TV+ film Tetris, he did a double take. “I was like, ‘Is that really true? Wow, that is crazy!’”

Crazy doesn’t even begin to cover a story that ties together the Soviet Politburo, the late media mogul Robert Maxwell, and the launch of Nintendo’s iconic GameBoy – as various interested parties all scrambled to get the rights to Tetris. Invented in 1984 by Russian coder Alexey Pajitnov, the game’s title came from “tetra” and “tennis” (one of Pajitnov’s favourite sports). Gradually,...

It’s almost time to bid farewell to young Endeavour Morse. PBS has set a release date for Endeavour Season 9, which will be the last for the period mystery drama.

‘Endeavour’ Season 9 premieres June 18 on PBS Shaun Evans as Morse in ‘Endeavour’ | Courtesy of Mammoth Screen and Masterpiece.

Endeavour Season 9 will premiere Sunday, June 18 at 9 p.m. Et on PBS. The final season of the Inspector Morse prequel series will have three, 90-minute episodes.

Shaun Evans returns in the title role, along with Roger Allam as Fred Thursday, Anton Lesser as Reginald Bright, and Sean Rigby as Jim Strange. Pennyworth’s Jack Bannon, who plays Thursday’s son Sam, will also return after being absent from the past several seasons. Other returning cast members include James Bradshaw, Abigail Thaw, Caroline O’Neil, and Sara Vickers. Endeavour creator Russell Lewis wrote all three episodes.

Ahead of the final season premiere, PBS will air a documentary,...

Endeavour, the PBS Masterpiece detective drama that stars Shaun Evans and Roger Allam, will return for its ninth and final season June 18.

Inspired by Inspector Morse, the spinoff set in the ’70s will wrap with Endeavour Morse (Evans) and his superior officer Fred Thursday (Allam) facing new crimes and an unsolved case from the past. Jack Bannon (Pennyworth) will return as Sam, while other characters from former seasons are expected to appear in the finale.

The ensemble cast includes Anton Lesser as Cs Reginald Bright, Sean Rigby as Jim Strange and James Bradshaw as Dr. Max DeBryn.

The final season was written by Endeavour creator Russell Lewis, who was also responsible for the 36 episodes over the past decade.

An hourlong documentary titled Morse and The Last Endeavour is planned for June 11.

It’s tough to say goodbye. Endeavour’s ninth series concluded over a decade spent with the Cowley Station (later Thames Valley) gang, so it’s only natural for fans feeling bereft to seek out their favourites’ next steps. Having hung up his Fred Thursday hat, Roger Allam can be seen this year on screen and stage, while Shaun Evans is taking on a very different kind of crime drama role.

From Endeavour production company Mammoth Screen, there’s a new period drama co-production, plus the return of series creator Russell Lewis’ next ITV detective drama, starring John Simm. Find all the info below.

Shaun Evans – True Crime Serial Killer Drama Delia Balmer (w/t)

Actor-director Shaun Evans is currently filming the role of real-life serial killer John Sweeney in a new ITV true crime drama. Evans will star opposite Anna Maxwell-Martin, who plays Sweeney’s former girlfriend Delia Balmer in the four-part series,...

2023 is going to be a year of long-awaited drama treats on UK TV. There’s the Luther film finally arriving on Netflix in March, Unforgotten is back after that Series 4 finale in 2021, and we’re getting the second season of Good Omens that has had the shows’ many enthusiastic fans on the edge of their seats for two years.

There are even whispers of a Line of Duty return, although Martin Compston has said that nothing is confirmed, so we’re not exclaiming ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey!’ just yet.

It’s also a year of dramatic goodbyes: Happy Valley returned for its third and final series on New Year’s Day, Endeavour will wrap up after over a decade of detective work, and 2023 might also squeeze in the sixth and final season of The Crown.

This is our roundup of the British TV shows we’re...

"Tetris is a cultural zeitgeist, and it's quite exciting to think that the backstory to this phenomenon will finally get its moment in the sunlight." Apple has unveiled a new featurette for the Tetris movie (full trailer here), taking a closer look at the actual story this is based on. "The game you couldn't put down, the story you couldn't make up." Taron Egerton stars in this film inspired by the true story of how one man risked his life to outsmart the Kgb in the 1980s and help turn Tetris into a worldwide sensation. The game was created by a Soviet software engineer named Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. After a battle for rights and a period of publication by Nintendo, the rights reverted to Pajitnov in 1996, who then co-founded the Tetris Company with Henk. In addition to Egerton, the cast includes Nikita Efremov, Sofia Lebedeva, Anthony Boyle, Roger Allam, and Toby Jones.

Plot: “Tetris” tells the unbelievable story of how one of the world’s most popular video games found its way to avid players around the globe. Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) discovers Tetris in 1988, and then risks everything by traveling to the Soviet Union, where he joins forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov) to bring the game to the masses. Based on a true story, “Tetris” is a Cold War–era thriller on steroids, with double-crossing villains, unlikely heroes and a nail-biting race to the finish.

Review: Tetris should have been a dumb movie. The sheer idea of making a film out of the worldwide best-selling video game instantly conjured images from Adam Sandler’s bizarre, awful 2015 movie, Pixels. When details came forward that the movie would instead chronicle the too crazy to not be true story of how the game made its way out of Soviet Russia and onto Nintendo’s GameBoy,...

Is there any corner of the globe left untouched by the British crime drama? If it’s not Kenneth Branagh stalking through the inky expanses of the Swedish winter, or Roger Allam quaffing rosé in Provence, it’s Ralf Little, Ben Miller, Kris Marshall or Ardal O’Hanlon nicking killers (and evading taxes) in Guadeloupe. Now, British crime turns its attention to the Costa del Sol with A Town Called Malice (Sky Max). a pulpy, blood-soaked vision of Brits abroad. “Death arrives on the Costa,” growls the local Spanish detective. “I like it.”

Gene (Jack Rowan) is the youngest of the Lord brothers, heirs-apparent to a south-London crime family. But he’s different, determined to make it as a newspaper journalist. “My family couldn’t lie in bed straight, but that’s not me,” he tells Cindy (Tahirah Sharif), a beautiful bartender. Soon enough, Gene and Cindy are engaged to be married,...

Reaching into Inspector Morse’s past for a prequel series was a gamble that paid off handsomely. Endeavour, which followed the young detective over a seven-year period from constable to detective sergeant in the 1960s and early 1970s, just concluded after nine series. It was an exemplary prequel, beloved by newcomers and by fans of the original Inspector Morse, which it referenced playfully and with imagination.

Endeavour’s success was not a given, nor should it be laid at the feet of simple IP recognition. Prime Suspect 1973, which attempted the same trick by following a younger version of Helen Mirren’s celebrated Dci Jane Tennison, lasted only one series. Young Wallander on Netflix made it to two, but the response has been lukewarm. The 1930s-set Perry Mason starring Matthew Rhys in the lead role is faring better on HBO, but it’s clear that it’s not enough simply to...

No, no, it’s not a movie like the titular video game, it’s a movie about the titular video game. Tetris? The ’80s-game Tetris? That gets a whole film about its creation? Wouldn’t blocks falling from above be more dramatic? Well, actually… the creation, discovery, and licensing of Tetris is kind of wild (first hint: it was made by a Soviet software engineer long before the Soviet Union collapsed). But, spoiler alert: It’s not wild enough to engender an often weirdly straightforward historical dramedy dedicated to its legend.

But . If nothing else, you’ll walk away from “Tetris” knowing a heck of a lot more about the game and the many people who battled each other for the opportunity to bring it to the masses.

That’s not to say that “Tetris” doesn’t have some fun. Baird deploys said kicky 8-bit animated graphics from the film...

The Game Boy was slightly before my time, but I remember the Game Boy Color vividly. It was an introduction to handheld consoles, and a chance to finally have Mario and Pokémon in my pocket. Yet to my surprise, the best companion for long road trips was neither Pikachu nor those bouncy Italian plumbers; it was a game comprised of falling blocks and the Russian folk song “Korobeiniki.” It was Tetris.

I’d been aware of Tetris before then. It existed on my mother’s computer, but it was barely considered a video game there. Mario or Sonic were games that kids played. But Tetris was for everyone; she’d even play it on occasion. This was the power which made it the second highest selling game franchise of all-time: Everyone gets addicted to visions of falling blocks. Getting those visions in front of everyone, however, turns out to be...

There’s a promising and even semi-adult comedy at the heart of “Tetris,” an otherwise corny action-adventure based on the real-life story of how the iconic 1980s computer and video game was licensed outside of Russia. Most of the plot of “Tetris” concerns the political maneuvering and corporate espionage required to smuggle “Tetris,” the iconic brick-laying puzzle game, out of Moscow and away from greedy businessmen.

The lead protagonist of “Tetris” (the movie) also happens to be its main hero, an uncomplicated leading man whose personal motives don’t matter so much as the vague and never credibly represented virtues of “Tetris” (the game). Meet Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton), a fast-talking Dutch-American salesman living and working in Tokyo. Henk needs to license “Tetris” to the Japanese gaming company Nintendo so that his family business, Bullet Proof Software, can survive. Henk also needs to sell “Tetris” to Nintendo so that he...

At last, a video game movie that’s more than just a video game movie.

In theory, “Tetris” — that primitive and highly addictive block-stacking strategy game — doesn’t lend itself to the big-screen treatment any more than Rubik’s Cube or Tic-Tac-Toe might. But Noah Pink has found an ingenious solution to a classic puzzle. The screenwriter realized that there’s more to Tetris than most people knew. Namely, there’s a terrific backstory about how this Soviet-hatched computer software made its way over the Iron Curtain, and telling it could play like a Cold War thriller as three teams of Western rivals race one another to Russia to secure the rights.

In a sense, the video game movie that “Tetris” most resembles is 1984’s “Cloak & Dagger,” which made an Atari cartridge the MacGuffin that all kinds of untrustworthy people want to get their hands on. Here, it’s...

Full disclosure: Sue me but not only have I never played the iconic ’80s video game Tetris, I had never heard of it before encountering this new film Tetris, which world premiered tonight at SXSW and comes from Apple Original Films. I realize that probably makes me a bit of an oddity to the gamer generation, but I can only say my lack of knowledge on this product did not hurt one bit in being wildly entertained by a movie that tells its origin story. In fact it seems to be part of an encouraging but unlikely new genre this young year: movies all about the backstory of well-known products. BlackBerry from IFC and Paramount, Flamin’ Hot from Searchlight, and now Tetris from Apple have been on display this week at SXSW (BlackBerry actually premiered at Berlin), and if you think watching the emergence of a smartphone, a Cheetos brand...

Somewhere along the way in Jon S. Baird’s fleet and compelling fictionalized look at the invention of Tetris, you forget that you’re watching a film about a video game. Zippy car chases, farcical negotiation scenes and a tour of 1980s-era conference rooms around the world make Tetris, which premiered at SXSW and airs on Apple TV+ at the end of March, more than an ordinary origin story. Baird (Stan & Ollie) uses the convoluted licensing battle around the game to frame a sturdy and occasionally funny drama about capitalism, intellectual property and the specter of the Soviet Union’s dissolution. Tetris’ willingness to tackle these themes indeed makes it more absorbing than your average streamer fare, but it also makes you wish the film went farther in exploring its ambivalence about the relationship between creative expression and greed.

The story starts in ’80s Las Vegas, where Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton...

Warning: contains spoilers for the Endeavour Series 9 finale ‘Exeunt’.

With funereal imagery and talk of death, the Endeavour finale presaged tragedy, but then took its leave with merciful care. Its characters were dispatched like a fond parent putting to bed a favourite child. All survived, and went away with assurances to us about their futures. Bright, DeBryn, Miss Frazil, Jim, Jakes, and the Thursdays were generously waved off into the sunshine in an emotional ending.

All survived. But did they? The one character we knew had to live past the finale’s credits was, in a cryptic way that befits this playful series, perhaps its sole victim. This whole time, we’ve been clocking up the many and frequent portents of Fred’s death, forgetting that this ending was always destined to symbolically kill off somebody else – Endeavour, to leave behind Morse. Just Morse. That was perhaps the significance of the gunshot in the churchyard,...

Warning: contains spoilers for Endeavour Series 9 Episode 2 ‘Uniform’

“But they’re not here, and I am,” should be the words stamped beneath Acc Bright’s face on a range of Endeavour merchandise. With them, Bright went from upright company man to heroic leader of this band of brothers. A band now one brother bigger following the surprise return of DS Jakes – last seen in Series 3 – at the episode’s cliffhanger ending. With a “Wotcha”, Little Pete was back, this time hopefully ready to face his demons.

There was a stirring sense of heroism in ‘Uniform’ as one by one, our men chose good over self-interest. Morse led the charge by offering to draw enemy fire so Thursday could protect his promotion, but when it came to it, Fred stood shoulder to shoulder with his bagman. It took Bright’s direct defiance of Division orders, and DeBryn’s identification of the...

Warning: contains spoilers for Endeavour Series 9 Episode 1 ‘Prelude’.

It’s May 1972, six months after Morse finally accepted that he needed to seek help with his drink problem. He’s back at Castle Gate after taking the cure – sober, dapper and in control… until his offer to escort Miss Thursday to the next wedding in her diary meets the news that Joan’s next wedding will be her own. Our detective had spent the last series so lost in booze that he’d failed to detect Joan’s emerging romance with Jim Strange. Now, he faces being the best man at a ceremony where he may once have hoped to be the groom.

Coming in second was revealed as the – somewhat unsatisfactory – motive for the episode’s main murder: an orchestra leader poisoned by the best friend who’d lived in her shadow since they were teenagers. Whether it was the...

If you're like me, you've been anxiously compiling a list of all your returning and potential new appointment TV shows coming up in March. "The Mandalorian," "History of the World: Part II," "Shadow and Bone," "Yellowjackets," "Riverdale" — it's enough to make me grateful I've yet to get into either "Perry Mason" or "Ted Lasso," both of which are also coming back that month. There is, of course, another series making its much-anticipated return in March, but we'll get to that later ... in case you couldn't guess what it is from this article's header image alone.

In other words, there will be plenty of other shows to help fill the spot that Pedro Pascal's Joel and Bella Ramsey's Ellie have come to occupy in your heart these past two months. Everyone's new favorite feel-bad post-apocalyptic prestige drama, "The Last of Us," will cap off its freshman run mid-March, by...

Exclusive: Toby Jones says he initially had concerns of being “bored out my mind” working on summer blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but the actor tells Deadline that he’s “so relieved that I had done it” because “actually, I absolutely loved working on that film.”

The fifth instalment of the Indiana Jones franchise is “so different” from the flow of more recent films he’s appeared in such as Sam Mendes’ heartfelt drama Empire of Light and Sebastián Lelio’s thrilling Irish tale The Wonder. “It’s so massive!” he says.

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The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced its prizewinners Saturday morning, with “26.2 to Life,” directed by Christine Yoo, winning the audience choice award. The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema went to “I Like Movies,” directed by Chandler Levack, while the international feature film award went to “A Man (Aru Otoko),” directed by Kei Ishikawa. “A Bunch of Amateurs,” directed by Kim Hopkins, won the documentary award.

See more winners here:

Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema: Manuela Directed by Clara Cullen

Best Middle Eastern/Israeli Film Award: The Taste Of Apples Is Red Directed by Ehab Tarabieh

Best Nordic Film Award: Summerlight And Then Comes The Night (SUMARLJÓS Og Svo Kemur NÓTTIN) Directed by Elfar Aðalsteins

Social Justice Award for Documentary Film: Black Mambas Directed by Lena Karbe

Adl Stand Up Award, sponsored by Adl Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties, the Skinner Social Impact Fund, and Steve & Cindy Lyons...

Apple Original Films unveiled the trailer for the highly anticipated thriller, ‘Tetris,’ starring Taron Egerton.

The movie tells the unbelievable story of how one of the world’s most popular video games found its way to avid players around the globe. Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) discovers Tetris in 1988 and then risks everything by travelling to the Soviet Union, where he joins forces with inventor Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Efremov) to bring the game to the masses. Based on a true story, “Tetris” is a Cold War–era thriller on steroids, with double-crossing villains, unlikely heroes, and a nail-biting race to the finish.

Directed by Jon S. Baird, Toby Jones, Roger Allam, Anthony Boyle, Togo Igawa, Ken Yamamura, Ben Miles, and Matthew Marsh also star.

Also in trailers – “This hit is for you, Mr Wick…” Bold new trailer lands for ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

The film will premiere globally on Apple TV...

In the first trailer for the Apple original film “Tetris,” Taron Egerton’s character Henk Rogers is on a mission to bring the addictive game to America. The only problem? It’s 1988, the Cold War is still on, and the inventor is Russian. Rogers must not only line up U.S. investors, he’s got to convince the Soviets he means no harm.

The film, which is billed as “a Cold War–era thriller on steroids, with double-crossing villains, unlikely heroes, and a nail-biting race to the finish,” co-stars Nikita Efremov as inventor Alexey Pajitnov. It also stars Toby Jones, Roger Allam, Anthony Boyle, Ben Miles, Matthew Marsh and Rick Yune.

Also Read:

‘Extrapolations’: Watch the Trailer for Apple’s Climate Change Drama Series (Video)

“Tetris” is directed by Jon S. Baird, with screenplay by Noah Pink. Producers are Gillian Berrie, Leonard Blavatnik, Gregor Cameron, and Matthew Vaughn. The studio is AI Film.

The game you couldn’t put down, the story you couldn’t make up.

On Thursday, Apple TV released the first official trailer for their upcoming biographical film “Tetris,” directed by Jon S. Baird from a screenplay written by Noah Pink in his feature writing debut.

The film tells the true story of the high-stakes legal battle to secure the intellectual property rights to the puzzle video game “Tetris,” which is recognized today as one of the most popular video games of all time.

You can watch the trailer here:

It stars Taron Egerton, Toby Jones, Nikita Yefremov, Roger Allam, Anthony Boyle, Togo Igawa, Ken Yamamura, Ben Miles, Matthew Marsh, and Rick Yune. The film was produced by Gillian Berrie, Leonard Blavatnik, Gregor Cameron, and Matthew Vaughn under the AI Film and Marv Studios production banners.

“Tetris” is scheduled to be released on Apple TV+ on March 31, 2023.

Predict the 2023 Emmy...

In the first trailer for Tetris, Taron Egerton stars as Henk Rogers, a man caught in the cold war battle behind the iconic video game.

Opening to Doghouse’s “The Final Countdown,” the three-minute teaser offers a first full look at the actor as the video game designer and entrepreneur whose own failed efforts lead him to discover a title that will change gaming forever.

“I played for five minutes,” Egerton says as he pitches buying rights to the game in Japan. “I still see falling blocks in my dreams. It’s poetry — art and math all working in magical synchronicity. It’s the perfect game.”

The trailer for the Jon S. Baird-directed and Noah Pink-written film quickly previews the major players in this biographical drama based on a true story, including Toby Jones, Roger Allam, Anthony Boyle, Nikita Yefremov and Rick Yune.

The story follows Egerton’s Rogers,...

“The Last of Us” should be very scared right now, because the world’s best video game is getting the adaptation it deserves. “Tetris,” a biographical film about the development behind one of the most iconic video games ever, will premiere on Apple TV+ March 31, the company announced Thursday. The news was accompanied by a trailer for the film, showing star Taron Egerton as Tetris Company co-founder Henk Rogers.

For those who (somehow) have never heard of it, “Tetris” is a 1984 video game from Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov that requires the player to sort differently shaped pieces on a playing field, attempting to complete lines in order to remove blocks and get the highest score possible before the screen fills up. Its simple but addictive gameplay made it immediately successful, and when a version was ported to the Game Boy handheld in 1989, the game became a worldwide smash. Around...